Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

Get out your lederhousen and clean out the mold from your bier stein. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is less than 2 weeks away. September 20-21 on 5th Street in Downtown Cincinnati.

On The Flannery Five

Warning:  Long post ahead.  Sorry.  This one's been building for a bit.  And I'm bending my rule on not blogging regarding courthouse news.

I'm about to rant about Streetvibes editor Greg Flannery and the four others convicted of trespassing in Steve Chabot's office a couple years ago.  (Here's the Enquirer coverage.  I refer to them as "five" because two were juveniles, and I'm not sure how their cases were resolved.)  But I've been taught that if you're going to criticize someone, you should begin with some praise.  So let's do that first (I've been meaning to make the point anyhow.)

The praise:  For a long time, I've bought Streetvibes each month.  I've always thought that the one-dollar contribution was a terrific way to help the homeless.  But the last few months, I've been buying the newspaper for another reason:  to read it.  The writing and reporting has been excellent--often, better than its weekly alternative counterpart, Citybeat.  So if you've not bought Streetvibes in a while, pull out a buck the next time you see a vendor.  And then read.

Now, for the meat of the post.

Back in 2006, Greg Flannery and four others were arrested for trespassing in the office of Congressman Steve Chabot.  Essentially, they staged a sit-in to protest the war in Iraq.  At the time, Flannery acknowledged the group was "repeatedly invited to leave" and stayed two hours past closing.  As is their right, four of the five, including Flannery, demanded a jury trial.  They were convicted.  They appealed.  They lost.  They filed a petition for review in the Ohio Supreme Court.  It was denied.  And they were sentenced to perform 20 hours of community service.  One of the group's members, Barbara Wolf, apparently told the court she wouldn't complete her sentence, and was sentenced to 10 days in jail instead.

I oppose the Iraq war.  In my younger, badder days, I could see myself being part of their civil disobedience.  In fact, one of my fondest memories of my teenage years is marching on Washington, DC, with my dad in 1991 to protest the Gulf War.  I also proudly addressed, on behalf of a Pittsburgh coalition of high school students, a peace protest.  So I applaud the sit-in and the Flannery Five's intentions.

So what's my problem?

The current issue of Streetvibes has two pieces that stand in ironic juxtaposition.  The first, a front-page story written by Flannery called "All The Justice You Can Afford," recounts the findings of the NLADA study of the Hamilton County Public Defender.  The second, on page two, is Flannery's page-long story of his arrest.

One of the criticisms of the Public Defender that Flannery echoes is an allegation that incarcerated, indigent defendants spend more time than necessary in jail because public defenders don't have the time to go visit them in jail before their court dates.  We'll leave aside, for a moment, whether that's actually true.

Flannery's piece on his trespassing conviction brags that his trial lasted six days.  Six days.  For a fourth degree misdemeanor.  In municipal court.

I wonder if anyone was forced to spend extra time in jail because of the trial.

I didn't attend the trial.  But from Flannery's account, it doesn't appear that the group's lawyers argued that they were factually innocent of a trespass.  Instead, it seems like they were hopeful that at least one of the eight jurors would decide to nullify the law.  He writes that "we tried to convince the jury to convict the war instead of us."  He brags of the "inconvenience" caused by the "long legal struggle."  (I suspect that the defense attorneys never openly argued for nullification; they wouldn't be permitted to.  My best guess is that they couched their efforts in terms of a "necessity" defense, arguing that the sit-in was necessary to prevent the imminent deaths of people in Iraq.)

But who was inconvenienced?  The judge and his or her staff?  Nope, they're there every day, whether there's a jury trial or not.  The prosecutor?  Nope, same thing.  But how about the other litigants who had appearances scheduled during the six-day trial?  Yep, probably.  You see, once a jury trial begins, it takes precedence over everything else until it's finished.  Judges will get through the rest of their docket as quickly as possible, usually handling only guilty and no-contest pleas; everything else will typically be continued, possibly weeks into the future.

Most people know that defendants have a right to a speedy trial.  For a misdemeanor, someone who's held in jail has to be brought to trial within thirty days of his or her arrest.  But there are things that can stop, or "toll," the speedy trial clock.  One of these is the unavailability of the court.  So guess what?  If you were poor, locked up, your case was assigned to the same judge as was Flannery's, and you had a trial scheduled during the Flannery trial, your case was continued.  Your speedy trial time tolled until the next court appearance.  And you stayed in jail.

Flannery and his co-defendants are fortunate.  They could afford to take six days off of work for a trial.  But what about defendants (and witnesses and victims) who were scheduled the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth day of the Flannery trial and who had to come back another time who work low-paying, hourly jobs?

I guess the issue really is one of how much justice a person can afford.

The Hamilton County Municipal Court is charged with determining whether people are proven guilty of misdemeanor offenses, and then settling on a sentence for those who are.  Whether it's good at that job is a determination for others to make (most days, I'm too busy hacking at trees to see the forest).  It is not, however, well-suited to determining whether a particular military intervention is justified.

The judges and prosecutors (and we defense attorneys) are at our best when we have the time to discuss, whether on the record, in chambers, or at side-bar, the appropriate resolutions to cases.  When a judge is trying to get a jury back in the box for a trial in progress, that time doesn't always exist.  Reading Flannery's article, I was thinking about some of the people I've represented in municipal court the last few months:

• A woman in an abusive relationship, whose romantic partner figured out things might go better for him when she calls the police if he says that she assaulted him, too.  (We got the right result:  he was convicted, the case against her was dismissed.)
• A man with no criminal record but a history of mental illness who, unable to afford his psych meds, committed a non-violent though serious offense due to his mental illness.
• A young woman, initially convicted of a drug-related offense, who relapsed while on probation.
  

In each of these cases, the judges made (I think) the right call and declined to send my client to jail.  But I wonder:  if any of the cases had been called on a day when a judge was trying to get to a jury trial and was speeding through the docket, would s/he have been able to give the case enough thought to reach the same result?  I'd like to think so, but I just don't know.  It's a lot easier--and quicker--to impose a jail sentence than it is to fashion an appropriate remedy involving treatment and social services.

Greg Flannery and his co-defendants, aided and abetted by some of the best legal minds in Ohio, staged a six-day sit-in in municipal court.  Should we have launched a war in Iraq?  Probably  not.  Is a municipal courtroom the appropriate forum to litigate that issue?  Certainly not.  And doing so likely hurt only the people Flannery is usually busy standing up for.

Greg Flannery got all the justice he could afford.  How much did it cost those in the community who can't afford as much justice?

Open Thread: Where To Find "The One" In Cincinnati

Kate of Kate's Random Musings has recently been discussing her pursuit of a potential significant other.  It's reminded me of a thread I've been meaning to offer up for a little while.

Where should one go in Cincinnati to meet people of the opposite sex?  (For that matter, where does one go to meet people of the same sex, if that is what one is looking for?)  Obviously, we all know the legend of the Hyde Park Kroger, and how the store pumps lots of pheremones through the air conditioning system, ensuring matches made while perusing the sushi.

I remember that a few years ago, lots of people were consternating over an alleged perception that Cincinnati is a tough place to be single.  I never bought into that.  But I'm curious:  where should single people, post-college and -grad school (but not yet old enough to be a forty-something divorcee) go?

Please post your thoughts in the comments.  If you found your significant other in Cincinnati, let us know where (we promise, we won't try to steal him/her, we just want to know where to find others like him/her).

Driehaus Blogger Meetup

I was able to rush order my passport and I am not sitting in the Front Porch Coffee House on the West Side. Wifi is working and the chicken salad sandwich is pretty good. I made this trip for a meet and greet with 1st District candidate for Congress Steve Driehaus. I'll try and update through out the event, but I'll give full report after.


Update#1: Steve started out with great introduction about himself and his background as to how it got into politics. He pointed out clearly that he no matter what Mrs. Palin might say, he is proud of having been a community organizer.

Update #2: The most interesting accept of Steve was that he came to this event directly from his kid's soccer game.

Steve's focus while in the statehouse was on community project and housing. Steve was originally asked in 2006 to run for congress by Rahm Emmanuel, but turned it down. He thinks now he should have said yes.

The Democrats has purchased a million dollars on behalf of him which will begin to air starting later this month.

Update #3: Should you exepect more from your Congressmen? That was Steve question about Chabot. Other than his hair, we couldn't say much about him. I didn't bring up the abortion issue, which Chabot is know for, but

Dreihaus believes the government can't allow FannieMae and FreddieMac fail, there is no other option.

Update #4: The complete and utter failure of diplomacy is one of the greatest failure of Bush Administration in the Iraq situation.

Chabot Misleads Public, Again

It should be a surprise, but Steve Chabot's campaign is airing a commercial that even the Cincinnati Enquirer agrees misleads the public about Chabot's opponent, Steve Driehaus.

Open Thread: Bengals Predictions

The last time I solicited predictions, it was on the vice presidential candidates.  And I'll admit, I was wrong.  Very, very wrong.  (In fairness, no one picked Palin, though others, obviously smarter tham me, picked Biden.)

This time, I'd like your predictions on a far more pressing issue.  Now that you've seen the Bengals and we know what their roster is, how do you think they'll finish the season?

My own prediction:  the Bengals finish 6-10, and I'll be able to ride to PBS in a streetcar before I can see an NFL playoff game there.

Big College Football Weekend

Two local schools have really, really big football games later today.

In the first, the Miami (OH) Redhawks take on the Big Ten's Michigan Wolverines.  Coverage of this nationally televised game begins at noon on ESPN2.  While the Wolverines aren't ranked this year, any time Miami placed against a BCS-conference school, it's a big game.  And while my heart is with the Bearcats, in the spirit of both intra-state and intra-blog unity, I'll be cheering for the Redhawks in the early game.  Because after all, beating back the forces of Michigan is the most important issue of our time, and we must put aside politics (and my distaste for J. Crew) and put our pride as Ohioans first.

In the second game, the UC Bearcats take on the Oklahoma Sooners, currently ranked fourth in the nation.  This is ABC's featured game this week, and coverage begins at 3:30.  There's no way to overstate how significant a win would be for the 'Cats.  They would beat a top-ranked opponent on a national stage--and Oklahoma is likely the toughest team they'll face this season, so it would pave the way for really, really high expectations for the remainder of the season.  

So....let's put our differences aside, come together, and cheer jointly for the 'Hawks and the 'Cats.  (After all, the better the two teams' records are, the more interesting the Battle for the Victory Bell will be on September 20!)

WLW Local Coverage?

I was pleased to read in my neighbor's blog Just Past Central, about a feature on 700 WLW about Christian Moerlein. I am happy to have Moerlein in town and actually pleased that WLW actually covered something kinda local. I look forward to the day when Moerlein is actually brewed here.

Some Fact Checking

Via a Facebook Status (Yes and Thanks Mr. A) we can get a semi-unbiased view on statements made by the candidates.

The McCain Acceptance Speech

Senator McCain just started his speech.  Two thoughts occurred to me.

1.  He's the first person to mention George W. Bush all week from the RNC podium.

2.  The background behind the podium is terrible.  The first tight shot looked like McCain was standing in front of a "green screen" with no superimposed image.  The second was a blurry mess until the long shot revealed it to be a corn field.  This blue screen isn't much better.

Umm, there was just some really weird disturbance on the convention floor.  Not quite sure what that was about, but apparently some protestor slipped through the cracks.

More tomorrow.  Comment away, but as always, let's keep it a) clean, and b) civil.

Again Bronson Doesn't Get It

Well, once again an aging Baby Boomer fears that 18 year olds might do what he did 37 years ago. Well, if drinking at age 18 were to cause everyone to group to be as ignorant as Peter Bronson is, then I might be inclined to want to do away with drinking all together.

Drinking is not the issue. The deification of drinking so much so fast that you can't stand up is the problem. I drank at age 18, illegally (thank Zeus for the statute of limitations!!) and I am just fine. What I don't get is that on one hand Bronson is in favor of allowing 18 year olds to own guns. He trusts them with that responsibility. He's not against them driving, as far as I know. But, 18 year olds can't be trusted with booze. It just makes no sense. This was a veiled temperance movement that never got off the ground. If Peter fears abusive drinking, then two things are key, don't make drinking such a vice and educate kids to be responsible drinkers. If there were a passing-out-condoms type method (one as proven as condoms to help keep people safer but takes in the reality of life that) then that should be taught in High School. I guess if it ain't abstinence,however, Bronson is not going to educate you on it.

Blah Blah Sarah Palin Blah Blah Blah

I didn't watch the speech last night. I don't like getting pissed off by hollow and pointless pontification, so I avoided the entire GOP Convention. I'm feeling like I need to get my hits up today, so I thought I bury this post and see how many comments I can generate without really commenting on anything.

Javier's open for Happy Hour

Terry and I swam our way (it felt that humid, anyway) towards GABP for our second-last ball game last night, but we got a little sidetracked-- I saw that Javier's was open AND they had a happy hour!

We were the first guests the bartender, Jonathan, had had for Happy Hour. Ever. Since both Terry and I love margaritas, we ordered two of his best.

Damn.

They were good.

They were really balanced, and Jonathan doesn't believe in sour mix, so it was made with fresh orange and lime juice. This kicked the rear ends of Nada's 'ritas all over downtown. At $6 for their happy hour price and $8 for their regular price, it's a steal.

He has huge plans for the bar-- mojitos, margaritas and other beverages with fresh juices, both by the glass and by the pitcher. Me, I'm just excited about the lack of sour mix behind the bar. I hate that stuff. There's talk of half price appetizers as well-- not sure if that will include the really fascinating seafood selections-- but I'd definitely stop in. Right now, the only advertising they're doing for Happy Hour is a sign on a board outside the restaurant-- I'm serious. No PR, no advertising.

The menu looked pretty good too-- they're not quite open for full dinner yet. They have everything from ceviche to octopus tostadas, to barbacoa and chiles rellenos. The entree prices run from $18-25 (including a salad) and the appetizers from $3-11. Their soup is all in the $10-11 range-- which seems a bit high-- but the rest of the menu seems to be priced well. It's more than, say, La Mexicana and a lot less than Nada. I'll be really interested in trying it out. I've heard nothing but good things about Javier's food during the day-- I can't wait to try it for dinner.

Universal Grille Closed

As I walked past today, I noticed that the Universal Grille, formerly known as Hamburger Mary's, has closed its doors. There'd been a sign on the door (to which I was oblivious) announcing that this weekend would be its last. Its website also announces the closing.

I've not seen any plans for the space.

Borgman Takes Buyout

Is the Enquirer going to have anyone local doing anything anymore with word that Borgman has taken the buyout.

We can be assured that they will not replace him, and the opinion page will suffer with syndication.

Why a Cincinnati Dateline?

This Reuters article on the Sarah Palin controversy is dateline Cincinnati and I can't figure out why. Can anyone shed some light on this?

America Votes Meeting September 4th

Looking for a great volunteer effort to help get out the vote? Check out America Votes.

America Votes is the largest grassroots voter mobilization effort in the country today, and we will be introducing their volunteers to our political organizers in a discussion of how to make Ohio a greener state with better jobs and affordable health care.

The meeting is from 6-8 pm this Thursday (Sept. 4) at the America Votes office at 2300 Montana Ave (Suite 110). There will be a strategy session, followed by a short phone bank, then dinner and mingling.

RSVP by emailing Randy at mwilson@americavotes.org or calling 513.481.7108.

If you can't make it to the meeting but are interested in volunteering, they'll be phone banking every Monday and Thursday from 5-8 pm, and we'll be canvassing on Saturday, September 20, from 10 am-2 pm. The month of October will assuredly be ripe with volunteer opportunities.

America Votes is a permanent local coalition of some of the largest national progressive organizations; our partners include ACORN, Planned Parenthood, AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club, EMILY'S List, and many others.

Cost of PR

WCPO is reporting proportional representation could cost the County 3 million dollars. Where will the money come from?

Holiday Weekend, Cincinnati Style

My parents (who presently reside near Tampa, Florida) were in town visiting over the long weekend. So we decided to enjoy ourselves, Cincinnati-style. Highlights of the weekend:

Ice cream (well, a chocolate soda for Dad) at the Fountain Square Graeter's;
A Reds game (Saturday's game, which the Reds won in more dramatic fashion than they should have);
A meal at Mitchell's Fish Market in Newport (all right, maybe that's too chain-y to be a Cincinnati meal);
Watching the fireworks from a Queen City riverboat;
Sunday brunch at the Greyhound Tavern in Ft. Mitchell (Julie: if you haven't been, you ought to give it a try);
An afternoon at the Contemporary Arts Center; and
(Without me) a meal at First Watch and some book-shopping at Joseph-Beth.

What did y'all do with your weekend? Feel free to critique my failures as a host (but remember, the folks have been to Cincinnati plenty of times, so we've done lots of other stuff previously).

Open Thread: Take That, Beijing!!!

Last night, I watched the fireworks from a Queen City Riverboat, moored just east of the Purple People Bridge. Pretty darned spectacular.

So here's an open thread. What did you like best (or least)? If you stayed home, was WLWT's coverage any better than last year?