Ventura County Jail

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Pre-sentencing

Interview with Ford, Miss T, Julie and Reta

JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process:
Ford: There was limited pre sentencing. Was offered a two year sentence with half time. This occurred two minutes before appearing before the judge.
Miss T: I am not sure what pre-sentencing is. Is it the papers I received in the mail, ordering me to appear at court? It wasn't really a process.
Julie: Not sure what is meant by pre-sentencing, but I'm going to assume you're asking about before my court apperance. I was given a ticket for driving with a suspended license. They towed my car and gave me a day to appear in court. I made an appointment with a public defender, besides that there was'nt much that went on.

JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning? If not please give us details on how you came to be arrested.
Ford: NO, the police never stopped by my house for questioning.
Miss T: No
Julie: No, there was no need for it.

JM: What as court like? Please give as many details as you recall.
Ford: My court appearances were brief. My first appearance the court was unprepared and I was returned to detention. The process took about four hours. On my second appearance I was led into the court chambers, after a three hour wait in a holding cell. The area I was enclosed in, while shackled and wearing a bright orange jump suit, was a fenced off section of the court room. The chambers where very crowded and the court appointed lawyer was on overload, between the translators and the shear volume of his case load he had no time for interviews or appraisels of individual cases. I was called and he told me my deal was a take it or leave it and come back on a later date, at which time , I could expect the same offer. Two years with half time. No real attention to my case or any offer of alternative sentencing.
Miss T: I went to court on December 29th, 2005. It was fast and efficient.
Reta: the usual deal where they rack up a bunch of charges based on a pumped up bogus police report. and if you have a past record who do you think they'll believe? You wouldn't believe my police report, it was more fiction that fact.
Julie: Long wait to be seen even though I had a day to appear. My public defender met with me and told me the best deal was to be sentenced to jail time. Although I really didnt want to, I figured I could stick it out. When I was in front of the judge there were about 50 other people in the courthouse all waiting to be seen as well. Talk about lack of privacy.