Looking Back Looking Forward

The Defense Attorney in Person

Looking Back

There's been a lot going on. It seems like an eternity ago that North Texas was covered in record snowfall, but it was just last Friday. That, however, is last week's news. This week, ChipSeal went to trial in the City of Ennis and was convicted on three counts of impeding traffic by a jury of his peers. The jury assessed fines as noted in the "High Noon" comments. The two hour trial was painful to watch, and I need to write notes in this brief period when the memory is fresh, but passion has abated. PM Summer was present, but as a witness, he mainly heard what went on in the hall outside the courtroom. Y'all can read comments from the previous post to pick up many of the considerations, but I would not advise any of my readers to take a bike case to a jury trial. I will publish a summary of the proceedings derived from my notes as soon as possible. I will attempt to distill the main facts and keep my personal opinions out of the account.

There are three points I will add here and now that have not been clearly noted noted in the comments.

First, this was a case in which the City of Ennis not only had the two arresting officers present, but also one of the supervisors AND the City Police Chief. I have not attended other Ennis traffic court cases, but I suspect that if you are picked up for speeding, you won't have the Chief present at your trial.

A second point to note is that none of the officers has ever cited cyclists in Ennis before, other than for things like shooting off a sidewalk and through a red light. You know, the usual bicycle dopey acts. As far as I could tell, none of the participants in the trial (other than Chip and his witness) were familiar with bicycle law, which should not be a surprise given it's a small part of the law enforcement picture in Ennis. ChipSeal might as well have been from Mars.

Third, while some might question Chip's wisdom to act as his own attorney, he was well versed on the applicable laws and attempted to argue them coherently. The court was not inclined to allow evidence from jurisdictions outside Texas. Even the excellent video from the kind folks at CommuteOrlando was accompanied by instructions to the jury that this was the way things were seen in another jurisdiction that they could consider and weigh as they saw fit.

Oldfool, perhaps said it best, though I think the "different" aspects are the biggest factors. Last night I felt pretty down. I drove to work today, even though the weather was fairly nice. Now, I'm at least past wanting to just sell Buddy.

Looking Forward - Plan for the Worst and Hope for the Best
First things first. ChipSeal's Ennis trial was crimped by his considerations. If you are unemployed and in modest circumstances, hiring an attorney is a difficult step to take. If your circumstances are modest enough that you can't afford a cell phone and you've lost your internet, that step gets more difficult. Being car free and getting ticketed while trying to do daily life slows things down even more. It's also tough to even know what others are up to that might be relevant. A measure of the man is that he is determined to carry forward with an appeal, even if he has to act as his own attorney again. I hope that PM Summer and I talked a little sense into the man. Our advice (I hope PM will comment if I misstate his view), was essentially "don't worry about cyclist rights and all that, the cyclists can figure that stuff out themselves and a lot of them are pretty smart. YOUR task is to obtain acquittals. Shut up and accept help graciously." He is now in contact with an attorney and has a disposable cell phone that we suggested he keep fairly private. I imagine added details will unfold as the story develops.

This is NOT just a simple lost case. Chip has at least one ADDITIONAL trial on the exact same subject. Different jurisdiction - Ellis County. This is the case where he was originally ticketed for "riding a bicycle on the road." And that will happen before any serious appeal action occurs on the Ennis City cases. Chip has the unique, if unenviable opportunity to get "do overs." We did advise him to take some added detours in the near term because everything was quite complicated enough already. I'm nearly as confused at all this as you are!

That being said, if anybody has tips on where Chip can find employment, suggestions would be VERY welcome and I'd be happy to pass suggestions on, but it might be better to cut out the non-value-added middleman. He is also able via public internet, to check his own blog and that'd be a good way to get word to him. If I were in a position to hire, I'd strongly consider someone with the dedication and drive this gentleman possesses.

I think there are AT LEAST a couple of people working on figuring out how people can contribute to this case if they wish. I'm not very savvy on Paypal and such (beyond how to buy stuff with it on eBay), so I'll leave the details to them. Since I live only a couple of counties away, I have the option of writing a check. In some ways I'm old fashioned. I have no idea how much a successful legal adventure such as this might cost, but I imagine it might not be trivial. Still, I can do without new bike stuff a lot easier than I can do with the thought that I might be tossed  into the hoosegow because someone doesn't think I should be riding somewhere I myself know from training and experience is safe.
 
Going a bit further, I read of thoughts of demonstrations and boycotts. Myself, I do not favor such things, and particularly not while the justice wheels are turning. Cyclist groups that interact with Ennis are more valuable as allies then as targets. They represent local contacts and knowledge which is badly needed. In a small town, knowing the players is important. Similarly, larger cycling organizations should be viewed in the same light. Up until now, and even at this point, this is a small, local case. Cycling groups, however, REGARDLESS of differences, have a common interest in not seeing legal cyclists become targets for law enforcement and further marginalized. I don't concern myself with credit, and I'd be thrilled to see these groups enter the fight productively in any way they can. Myself, I just want to be able to go, point-to-point, where I want to go in a safe and legal fashion. I know at least one gentleman who is working hard to build bridges within the cycling community instead of walls on this. We really DO have more in common than sometimes appears to be the case.
 
Brief Rant
While I'm concerned about cycling issues, I don't have to ride a bike, and I know how to ride on shoulders and sidewalks safer than most that ride bikes in any event. I can always drive to the gym, and if gas gets so expensive nobody can drive, I won't have to worry about those being cycling issues anymore. Personally, I don't even agree with all of Chip's theories on riding specifics. What really gets my goat is I don't like seeing someone get targeted by the government because he is "different" and maybe "menacing and dangerous somehow" because of that. THAT pisses me off. Maybe I took too many US History classes when I was growing up. Insert your own favorite "founding fathers" quote here.
 
I Haven't Forgotton
I still plan to do my post on the far, extreme fringe of cycling. A subject so obscure that I never knew of it until just a couple of weeks ago, though I have cycled for nearly 50 years. A subject so obscure that even John Forester left it out of his book. At the same time, this cycling cult is open to view by anyone Googling one simple word. It turns out there are even magazines (well, at least ezines) devoted to the subject. Discovered courtesy of "The Lowest Gear."

 

My Street Last Friday - Seems Like it Was YEARS Ago!