As a new and relatively young lawyer back in the early 90’s, I did a number of special appearances for other attorneys. On more than one occasion I found myself in the Glenn County Superior Court, observing Judge Roy McFarland while I waited for my matter to be called. Judge McFarland was everything you would expect a judge to be: He was old school, he had authority, he was folksy. And one other thing, he generally knew everybody in the courtroom, including the criminal defendants before him.
I witnessed scenes similar to this:
The bailiff would usher in a man in his late twenties, shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit. The parents of the defendant would sit in the wooden pew with stoic resignation, dressed in their best clothes. Judge McFarland would speak to the defendant, fixing him with a stern and piercing look:
“Well, Bobby, I see you’re coming before me again for sentencing---looks like it’s your third violation of felony probation. I see your folks sitting out there in the front row, and you know they’ve always been there for you. This time around you were once again caught with meth, in a probation search. And I do appreciate you being honest with this Court and admitting the violation. But as I told you last time, that was your last chance. So I’m going to have to send you to prison.”
There would typically be no surprise or anger evidenced by the defendant or his family. All of the players knew what to expect and recognized the inherent justice of the sentence.
The point of this fictional, but typical tale is the inter-connection of the community that can be observed in small counties. Part of this connection is an understanding of what the community will tolerate, and what the consequences are when a person engages in conduct that cannot be tolerated. Ideally, there should be a strong correlation between the unwritten rules of society and the codified technicalities of the law.
In small counties, there is an incessant and free flow of information from those with legal knowledge to the general population. Police officers, probation officers, judges, deputy DA’s and public defenders become impromptu teachers to the community. Almost everyone understands what will get them in trouble, and why.
In bigger counties, society gets more stratified and information is not dispersed. The situation is aggravated if the District Attorney’s Office displays an attitude of contempt and arrogance towards those it prosecutes. The result is that there exists no unified community agreement on what is allowed. There is no “social contract.”
In Butte County, the District Attorney’s office has, over the last generation, shown an inability to meaningfully communicate with the citizens of Butte County. A consensus is growing that it is time for Mike Ramsey to step down.
