‘ Why were you acting crazy at the dog track?’

‘ Why were you acting crazy at the dog track?’

Chicago man gets the tough questions from Judge Thorne

news@theeveningtimes.com

A man in jail was in front of the judge with a felony charge of failing to register. “Where do you live?”

asked District Court Judge Fred Thorne.

“Proctor.”

“Are you employed?”

“Not at the moment. I’ve been off for two weeks.”

“How long had you worked before this?”

“Two years.”

“Why aren’t you working?”

“My health.”

“See the public defender.”

The next man had a felony charge of forgery.

“Where do you live?”

“Memphis.”

“Do you have a job?”

“I got a job starting Monday morning.”

“Well, if you make bond you might be able to go to your job on Monday. See the public defender.”

A woman with felony drug charges was asked, “When did I see you last?”

“It’s been over a year.”

“Where do yo work?”

“The track.”

“How long have you been there?”

“Going on a year.”

“How much do you make a week?”

“I get paid every two weeks.”

“Well, how much do you make every two weeks?”

“$500 to $600.”

“So you make around $300 a week. See the public defender.”

Another woman with a felony charge of possession of meth or cocaine was asked where she lived.

“Stuart Street, West Memphis.”

“Are you employed?” “No, sir.”

“Who supports you?”

“I just did some business.” “See the public defender.”

A woman with felony charges of forgery was also asked where she lived.

“Proctor.”

“Are you employed?”

“No, sir.”

“Who supports you?”

“A friend.”

“Is your friend in court today?”

“I don’t know. Maybe my cousin is there.”

“Cousin, are you here?

…Cuz is not here.”

A man in jail charged with disorderly conduct pled guilty.

“Why were you having a situation with a young lady?”

“It was a misunderstanding.”

“Was she going through your phone?”

“Yes, she was trying to go through my phone.”

“$250 plus court costs.”

A man in jail with charges of driving on suspended and no turn signal pled ‘nolo’ to both charges.

“$500 plus court costs on the driving on suspended and 15 days jail. Court

Judge Fred Thorne costs on the turn signal.”

A man with charges of obstruction of justice and loitering pled no contest to both charges.

“You were at the courtyard apartments with a group of people?”

“Yes.”

“Do you live there?”

“No.”

“Where do you live?”

“Memphis. I’m not stable.”

“I’ll dismiss the obstruction charge and the loitering will be $250 plus court costs. There are good people who live in apartments and they don’t like it when a group of people are hanging around their homes.”

A man in jail pled guilty to driving on suspended, no insurance and failure to appear.

“Why didn’t you come to court?”

“I was out of town.”

“For two years?”

“No.”

“Well this happened in 2016 and you did not come for your trial.”

“Yep, yes, sir. I was at my brother’s house.”

“$500 plus court costs and three days jail for the driving on suspended. $375 plus court costs on the no insurance and $100 plus court costs on the failure to appear. I hope your brother comes up here and pays your fines.”

The next man in jail was asked how he pled to possession of marijuana.

“I plead guilty.”

“How do you plead to failure to appear?”

“Guilty.”

“Aren’t you on dialysis?

What doctor told you to smoke dope while on dialysis?”

“The doctors didn’t tell me to do that but I have no appetite and I’m losing weight. I needed to eat.”

“$150 plus court costs on the marijuana. I’ll dismiss the failure to appear.”

A man in jail was charged with disorderly conduct and pled guilty.

“Why were you acting crazy at the dog track?”

“I just came into town from Chicago and I was with my family and we was being loud.”

“Does everyone from Chicago get loud at the track?”

“No.”

“Jail, let him out for time served.”

A woman in the courtroom pled guilty to driving on suspended, no insurance and no tags.

“Why shouldn’t I take all your money today? How long has your license been suspended?”

“25 years. I never had a license.”

“Why wouldn’t you have a license? Do you have a cell phone?”

“Yes.”

“How long were your tags out?”

“Four or five months.”

“Whose car was it?”

“My husband. I shouldn’t have been driving it. He was at work.”

“$205 plus court costs on the driving on suspended and $205 plus court costs on the insurance. I’ll dismiss

the tags.”

The next man also had a driving on suspended pled no contest.

“This is your fourth driving on suspended.”

“I had to go to my parole officer. He was just down the street and I almost made it.”

“I guess you believe in ‘rally, rally, home free.’ You are too young to know about that. How old are you?”

“23.”

“Do you work?”

“No.”

“$205 plus court costs and three days house arrest.”

By the Evening Times News Staff