Anne Arundel County Public Schools, MD Schools in the Court, 25 Sep 2018

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(Intense music).

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Ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you.

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good morning. good morning. thank you. good morning., thanks for the lifeline.

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I've had a slow morning and I apologize to you. it's 9:15 and we start normally at 8:30..

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Moved it back today to nine and I'm already a little bit late. it's my fault, and I apologize because I hate to be late., but I walked in,. I just wanted to get a look and see what's going on in the courtroom, before we started.

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I want to welcome you to the district court of maryland county.. My name is shaem spencer,. I get the chance (mumbling) of working in this courtroom,. This courthouse with most of the entire team up here on a regular daily basis.

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We've asked you to come today to sit with us,.

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Because we want to share a few things with you.

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and by share, I mean we wanna expose you to some things. You may not see everyday.. I don't think that you get to see an actual criminal plea. Every single day.

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I don't know that you get the opportunity to engage a chief judge or district court of the entire state on a daily basis..

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I don't believe in your school classrooms. You get to see the superintendent come to your classroom. Every day.

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I don't believe you get to see a shock trauma, nurse.

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Nurse from the er, that sees some of.

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The most tragic events in our state.

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in one of the most elite hospitals in our state,, every day.

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I don't believe that in your courtrooms,, your classrooms,, you get to see a trooper and his partner comes to you and.

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Put on a presentation to you every day., I don't believe that you get to speak to some of the most experienced lawyers, trial, lawyers, defense, lawyers, prosecutors,, every day.

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I also don't believe you get to see the inner workings of the courthouse, every day.

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Courthouses, don't consist of just lawyers and judges.

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people that make this place. Run. people that make this place work.

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the brains of the operation,, the backbone.

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People who allow us to get our jobs done.

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my little job, is way down here on the totem, pole.

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I don't believe you get to experience the administrator of the courthouse, every single day, or the court staff. Every single day.

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Those people sit right back, here. they're, not in the front where the judge gets to sit at the top. they're, the ones that make this building run..

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That's important to you, because, in my opinion,, the court...

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Whole, is important for you to understand.

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I also don't think you get to have fun with me. Every single day., I'm a fun guy. (attendees laughing) I like to have fun, we're going to have some fun today.

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we're going to talk to you about a lot of things. court. Stuff, life stuff.

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I brought entire team to help and I'm just one member of that team., the team here, we're younger, older.

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(Attendees laughing) whoa, whoa.

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We're handsome, and less handsome.

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(Attendees laughing), but we're all here.. I say that because we have beautiful people.

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And less beautiful people., I understand I'm not pretty or handsome like her., I understand that,. I know my limits..

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I tell you this because we all have different life. Experiences.

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I was in high school closer in time to you, than old guy here, was,, it's a fact..

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I tell ya that cause. I know you all in high school. we're not the fun police today.. We want to share something that we see every day,, all day, in our lives as judges or lawyers or officers,.

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Educators, administrators, clerks.

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We want to tell you about things that we see that help make you think before you do. Things, make good choices.

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That's what we're talking about today,, good choices.. I hope when you leave today,, you think about making a good choice and if only one of you makes one good choice,, our job is complete.

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Just yesterday, my boss made me: go to education, class.

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See,, I still take classes on a regular basis..

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My boss, made me take that class.. I was there, I learned.

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see, I took notes,. I want you to make sure. that today, before midnight, today,.

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178 people will die from a heroin overdose in this country.

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Today, 178 today., it's 9:15,, 9:17.

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Some of us will go to bed before midnight, some of us won't., but at midnight today, 178 will be dead from heroin.

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I learned that., I tell ya that because I think it's...

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Coming and coming and coming and coming.

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Not to you though, cause you're going to make good choices.

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Now I know my boss is here., my other boss to my left,, your right, superintendent of the schools, dr. arlotto.

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chief judge, morrissey and dr. arlotto allow this team assembled to this program..

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By allow I mean, it's not just the schools,, not just the courts,, it's all of us..

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My full-time job is not here,. I have a full-time job.

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My part time job is doing this.. I should be down the hall hearing cases,, but I'm not.

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cause the boss. Let me do that.

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In my next life, I want to be an educator, like mr. hood.

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I've known that man for several years, now., I'm inspired,. I want to teach. dr. arlotto said when I retire,. Maybe I can come back on and be a teacher., so combine my assets and my skills, and my friends, that allow me to do this.

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and by me, I mean the team we've assembled., but it's not just because I want to,, it's they believe in the program.. They believe in it. So much that we've grown the program.

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broadneck, you're here, right?. I haven't seen y'all once now,.

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Since I've seen y'all, so I'm happy you're, here. old, mill,, you're, here? you're here every time,, I appreciate that.

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harbor,. Where are you at?? I know you all are here.. I knew you were coming.. I got my harbor mug out today., I'm proud of my harbor mug, right?.

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I like gifts., I like gifts, broadneck.. I have no broadneck gear., no broadneck apparel. swag,. I like swag..

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I tell you all that because the schools allow us to do this here in the courthouse.. Dr. arlotto allows that to happen. chief shuts the courthouse down, so we can do this.

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So before we go any further,, I want to thank them publicly for allowing us to do this.

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chief judge morrissey,, dr. arlotto.. I want to give them a chance to welcome you on behalf of the judiciary and school board of education. chief? thank you.. I appreciate it, sir.. Thank you very much.. Let me get out of your way.

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All right, good morning everybody. my name's john morrissey,, I'm the chief judge of the district court. [shaem] okay,, less handsome.. The district court is a state-wide court system.

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So we range all the way from garrett county out west.

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Anybody ever been to garrett county? go out skiing, out that way? all the way to ocean city, maryland,, where we have two courthouses. one in snow hill down south ocean city and one you've probably seen on about 66th, 67th street, right as you come over the bridge..

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Hopefully, you've never been in that courthouse..

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Anybody been in that courthouse?, don't raise your hand,. You shouldn't do that.

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because we're a state-wide system, that means,, even though I'm from prince george's county,, I could be asked to sit in any other.

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Jurisdiction in the state, because we have that type of jurisdiction as judges.

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What judge spencer forgot, by calling me old,.

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Is that I have the ability to ask him to go sit in oakland and garrett county tomorrow.

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(Attendees laughing) [male attendee], (mumbling), (morrissey laughs).

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[Shaem], it's already decided.

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The district court was created in 1971, by a constitutional amendment to replace a series,.

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Kind of a hodgepodge, of courts throughout the state.

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annapolis city had its own court.

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bowie, had its own court and places like that.

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And quite frankly,, they weren't running very efficiently..

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The judges in some of those courts didn't even have to be attorneys..

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There was nepotism going on and, quite frankly,.

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Some corruption was in the system., so they decided, the voters,. They set it to referendum,, where the voters decided that they wanted this.

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and my predecessor,. The first chief judge, chief judge sweeney who this building's named for,, had six months to create a court system from scratch and find locations in each of the 23 counties, plus baltimore city.

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In order to house the court and to employ the,.

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At the time, about 1300 employees of the.

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District court, that would staff and work it.

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and then to bring on the 82 judges that he needed to start up this system..

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It was pretty interesting.. I have some old photographs in my library.

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Of where some of the first courthouses were.

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In one particular instance,, the courthouse was right in the same building as an auto mechanic. Shop.

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So you could literally go in and pay your traffic ticket, and get your oil changed at the same time..

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It was kind of a good concept that I'd like to bring back, but we've come a long way since then.

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My job as the chief judge is kind of to be an administrator, quite frankly..

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I don't sit very often anymore.. I've been doing this, as a chief judge, for about four years..

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I was a presiding judge., I'm from prince george's county, grew up there., and so I was a judge,, a presiding judge,, like judge spencer for eight years out in prince george's county.

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So I try to make sure that judge spencer and this courthouse has the proper equipment and staffing to make sure that they can do their job every day.. We have 118 judges in the district court..

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We have almost two thousand employees, and a budget approaching $200 million dollars a year.

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I'm going to change gears right, now, though., if you can show the slide.. So I was approached about two months ago.

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By the make a wish foundation.

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and they had a particular young individual,.

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A young man, that was requesting a wish come true from us.

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Which I thought was extremely unusual because I don't know too many people that want to be a judge when they're 16 years, old, right?.

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Well, meet judge victor haley.

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He wanted to be a judge and for his make a wish,, he asked the court if he could be a judge for the day.

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Judge victor already had his own robe and gavel and apparently he's been sick for an extended period of time.

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and he would regular call his nurses and doctors, "bailiffs", and he would sentence individuals that he wasn't happy with, to jail..

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We were fortunate enough with the cooperation of my judges in baltimore city, to make judge victor's dream, come true.

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Unfortunately, about a week, ago, judge victor passed, away.

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It was one of,, and I consider this very close to that,.

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It was one of the best days I've had as a judge in court.

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And that's because usually bad things happen in court, right?, there's not many times that you look forward to coming to court.. This may be one of them.. The other ones are getting married, adopting children, becoming a naturalized citizen.

B

Coming to drug court graduations., if you've ever wanted to see a moving,, bring handkerchiefs with you and tissues., because if you've ever been to a drug court graduation,, it's very hard not to cry because you'll see people reborn, basically..

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After all, the struggles that they've had. our drug court programs are the future of this court system.

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To try to make sure that we are dealing with this opiod epidemic.

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Judge victor didn't have the chance to make very many decisions because of his illness,, but you all will.

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and the key is to,. Don't let the small.

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Things add up to become a big thing.

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and I'm going to give you an example. so, who's. Driving?

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is anybody here, driving??

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Has anybody gotten a ticket yet?

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okay,, don't raise your hand cause you don't want me to know. That, okay? you're, incriminating yourself, right?. You have a fifth amendment right against self incrimination.

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So, you're gonna get a ticket. pretty much. Everybody gets a ticket at some point in their life, right?. Maybe you ran through a stop sign cause. You didn't see. It.

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I did it on my last day of high school..

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I went to dematha high school.. It was the last day of high school..

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We were graduating that saturday and I ran through a stop. Sign. just forgot that it was there, ran through it and got pulled over. unfortunately,. It was the same route that everyone takes to go to dematha,.

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So I got heckled by everyone. One of my classmates on the way in.

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You want to make sure you handle that ticket.. If you don't believe you are guilty,, you wanna fill out the ticket and request a trial date. So you can contest that in court, right?

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because,, not every police officer is correct. Every single time. they may be a lot of the time, but sometimes they're, not, or sometimes maybe the ticket wasn't written correctly.

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or there may be other defenses that you have.

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or you wanna pay the ticket because you're guilty, and you know that you did it.. You don't want to take the time to come to court,, and so you pay that ticket..

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But you need to do something with the ticket, because if you don't do anything with that, ticket,.

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Then it sits out there and it eventually becomes a flag on your registration and your license.

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So let's say you don't do anything about that ticket and three months, four months goes by.

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Well, we know you didn't do anything about that ticket and we notify the mva, and the mva does what they do..

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Suspend your license and your registration for your car.

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And then you're leaving out of your school this afternoon.

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And you drive out and a police officer hits the sirens and pulls you over.

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and he says, "let me see your license and registration." you hand him your license.. It hits that you're license is now suspended.

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So you've gone from driving through a stop sign,, which I believe is $113 fine.

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to driving on a suspended license,, which is a one year in jail or a $1000 fine, right?.

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Now,, the officer has a choice as to whether to arrest you,.

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Or to write you a citation and let you go., but let's suppose you're not dealing with that officer, nicely., because officers are human, beings,, right?

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and they're gonna react to the way that you react to them.

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Politeness goes a long way. if you've heard 10 and two, those kind of things?.

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My dad taught me that, and I think he was right, and I've taught my children, the same thing,, 10 and two.

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get your license and your registration and your insurance available for the police, officer.

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Don't give the police officer a reason to get nervous because he has a gun and hopefully you don't have a gun, right?.

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So you want to keep your hands where he can see 'em, so he doesn't get nervous. last thing I want, is a police officer coming up to give me something and I'm going to break bad with the officer.

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he's got a ticket book.. He can just keep writing tickets, right?, I'm not saying that they do that,, but human nature would suggest that if you.

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Treat someone with respect, they're going to treat you back with respect, right?

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and I think that's an important lesson,, not just in the police conversation,, but with everybody.. If you're at the supermarket and you're checking out,, I always say hi.. I start a conversation with the lady or the man.

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That's checking me out, right? cause it's a nice thing to do and I enjoy the interaction.

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So,, you didn't pay your ticket, now the officer,.

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And you have been polite to the officer., the officer decides he's going to arrest you..

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So he places you in cuffs, puts you in the back of his car and they're going to bring you downstairs to our commissioners.. Our commissioners. Are there 24 hours a day, 365 days, a year.

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Even in snow storms,, where court may close,, the commissioners are there. and their job is to,. When you come in, either decide that you're going to stay in jail.

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Until your trial, date, right?, they place you in a no bond situation and you can't get out.

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No matter what anybody wants,, you can't get: out.

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you're in jail for 45 or 60 days.

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Or they decide to release you, and they may release you on recognizance, or on a bond, right?.

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So,, let's say, the officer.

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Just decides to give you a citation., he doesn't arrest you,, he doesn't bring you downstairs and you get a notice from the court.

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cause. Driving on a suspended is called a must appear..

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It means you have to show up for court.. You can't prepay,, you can't just pay $1000,. You have to come to court. so,. Let's say you stick that.!

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You don't want your parents to know that this all happened,.

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You intercept the mail that comes that says the notice of the trial date.. You stick it in your dresser and hide it from your mom and dad. And then you forget about it.

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You don't put it on a calendar because you guys probably don't maintain calendars, right? [male attendee], have it on their phone, john.. You could have it on your phone, right?. I keep everything on my phone.. You should see my calendar.

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everything I do is either on this tablet or my phone.

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And you forget about the court date.. What do you guys think happens after that? [male, attendee], warrant., yep,, you're, absolutely right., so I'm going to call out., I'm going to say, "state versus john smith. "is mr. smith, here?

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"mr. smith has failed to appear.. "The time is now 9:27, bench warrant to issue.".

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I'm going to set the bond at $1500, or I'm going to allow the commissioner to set the bond..

B

Well now, you've missed court, three times, right?

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and you're gonna have to come back in. now the commissioner,. If you had gotten arrested, the commissioner, probably would've, released you on your recognizance on the first drive.

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when you first got arrested driving while suspended.

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now you've missed court again, right?.

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He knows that you didn't take care of that underlying ticket and he's worried now.

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or the judge or commissioner's worried now, that you're not going to show back up for court. cause. You've already demonstrated that you're not trustworthy enough to come to court, when you're supposed to. and so,. That is when a commissioner then may set a bond.

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I don't know about you guys,, but I don't have $1500.

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To post to get myself out of jail., I work for the government. just like most of us do here and we don't make a whole lot of money.

B

so, who's going to pay that? now you're parents are gonna, have to get involved, right?

B

oh, and did I mention you're gonna have to have an attorney when you come to court., because your liberty's at stake and you could potentially go to jail for a year,, right?

B

so,, I'm assuming you would want to have an attorney, wouldn't ya?. I mean,. If you break your arm, you don't try to set your own arm.. You go to a doctor, right? and get it set..

B

So you're gonna want to have an attorney. any idea how much an attorney is going to charge for driving while suspended?

B

$1500 bucks, probably.. I haven't practiced in 13 years,, but that's about what the going rate. anybody else help me with that?. You guys don't really practice..

B

So it's anywhere--, (male, attendee, mumbles) $750 to $1500, somewhere in that range.

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So, now you're out $1500., you maybe had to pay a bail, bondsman. you're out whatever that percentage is that they charge you.

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and you're out another $2000..

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Let's say you go to court and you really don't have much of a defense, because you're license was suspended.

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what you should have done,. If you had hired an attorney is,, your attorney would say, "we've got to pay this underlying ticket, "and we've got to get you unsuspended.

B

"so. When we go to the judge we "can say we took action on this. "we, didn't let little mistakes, pile up.

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"we decided that we were gonna get this "taken care of before the judge even made us do it"..

B

That's what attorneys are good to do, cause. They give you advice like that.. That means a lot of difference., but now you're gonna have something on your record, right? and even though it's only traffic, you think, "it's only traffic"..

B

Well, I can tell you, when commissioners apply to become a commissioner,.

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I review every commissioner because they're judicial officers., so I'm actually appointing them to the position., and you know what I check? driving records..

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I check to see whether or not their driving records, cause quite frankly,. I don't want someone being a judicial officer that has multiple traffic violations., let alone criminal. they're, not gonna, get hired if they have a criminal violation., I'm not going to take that chance.. Why would I hire someone that's shown in the past.

B

That they committed some type of crime? and I'm going to place them in a position where they're making decisions about others and placing them in jail or not?, not even going to take the chance, even with traffic..

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If you get too many traffic tickets,, why would I want to take the chance, right?

B

so,, I'm going to stop lecturing on this,, but my point is,?

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You can see that little things can add up to be big things.

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You need to, and I think you'll hear, judge spencer, say this,, you need to own it sometimes., not every time,, but you need to own it.

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and you need to communication, too.

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I've told my children, as my parents told me.

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That if they get in an uncomfortable position,, I have a 17 year old and a 14 year old. my 17 year old, came to the class.

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The last time cause his school came here..

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I embarrassed him thoroughly by showing photographs of him when he was in goofy outfits to every one of the students.. I promised I wouldn't do that again, cause he had a fit with me after it was over.

B

But I have told him that if he ever gets in a situation where he feels uncomfortable.

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Whether he's been drinking or whether other people are drinking, and somebody says.

B

Your drunk friend says, "come, on, "let's, hop in the car and go." and you're gonna get in a car with a drunk person and drive.

B

Not a good idea, right?, I said to him, "call me,, no questions.

B

"I may get upset, but I'm going to go, get you, "and, I'm going to make sure you get home." and I said, "or, don't call me.

B

"call your buddy. That you know is sober or call your uncle.

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"Or call your teacher or call somebody.

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"Or just get out of there and uber home.

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"I'll pay for the uber.".

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If you guys don't have uber,, I'm not promoting uber.

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but,, it's better than getting in a car.

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With someone that's got alcohol on 'em.

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or you drinking and driving.

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so,. Think about what you're doing, these decisions.

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You're gonna see some decision, points. we're getting to the fun point in just a few minutes.

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you're gonna see some of these decision points and you need to think about 'em a little bit..

B

You don't need to be the hero.. You don't need to say to everybody, "hey,, you shouldn't be doing this." cause. I don't really expect anybody to really do that., but what I do expect from you all- and I hope you expect this from yourselves.- is that you're not going to place yourself in a position where something bad can happen to you.

B

cause. You've got your whole future in front of you and these little things make a difference, right?.

B

I wouldn't be the chief judge of the district court and I had no idea..

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I wanted to be a lifeguard, basically,.

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It was my whole aspiration when I was younger.

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And I'd still like to be one., but I had no idea. I was going to become a judge,, much less chief judge. and if I had any problems with my prior criminal record,, this never would've happened to me.

B

and I absolutely love my job.. It's a privilege and an honor to serve the citizens of maryland. and my role,. It's the greatest thing. I've ever dreamed of doing and I couldn't be happier doing it..

B

So I don't want you guys to make some poor decisions.

B

you will, you'll, make bad decisions at 18 and 16 and 17.

B

You make bad decisions., the science shows that your brains aren't fully developed yet and there's lots of literature on that.

B

and so,. You can expect to make bad decisions., just don't let 'em pile up and don't make a lot of 'em and don't make a lot of 'em worse. just own it if you have to and get rid of it.

B

so,. Thank you all very,, very much for being here today..

B

I appreciate you coming to this, and I hope you guys have fun. you're about to see the fun part. Pretty soon. so..., (applause) shaem.

A

It's all fun,, it's all fun., he said it,, I'm going to say it. Again. you're gonna make a mistake.. You're gonna make a mistake. Again. you're gonna make another mistake., it's all right. I make 'em,. He makes 'em all the time.. It's called an appeal when I make a mistake. you're gonna make a mistake.

A

own. It, then make it right.

A

by own it,. What I mean is, you're gonna, be with somebody..

A

I have friends., he is my friend.. Maybe a bad example., hey big tall guy, tall guy, ugly.

A

That's him. he's my friend. I've known him probably longest in the room.. We made some bad choices, together, that dude and I. some bad choices, together.

A

bad choices, him and I. I've known him very long time.. There are very bad choices., but we did not compound it..

A

Just called someone else to come and get us.. We were drinking beers, one time. he had like 18 and I had two.

A

two is too many for me to drive,. So we called someone to get us.. I tell ya that because he asked me to do it. I said, "no. "wes,. I don't wanna drink a beer.". He made me do it. (attendees laugh). He made me do it..

A

I tell ya that because you're gonna have friends. they're gonna encourage you to do some things. You might not want to do.. You may do them,, it's okay., don't make it worse., I'm not promoting uber,, but you all have phones, uber.

A

Or call your mom or dad. mom or dad or your friend or your cousin is better than calling,. Well he's my friend,, but trooper fohs is not going to be your friend.

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Officer mckay will not be your friend. they're nice, they're good dudes.

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they'll also put you in jail.

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now,. Before we go further. dr. arlotto,, we've talked a lot about the education and what we believe., how the courts can help the schools in terms of what we do together as a partnership..

A

Would you please welcome the students on behalf of the school board and give them a little bit what you think we should do. Here. thank you, sir. thank you. thank you.

C

(Applause) good morning., (judge, spencer, laughing), good morning,. Let me be really brief,, but let me welcome you., really delighted that you're here.. This is one of my favorite times, as a superintendent of 83 thousand students and 127 schools,.

C

That we're doing something really very different. so,, we're delighted that you're here., we're really thankful that judge spencer and this amazing team that he's put together, that you're gonna meet through the rest of the morning, has welcomed us to his courtroom, right?.

C

So this is their courtroom,. We are guests., and so we wanna make sure that we act accordingly..

C

This is kind of amazing, what you're gonna go through today., and so I want you to sit back and I want you to relax.. (Exhales loudly) take a deep breath and I want you to take it all in because it's pretty much what you're not expecting..

C

So we talk a lot in inner rowan country, schools about providing opportunities and experiences.

C

For students., so there's all this stuff that happens in a classroom,, really important,, right?, ap, english and biology and algebra, and all of those really cool things. and that's really important cause we're an educational, system, right?.

C

We are schools,, but we are trying to provide,.

C

Always we talk a lot about providing those additional experiences., whether it's through your signature program at broadneck,, right?,.

C

Or your signature at arundel or a magna program.

C

Or athletics or you're a thespian.

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or you write for the paper or whatever it is.

C

we're. Looking for those different experiences.

C

And opportunities that expand you as a person.

C

As a human, as a thoughtful being, beyond the classroom.

C

Today is one of those experiences.. Today is one of those experience that I believe, I am so committed to that. I try and get here every time we do this, four times a year..

C

We try and get students from across,, not only private schools, but all of our county high schools, in this courtroom, at least once during the year., because I think this is one of those experiences..

C

It's not going to show up on your transcript, or your college application, or wherever you head post college., but it's one. That's going to have very meaningful impact on you as a person.

C

So you're gonna see judge spencer, interact with the folks up. Here.

C

they're gonna interact with you. you're gonna, hear. As judge spencer talked about, you're gonna hear from a trauma nurse. you're gonna, hear from local law. Enforcement. you're gonna hear from state police, the law enforcement from the state level.

C

you're gonna, see district attorney. you're gonna, see as a prosecutor., you're gonna, see defense, attorneys., you're gonna see real cases being tried,.

C

And during the course of all this, you're gonna have some fun. you're gonna laugh..

C

I bet you're gonna cry.

C

I guarantee you, you're gonna think.

C

and that's what today's about. the whole piece of this,, the encompassing piece.

C

the umbrella of this,, is making good decisions.

C

Because making poor decisions lands you here in court.

C

Making poor decisions gets you pulled over by a police officer.

C

making poor decisions could put you in the hospital or worse., and we don't want that for you, for your classmates,.

C

For your school, or for your family.

C

So one of the really cool things is you sit there as high school students wondering what's gonna happen. Next.

C

there are people that you don't know,, that love you.

C

That care about you, that want you to make good decisions.

C

And many of them are sitting right: here., you don't know them and they love you,.

C

And they want you to do well. and be well., so this is a really cool experience.. I'm delighted we're a part of this. that we're invited and guests in this courtroom.

C

Four times a year. you guys are in for a treat., so sit back and relax and engage with. What's going on and you're gonna think., I guarantee it. thank you,, glad you're here. (applause) thank you. thank you,. I appreciate it.

A

Poor decisions aren't always involving drugs or alcohol.

A

choice in friends.. Poor decision is sometimes just showing up.

A

doing something, you think is normal, every day.

A

everyday of my life. I do a few things, well same thing.

A

I'm methodical about it, a creature of habit..

A

I carry coins in my pocket. I found heads up because I'm superstitious., I carry a blade in my pocket,. It's about that big..

A

Why are you backing up? (attendees laughing), you ain't, safe here??

A

A

bobby,, there's bobby. yes, sir. he'll, keep you safe,, that's his job. you're gonna, be all right., be all right. (attendees laughing), you sure?! You all right?, you sure?! What about now? (attendees laughing), you scared?! I just need the cops to come over here. mckay,. She wants to talk to you.

A

you him to come over. Here? he'll come, come on. officer mckay,. Can you help me out?? [Female attendee]? Oh my god. (attendees laughing).

A

What's your name? abriel. hi,, I'm shaem.! This is my friend, officer. Mckay. he'll! Keep you safe. hi how you doin'?

A

I joke,. I do have a blade in my hand.. It's real.! I keep one of these in my truck as well.. Don't tell him that. (laughing)!

A

I tell you that, because this blade in my truck...- let's just leave it here for now., it's there,, it's a blade,. It is what it is.

A

The choice I've made to leave that in my truck on any given day. who drives again?, who told me you, drive? yeah,, you wanna drive with me?

A

[marcos] yeah, I'll drive with you. you'll drive my truck? [marcos] yeah.. What kind of car you got? [marcos]? I mean,! I don't have a car, but I drive. whew, I've got a car.. You want to borrow my truck? sure.. Where are you gonna, go?

A

mall., all right.

D

What's your name. marcos.

A

Marcos? yeah. you go to arundel? yeah.

A

you're, a wildcat? good to meet you. come on,, man, come on., here, marcos,! You can drive my truck. here's my truck right, here, man., you be the driver of my truck. (attendees laughing), all right, bro?, all right. have a seat,, have a seat.

A

Hold up, you like music?,.

D

A

What do you like?.

D

Anything, really.

A

Anything? yeah., let me think,, let me think,, let me think. any music at all?.

A

A

you've gotta have tunes in your car, right?

A

[marcos] yeah., all right, I'll. Put that right. Here., you be the tune. Man. anybody know marcos over here?. Do you know him? no. come here, come here., (attendees laughing)? What's your name? come here.? What's your name? jenae. jenae.

A

you going for a ride with marcos?.

E

A

All right, go have a seat with marcos. okay.. You know him? no, I--, you wanna go to the mall? sure. marcos, jenae,, going to the mall. oh, my lord.. He don't know her.

A

y'all know them?, you know them?, you wanna go with them?.

A

Why not,? What's your name? megan. megan,, I'm shaem. hi,? How are you? come on,, megan., all right,, megan and marcos, jenae,, just chillin', going to the mall.. Anybody else want to go to the mall?. You want to go to the mall?. Come on, girl., (attendees, laughing),.

A

Come on,: what's your name, lady? cayla, spelled with a c. cayla.: do you know marcos and jenae-- no. and megan? all right,? Let's go for a ride.

A

[Shaem], where y'all gonna go? the mall., which one? annapolis. annapolis mall,, go ahead. all right. cruise.. Anybody want to be a law enforcement officer when they grow up?. You do? a cop or something, dea agent? (background chatter) thank you, somebody, thank god.

A

come on.. Every cop has to have a cool cop, car.

A

Lights and sirens, bro.

A

All right-- can I drive it?. Can you drive it? probably. probably? look, man, you just...

A

oh,? Can you do that? (mumbles), where you all goin'? [marcos] we're going to h&m.? Why are you looking at me? look at the road. (attendees laughing).

A

Marcos,, look at the road,, not the car. Next to you..

A

He didn't even pull you over yet.. There go behind them, man.

A

A

so look, right now, marcos is going to the mall with three people. He doesn't know. they're all beautiful,, attractive women. I'll, give you that. he's looking at me,, not the road.

A

A

officer, mckay,, he's swervin'. see, what you gonna do? [officer mckay], pull him over. oh, lord have mercy.!

A

A

turn signal, got it. all right, well. go ahead, officer mckay,. Will you stop that vehicle please??

A

F

How you doin', sir?.

G

[Marcos] good,, how are you, officer?, I'm good,, fine, fine.. The reason I pulled ya is your swerving over the yellow line on the way to the mall. [marcos] oh, for real? mm-hmm, and also observed you in a high crime neighborhood on the way to the mall. [marcos] really? yeah.. What were you doing in robinwood?.

D

G

[Officer mckay] at the h&m? yeah. okay., you know that's a dead end, community, right?

G

no. all right. well,. We just had three homicides there. Last week., it's a high drug community. Also., do you know these people in the car with you? no. (attendees laughing) no??

G

Well, when I saw you go in that neighborhood,, you made several u-turns and you came back and went into a courtyard,. Came back, went back and forth.

D

I was headed to the mall.

G

[Officer mckay], you were headed to the mall? okay.. Do you have your license and registration on you?.

D

No,, I left it at home.

G

[Officer mckay] no,, you don't even have it on you?.

D

No,, it's in my backpack over there, but--.

G

[Officer mckay] oh, over there, okay.

A

[Shaem], ladies and gentlemen,, I want to clean up right, here. paul, time out in our little episode right, here. right now. What we have is four individuals in the car,, the driver just told officer mckay.

A

He has no license or registration on him., not on him.. That's one choice. officer mckay, in light of that,. What are you going to do? Next?.

G

Next,, I'm going to get him., I'm gonna get his information, her information,, her information, everybody's information in the car. [shaem] feel free. proceed, sir. [officer mckay]. Do you have your registration or license on you,, I'm sorry? no. no.? Do you have your license or id on you?

G

no. ma'am, you? [megan] over there. over there? yeah., [officer officer, mckay] okay. sir,. Do me a favor,? Can you step out of the car for me, please? [marcos], all right.

G

Do you have anything on you? I should know about? no. no? anything in this vehicle. I should know about? no. no?. Are you sure? positive. okay,? Were you being honest with me about your reason for being in that neighborhood?

G

yes. okay., all right,? Do me a favor. come stand over here. [marcos] over where? over here.

G

come over here. until I can figure out. What's going on-- [marcos] oh, what?, I'm going to put these on you.

G

you're, not under arrest right, now., [marcos] oh., but until my backup officer gets here,, I'm placing these on you. what?, (attendees laughing).

A

Time out, again. ms. holley, officer, mckay's, just taking marcos out of the car, put him in handcuffs.

A

you, okay with that? [ms., holley], absolutely not.,.

H

A

Ladies and gentleman,, ms. holley's my friend. she's, a public defender here in anne arundel county.. She says, as a member of the defense bar, that that man should not be in the car, out of the cuffs., I'm sorry, out of the car, in the cuffs..

A

Mr. adams,, you, okay, with this? [mr., adams] absolutely.. Why is that, sir?.

I

Well, you've got four people that are in a high crime, area.

I

He actually could be arrested right. Now. he's got no identification on him and so,.

I

We don't know who he is,. Why he's here.

I

He's already committed a traffic offense.

I

and because we don't have any identification on him,.

I

He has the right to detain him., but even right, now, he's still in the investigatory phase,, so he's detained him for a brief period of time.

I

Because there's four people and he's four on one.

I

he's really just taking care of himself and his safety.

I

so,. We've got no real issue with that.

A

Ms. holley,, why are you upset with this? because he's in handcuffs. he's in handcuffs?? Well, it's at night and officer. Mckay has no idea who he is.

A

and there's four people in the car.. They don't know each other.

H

I understand, officer mckay's gonna, call for backup.

H

and because of officer safety, concerns,.

H

He's got him briefly: detained.

A

Officer mckay,, I think they'll argue about this later in front of judge morrissey,, but go ahead with your stop, sir. [ms. holley], not much. I can do, right now.

G

G

Were you sitting in this seat the whole time?.

J

[Jenae] yes.

G

[Officer mckay] okay,. Are there any things in this car? I should know about? [jenae]. I don't know. [officer mckay] no,, all right.

G

What she doing- officer? ma'am. ma'am, all right,, do me a favor,. I need you to come out of the car.. What are you reaching for? [shaem] woo!.

F

(Attendees laughing).

G

All right, do me a favor. but officer (mumbling), suspicious. no,. I don't need it. you're being suspicious right. Now.

B

[Morrissey], making the police officer nervous, right?, get down on that ground. (morrissey low speaking).

A

Ladies and gentleman,, did you hear what judge morrissey said? cayla got out of the seat, was down on her hands and knees. officer mckay's by himself in a dark street.

A

I'm pretty sure--, he put her in cuffs because he had no idea what she's reaching for.

K

[Cayla], I'm pretty sure I thought I saw a knife. [male attendee] oh, god.

A

Mrs. holley,, you hear what she said?

A

cayla said. She saw a knife. (attendees laughing).

A

Cayla saw a knife.

G

You gotta believe me. all right, come back. Here. have a seat for me.

G

ma'am,. I need you to step. Out, come on.

G

Is that your knife on the seat?.

J

J

[jenae] wait,, don't I (mumbling).

F

(Attendees laughing) (background chatter).

G

[Jenae] free me(laughing).

G

all right, come over. Here, have a seat, please.

G

Ma'am, you step out to me as well, please.

G

Thank you. were you in that seat the whole time? yes, sir., the backseat?. You don't have any id on you? no,, not here (laughs).. How old are you?.

F

We were just chill. 16?.

G

Yes, sir. okay.. Do me a favor,, you come and sit. [cayla]. Did you find that knife on the front seats, officer? sit here, please.

F

(Attendees laughing).

A

Time, out, time, out. time, out,, please, time out.. Let me help you,. Let me help you,. Let me help you.

A

earlier,. You heard what judge morrissey, said.

A

and ms. holley mumbled earlier that she was being nice.. Sometimes you've got the right to remain silent.

D

Sometimes you ain't gotta, say nothing.

A

Sometimes you can sit there and be polite. yes, ma'am,, no ma'am., yes,, sir,, no, sir., say nothing,. Cause cayla told me now: twice. officer, mckay,, there's a knife in that car somewhere, bro..

A

Excuse me: judge.

I

What's your name, young lady?, cayla, c-a-y-l-a., all right, cayla.

L

You and I will talk later, on.

I

(Attendees laughing).

A

Officer mckay, you've got everybody out: now, whatcha, gonna, do?.

G

Now that I have everybody out of the car,, I'm going to continue the search of the car., I found a dangerous weapon under the front seat of the car.

A

Are you gonna, do a full search on the inside or are you going to wait?.

G

I'm going to do a full search of the inside right, now.

A

[Shaem], are you going to do that by yourself, or are you gonna call your homeboys?.

G

Yeah,, I'm gonna call for backup.. If I can have other tools that I'm allowed to have,.

G

I'm gonna call for those resources..

G

If I can get 'em here., why don't you call.

A

And see if yo can get somebody available.

G

Okay. dispatch,, you have a dog?. Can I have a k-9, (mumbling), my location, please?.

H

She's freaking out. yo, get her, she's freaking out..

H

I could easily slip out of these handcuffs.

F

[Cayla] help me with these.

F

(Background chatter).

F

[Female attendee], what kind of dog is that? [cayla]? What are you going to do with a police, dog?.

E

[Male attendee] there's a dog, oh!

E

[ dog handler], climb up. (background chatter).

E

Good boy. here, check there., get 'em, puppy. good boy, come on., (mumbling), good boy.

A

Hey,, what's your name? javar. javar,, did you see the dog? [javar] yes.

C

What did it do? Here? [javar]? He went around and (mumbles).

A

And then what happened?

A

did you see what he did?? What did he do? went back and forth, (mumbles). He sat down?, you saw him sit, down?, trooper, fohs? yes? did euro sit down?, he did. uh oh., twice, actually.

E

What does that mean? [trooper fohs]? That means he alerted to the presence of odor of narcotics.

E

[shaem]. You said narcotics? yes., you mean drugs?, well,, yes.,.

A

[Shaem] uh oh,. Now what are you gonna, do?.

E

Search the car.

A

[Shaem] you mean like the trunk.

E

I mean like the whole thing. [shaem] glove box., glove box., [shaem], the whole car. trunk, under the hood.

A

[Shaem] you're gonna pull everything out.

E

A

[Shaem] all right., ms. holley,, right, now,, trooper fohs, is here, in about eight minutes or so,. After a stop of four people.

A

We have no idea, their names, are still running their names, apparently. k-9 comes, did a scan, an alert.

A

Can we search the car now, in your mind?.

I

[Male attendee] come on,, ms. holley. [male attendee] come on,, ms. holley. give it up. hard to say.

A

Yes, yes. [shaem] anybody have a problem with the cops searching the car now? yeah,. I do. raise your hand. [shaem] marcos? (attendees laughing).

A

A

okay, well,, I'm going to note your objection., we'll tell your lawyer that in the future. officer mckay,, can you search that car for me, sir?.

H

[Ms. holley] putting me in a hard spot, here.

A

[Shaem], it wasn't me., it was your friend cayla and marcos who put you in a hard spot., (attendees laughing).

A

What did you, huh oh...

G

[Officer mckay], I found a bag under the front, seat, sir.

F

[Marcos], I don't know,, it's not my car.

G

[Officer mckay] got a bag. With...

G

appears to me to be about 75 grams of heroin.

G

[Shaem] heroin? heroin.

A

[Shaem] any other things in there that may be crimes, initial crimes,, who might own it? [officer mckay]. I got a...

G

[Shaem], red jacket., [officer, mckay], red sweatshirt, here,, red hooded, sweatshirt.

A

[Shaem] megan. aren't the patriots, blue and red?

A

megan,. What's that?

A

[female, attendee], arundel, yo.

G

Where do you go to school? old mill.

A

Where do you go to school? broadneck.? Where do you go to school?, a harbor student.? Where do you go to school? arundel., (attendees, laughing).

F

All right, all right.

A

Mr. adams? yes? she goes to old mill.

A

Broadneck, harbor, arundel.

A

They found 75 grams of heroin and a shirt from arundel.

F

Are you going to use this in your case?.

E

I

Well,, because the bag presumably,.

F

Would have things that only the owner would possess.

I

And given the location,, which is underneath the drivers seat,.

I

And the fact that he goes to arundel.

I

and since the bag is portable,, even though he's driving your car. [shaem] hold on,, no one said that. cause. You don't go to arundel.

M

I'm going with the arundel tee shirt's.

I

Gonna make--.

A

[Shaem] ms. holley, mr. adams, gonna hang his hat on that and say he's guilty.. It must be arundel's.

H

I'm going to disagree.

A

[Shaem] judge morrissey, is that shirt admissible as evidence.

B

I think it would be admissible as evidence.

B

[shaem] why,. Is it circumstantial, maybe?.

A

That this young man, marcos goes to arundel, bags in the car he's driving and he had it.

B

As a judge,, you have to use your common sense a lot of these times..

B

It's not so much applying the law to the facts,, it's what makes sense to you, right?, and it seems logical to me that, if he's in a car.

B

There's a bag under his seat, he's goes to arundel.

B

He's got a tee shirt that says arundel., I'm going to bet that that is his shirt., and so it is evidence that at least places him there in the car.

A

And what mr. adams is going to say to you, "ladies and gentleman of the jury".? Not you because you're biased., "ladies and gentleman of the jury, "the shirt says arundel.

A

"they went to different schools.

A

"he's driving,, it's in a bag he's sitting on.

A

"I ask you to convict that man of possession of drugs.

A

"And he had so much that he wants to sell them"..

A

That's a misdemeanor like what, five days in jail?

A

I

It's a felony with up to 20 years in jail.

A

Oh no,, my bad.

D

[Marcos], I'm 16,. I can't go to jail.

I

Wait, wait, wait.

N

Hang on, hang on.

I

Can you say that again,, nice and loud?, I'm 16,, I can't go to jail. wrong. (attendees laughing), wait, what?.

A

[Shaem], ms. holley. wait. wrong.

I

[Shaem], ms. holley., you can actually go to jail.. There's a thing--.

A

[Shaem] ms. holley,, what are you going to tell the jury about why your client,, mr. marcos, is not guilty?.

H

Because it was not his car., he had no idea of what was in the car..

H

He didn't knowingly possess anything in that car.

H

and even if he seen it,(mumbles) any of it was his.

H

thank you., (attendees laughing).

D

[Ms. holley], it's a circumstantial, at best.

H

[Shaem] at best?, [ms. holley], it's not enough beyond a reasonable doubt.. The state (mumbling).

A

[Shaem] judge morrissey,. Let's say this is a bench trial and this is not a trial in front of a jury, 12 citizens from this county.. This is a bench trial. and the evidence you have is what you see., that that man has, driving the car, he's possessing the car.

A

he's occupying the car.. He has dominion control of everything in the car.. The shirt says he goes to that school.. He goes to that school. he's sitting on all that drugs.. What's your verdict, sir? guilty. bobby, take 'em all.

G

[Marcos] what?, let's go, folks., where am I goin'? lockup.

A

Come on, come on. now, as they go, ms. holley, we're taking all of them.

A

You, okay with that?.

H

I am not, but I know that they're all gonna be taken.

H

[male, attendee], bye,, bye.

F

Ladies and gentleman,, I wanted you to hear that. (mumbling) for them.. He stole it,. He stole the car.

F

(attendees laughing).

F

(Background chatter).

A

Ladies and gentleman., in all seriousness, I want you to hear what ms. holley just said on the way. Out., you may not have heard it across the room is that, right. Now, marcos is sitting on the drugs.

A

With the drugs that have a shirt with his school mascot on it.

A

He has no idea who's in the car with megan,, cayla and jenae,, but who got locked up?.

A

(Attendees mumbling) and you know what the public defender said? that's gonna, happen.. Let's talk about. Choices. marcos drove my car.. He had no idea that there was a knife in that car.. It's a weapon.. He was (mumbling) the knife?. Where are you? trooper fohs. [fohs] yes. see,, knife., weapon,, right?

A

weapon,, it's my weapon.. He has no idea it's in my car.

A

drugs, they're in my truck,, my car.

A

But I'm not in it. marcos, is, with jenae and megan.

A

Now what? they're all charged.. I tell ya that because, you leave a party, at arundel, you get in the car with somebody from old mill, we're all cool.

A

You have no idea. What's in that car. make good choices. make good choices, right?

A

the knife in there is mine., I own the truck., I'm not even there., I'm home asleep.

A

and they're all arrested.

A

now,. Let me back up five steps. we'll get back to the lawyers..

A

Anybody have a problem with officer mckay pulling anybody out of the car? no?.

D

[Male attendee] yes.

A

Why? why? hold on,, you said yes. (mumbling), I heard you say he didn't tell them their rights., ms. holley,. What rights should they be advised of right, now?.

H

You mean their miranda rights?

H

say, "yes".. He said they weren't under arrest., so miranda wasn't given., but (mumbling).

K

Now they're arrested.

A

Now they're arrested, they're getting read them right, now.

A

right now, they're mirandized.

B

Custodial interrogation is the key word for when miranda rights, attached.

A

On the streets--.

H

That's why I was saying he was under arrest as soon as we put the handcuffs on.

I

[Mr. adams] and that's why I was saying he wasn't., because there's a thing called the terry stop,, which is a brief detention..

I

I can stop. You. police officers can actually put you down with a gun, and it's still not an arrest.. Did you hear that?.

A

That's something that happens.

A

and it's lawful., I'm not saying it's pleasant or okay.

A

trust me,. An asphalt sandwich is not fun..

A

But if cayla's reaching in this car in a dark, night, and the officer doesn't know what she's gettin'. he's going to pull her out, put her on the ground. he's going to pat her down.

A

he's gonna put her in cuffs.

I

And none of that's an arrest, yet.

A

Not arrest, no miranda.

A

A

Choices, friends, places,, times, choices.

A

They're, not bad kids., but you don't know: 'em.

A

I

And the problem is-- we're probably going to say the same thing. but here's the thing, tiffany and I.

I

ms. holley, and I can argue about that in the courtroom all day long..

I

But the thing is, at 2:00 in the morning,.

I

While you're sitting outside of annapolis mall.

I

the choice that you make determines whether or not ms. holley and I get to argue about it.

I

You guys,, I mean, look, you've got to do the right, thing.

I

Let the officer do his job..

I

Let tiffany do her job.. She does a really good job at what she does.

A

[Shaem]- and you know what's worse,- is that he's going to drive by, and snapchat.? Put you on snapchat, locked up in cuffs. (attendees laughing).

F

J

The problem is, I've saw a couple of cases.

H

That, where like, "what?" you're okay, that they're all gonna be arrested?, I don't come in until after you're arrested..

H

At that point. In time, the officer's going to charge you all constructive, possession.

H

that it's within your lunge,, your reach,, your grasp--.

A

As in cayla in the backseat,, ms. holley?.

H

Yes, they're gonna assume that you knew.

H

or should have known what was in that car with you.

H

and our arguments come way after you've been arrested and way. After you tell mom and dad.

H

Or grandma and grandpa., or your sister.

A

What about the commissioner?.

H

Way after you go to the commissioner--.

A

How about the judge who says (cross talking).

H

Call an attorney at 2:00 in the morning. trying to get you out of jail,, but you've been charged with distribution.

I

It's a felony, that means-- that's not just simple possession.. That means you're a big person in court. you're, not in district court, you're in circuit court,, trial, courtú and judge morrissey actually made a really good point.

A

Oh goodness. judge morrissey,. Will you hear a bail review for me? sure. all right.

I

How many of you guys heard about the, when he said I'm only 16?.

I

Anybody think that a 16 year old can come to an adult court? [group] yes. yes, 16 year olds, absolutely can be tried as an adult.

I

You would have,, depending on the circumstances.

I

He has a weapon, he's, got 75 grams of heroin.

I

Heroin is-- (attendees laughing).

A

Come in, come in.

A

Sit right, here. stand right, here.

A

Judge morrissey, it's now monday, morning, at 10:30.

A

Cause this happened on a friday night, and they were held over the weekend..

A

You have three individuals all charged with the same offense of possession with intent to distribute drugs. possession of drugs, and conspiracy, there, too., probably weapon as well. they're. All minors, but, they're, all charged with felonies.

A

you're gonna have a bail review.. What are you gonna do now, judge?.

B

So, the things that I'm looking at, at bail review are really come to two issues.

B

Whether theyúre a danger to the community and whether they're going to return to court.

B

so, prepared for me when they come, I'm going to have your full criminal records and all the information. at pretrial,. There's a group that will interview you and they'll prepare a report for me., and I will make a decision based on that as to whether I think you're a threat to the community.

B

or likely to show up to court. Again..

B

I'm probably going to graduate what I do.

B

From the driver of the car versus the other three people.

B

And I'm going to treat them differently. based on,, it's more likely to me, that the driver of the car, based on what we've already discussed is the person that had the drugs.

A

So, you're gonna choose that marcos wears this outfit a little bit longer than them?.

B

Probably going to be something more., I'm not necessarily saying I'm going to hold him in jail..

B

I might let him out,, but I'd put more restrictions on him as to what he can do.

B

And what he can't do when he's out, than the other three.

A

Thank you.. I like the orange on you too, girl.,.

B

Thank you., it's becoming. part of what I do is,. I would require you guys to remain in school,.

B

To attend all classes. I'd want reports weekly from your school, to make sure that you're showing up for school.

B

[shaem] drug tests?. I would also have you drug tested, randomly, or several times a week at first..

B

I could put a monitor on your ankle and have you don that.

B

But what I really want, is you guys to get back to school.

B

Cause as a judge,, I'm trying to think about,, I don't like to punish people.. I don't like to sentence people to jail., that's not fun! For me., it's an awesome, responsibility, (chuckles),.

B

It's an awesome responsibility that I take very,, very,, very seriously., and so what I really want, is. I want to alter their behavior in the future., and so how do I accomplish that with either setting of bail or with a sentence?.

B

Cause jail doesn't always mean that that's gonna make the person's behavior different..

B

There could be other things. and that's kind of the last thing I have as my options..

B

What I want them to do is become productive members of the community. like I want you all to succeed..

B

That's what I want for these guys.. I want them to succeed and I really don't want to send them to jail. If I can avoid that.

A

I'm standing behind megan because I know that megan's wearing a skirt. you may not be able to see that.. So mr. george,, my bailiff,, didn't put her in a jumpsuit..

A

That was a choice. He made. he's a gentleman, he's nice, and he's polite.

A

First was a gentleman. we're good?. He made that choice for her.. She chose a beautiful blue dress,. I like it. thank you.. He chose not to put her in a jumpsuit, unbecoming back there in front of all of them,, but let's say they're, not there.

A

bobby,. You gonna put her in a jumpsuit back there, if they're, not there? in the detention center, holding center?.

G

[Bobby] yes, she will.

A

Not fun, okay., you know, why?, one choice goes to another to another to another, to another, and you're locked up and you're wearing a jumpsuit..

A

You change your clothes in front of random people. You don't know.

A

you're in that locker room, all the time, I get that., but that's with people. Your age., not 45 year old, grown men. Like, oh, me not you..

B

Me not you, me not you., I'm old,, I remember that. garret county. (attendees, laughing) (sneezes). I've got a cold coming on..

B

It's snowing there right now, as we speak.

A

Ladies and gentleman,, I want to ask my friends to change out of their jumpsuit.. You can have a seat, megan, for me., get you out of the jumpsuit. If you don't mind.

A

cause, I don't want you to sit in that all day.

F

You wanna get out? yeah, sure., you sure? yeah., go that way.

A

Before I move on,, I think my friends right here saw it best.

A

But euro came in here and euro's what started the whole process.

A

euro's my friend, trooper fohs's partner..

A

Anybody have questions about what euro did and why euro did it? about how he knew to go in there and search or why he searched the car?

A

anybody? trooper fohs,. How did you know there was something in the car?.

E

Euro gave me (crosstalk), so he's trained on seven different odors.

E

he's trained to detect marijuana, hash,.

E

Cocaine, heroin, black tar, heroin,, ecstasy and meth.

E

Those are his only trained odors, and he's only trained to sit for those odors.

A

And sit, is his final response..

A

If this mock stop for us is not real life,.

A

In real life, and that had been my truck, it'd be a raised truck that has metal, secure,. My windows are all up., so you wouldn't go in the car right away. Would you?

A

huh, uh.? Would he still be able to alert? yeah., even in the trunk of the truck?.

E

As long as odors available he'll be able to smell it.

A

So he'd do a sweep outside,. If he alerted,, then what?.

E

If he alerted to the vehicle, then it's gonna get searched, from front to back, top to bottom.

E

anything inside of it,, anything locked inside of it, everything's, getting searched.

A

Earlier I asked you and we skipped over it real quick.. I saw him sit,, you said he alerted twice..

A

So if you alert,, the only alert you know of is sit?.

E

For me-- I mean for you. for me,, I went through a 14 week school with him, so I know his different behavior changes that to me, show that he's in odor.

E

and his trained odors, which is kinda closed up, is he starts breathing through his nose. Instead of his mouth., his tail wags a little bit faster..

E

He does different things. different things that I can read as his handler, for now, six years.

E

That I'm able to detect before we get the final response,.

E

Which is a sit. (ms., endzel speaking).

E

No, actually, joe spencer's favorite,.

E

We'll call it the beef stew, theory.

E

You guys go home and your mom's cooking beef, stew, right?.

E

You guys smell beef stew.. Well, the dog is able to smell the broth,.

E

The beef,, the carrots,, the celery,, whatever else goes into a beef stew.

E

they're able to smell it all separate., that's what's great about a dog's nose is they can throw out odors they don't need.

E

for example, air, fresheners,, coffee, grounds,, dryer, sheets.,.

E

[Shaem], how about cat urine?, I heard of that one.. Any overwhelming odor is going to be easier for the dog to throw out cause. He knows he doesn't need it anymore..

E

So overwhelming,.

A

[Shaem], I heard a case the other day,. They had it in tupperware, in a plastic bag, in a suitcase in the trunk.. As long as the odors available,.

E

The dog will be able to detect it. [shaem] how about in a locker at school? sure.. It might not be that exact locker,.

A

Because there's holes in 'em. [shaem], I haven't heard a "duh" in a long time. (Laughing).

A

it wasn't just a duh, (mumbling), so hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. so, the moral of the story is, her weed's, not in her locker.

A

A

So we search over her locker clearly.

A

Yeah, they're like, oh., you guys, are just (mumbling).

A

A

I would also tell you that we did this,- it's not our first time,, but we're very keen and aware that,. I had marcos sitting right here and I stood right in front of marcos for a reason.

A

and put the seats right there, jenae, for a reason., because my bosses here and my other bosses here,.

A

And if I let trooper fohs walk over here, and that dog sat right here next to this young man., first off, he'd hate me. he'd lose his job, I'd lose my job.

A

he's be yelling at me. he'd be,. Where is the chief? he'd put me in jail.? It's a whole lot of mess., so the dog's over here for a reason. but trust, trust that if euro walked down here.

A

And walked up here and even,, not saying you are, my man., but if my man had a joint in his pocket, euro's gonna, go that way.

A

he's going to try and sit that way. that nose, not just good, but it's crazy, good.

A

I tell ya that because my friend here, said, "duh".

A

yes, through metal. yes, through a trunk. yes, through cat urine-soaked rags, in the trunk of a car, in a bag. yes, that good. that good, trooper?.

E

Yes., as long as the odor is available,, the dog will be able to detect it.

A

I'm sorry, ms. holley,. What did you say??

A

He had previously (mumbling). oh,. So even if you're at the party and you smoke the blunt at the party. you get in the car and then go. you're in the car backseat...

D

[Attendee] wait,, are you allowed (mumbling).

A

Hold up, hold up, hold up.

A

one,, two,, thee, four,.

A

Five, six, about six here, about six in.

A

we're going to keep eyes on 'em., maybe we'll go to arundel for just a class trip.

F

A

Don't take that,, don't take that,, don't take that..

A

I love broadneck., I'm from broadneck.

D

(Background chatter).

A

O

And guys just keep in mind, too., they complied and did a really good job, with cooperating with the officers.. Now, if you don't cooperate,, ms. holley kind of hinted at this., she doesn't come in and she can't help you until later..

O

If you think you're being arrested, unlawfully,.

O

You don't think this is fair, whatever, arguing with the officer,, not complying, you're, just gonna pick up more charges., there's failure to obey,, there's resisting arrest.

O

and every single one of those carries a period of incarceration., so just make sure that,. If you are stopped,, follow the orders of the officer.

O

do what they tell you to do and then talk to your lawyer about it later.

O

right then,. You tell the officer that you're not going to do it. that it's not fair.. I saw something on the internet that says, "you can't do this to me".. That's not going to help you at all.

M

The best thing you can do is comply, comply, comply.

O

Then ms. holley comes in later and then she'll help you out.

A

Take it, take it-- I'll, probably (mumbling)., take it a step, further.

A

judge morrissey said earlier, and he does it all. The time.

A

Tells officer mckay and trooper fohs that, "that was bad..

A

"That was not a good stop.. "That was an illegal search".. That's his job,! Let him help you., but when you're stopped, in the first 10 seconds.

A

the first 10 minutes that your stopped. a please and a thank you, or yes, sir, no ma'am, goes a long way., but doing this, got you on video, punk.

A

Got you., I ain't, giving you jack, punk.

A

Right there,, the first 10 seconds,. He has discretion. To cite you or not cite you.

A

arrest you or not, arrest, you.

A

That's a choice: he gets to make.. Give him the chance to make a good choice cause this saying, "I got you on video, punk"., maybe your lawful right,, but he says,.

A

"Hmm, jail or no jail. "arrest, or no arrest. "ticket or no ticket.". What's he gonna do? [attendees], take you to jail. yeah, he's gonna,. If he has a lawful right and a reason, he's going to. so,, let's make good choices.

O

And keep in mind that that's going to be in the report that I see when I'm actually in court with it..

O

So I mean,, if I have a case where it's a traffic stop,.

O

And the person's very polite and cooperative.

O

versus someone who's a jerk to the officer., which one do you think is going to get a lesser sentence?.

O

I'm going to take all of that into account. and the officers do take very good notes when someone's, not cooperative and when someone does mouth off.

M

And is doing all of those things.

O

And just the last thing, I wanted to bring up.

O

as far as constructive possession, guys,. That's not just cars.. That's parties,! That's anywhere! You're at. so be very, very aware..

O

If you're in a room with a bunch of people and someone has cds or something they're, not supposed to.,.

O

The cops come in,, everyone can be charged.

O

So just be very, very aware.

A

Don't stop there. hold on one second., don't stop there,, ms. endzel. b cause even having a party with some beer,, ms. chester.

A

Isn't it true that alcohol under 21 is still an infraction and we cannot expunge it?.

A

She said yes. so listen to me., that's a party with beer and liquor and wine, whatever it may. Be. you get excited,, it's a fine,, a civil infraction,, that's true., but it's on your record forever.

A

and forever.. You can't expunge it.. So when you applying to schools, (mumbling) the university of maryland and they go to pick.

A

me,, clean record., her. party girl,, just beer and wine.

A

Just beer and wine, judge. party girl or me,, who are they picking?

A

clean,, not her. financial, aid., financial, aid., financial aid, scholarships for athletes.

A

Clean, party girl. rock star lacrosse player. field, hockey, swimmer,, whatever it is., clean, low, level,. Third string,.

A

A

A

rock star, athlete,, slow old, dude,.

A

I'm going, I'm going.

O

It's true, and even with law school,, they ask that.

A

Have you ever been arrested?? Have you ever been in contact with the police?.

O

It'll affect you throughout your entire life.

O

So just make sure that you're cognizant of everything.

O

Whenever you go to parties., whenever you're around people, you don't know., it can affect you for the rest of your lives.

O

so,. As judge spencer--.

I

Judge,, can I mention one piece that you had out: before?: it's not just, by the way,, the police officer, problem.

I

He's our social media king over here,, right?.

F

[Shaem] yeah,, my man chris. his social media, king, too,, has got your party on video.

I

Your snapchat, instagram and shoot, upload into something.

I

And it's not just the police problem.

M

That you guys have got to worry about with that.

F

Because college admissions are now asking for.

I

All of your social media, handles.

I

They're gonna look.

M

Everyone of you guys knows now that.

I

We can probably point to a dozen examples in the last six or eight months of coaches who are pulling scholarships because of what you're posting on social media., and so, if you're, that two time state wrestling champ, who's posting a beer bong on his social media.

I

Which just cost him $200,000 in scholarship, money.

I

Like real money,, not going to the store, money.

I

200k,, that's what it costs to go to school.!

I

That's legit.!.

N

[Shaem], you have a question? no,, but if businesses see that video, too,.

N

They're, probably going to be like, "oh no. "I, don't want to hire these people".

I

Not going to get a job are they? [mr., adams] no,. They look at that, too.

O

And we're also looking at social media..

O

So if you're charged, we're going through all of that, too.

M

So be very, very cognizant about what you're posting.

O

I had a theft yesterday, where we tied this guy.

O

To several thefts at sunglasses hut., because he posted pictures in the sunglasses and in the same clothes he was wearing in the store.

I

So when marcos has a picture of him at the arundel varsity baseball game, with his arundel baseball shirt, on, that he's stylin'.

E

On the cell phone that we seized.

I

Yeah,, that's the one right there.

A

Before we do a change, people, before we go,, does anyone have questions they want to ask the officers before they get out of here?? They have to go back to work. the ma'am in the far right.

O

[Female attendee], so what is the youngest age.

N

You can get tried as an adult?.

F

Ah, great question: because,: how old are you?.

I

[Female attendee] I'm 16. charged., (everyone laughing). It depends at first. there's two things. one,. It depends on what the charge is.

I

so,. There are certain felonies that if you are 16,.

I

You are automatically an adult.

I

and then, if you're 14 to 16,, you can be put back down to the juvenile court..

I

However, with almost any felony,.

I

We as prosecutors, can ask a judge to review certain factors.

I

Your size,, your age,, your maturity,, your independence, the nature of the crime and ask for somebody to be treated as an adult..

I

The youngest person I have treated as an adult was 13 years and 11 months, and he's in jail for 85 years..

F

(Everyone vocalizing) [male attendee]. What did he do?.

A

A crime, yes sir?, a big crime., (everyone laughing).

E

[Male attendee], I wanted to ask the officer,. I forgot your last name.

D

E

[Male attendee], have you ever dealt with one of those people who say that they're, like free citizen and just don't, comply with american law?.

G

Quite a few times.

B

[Shaem] judge morrissey, have you? yes, many times.. This happens in court. a lot of times, they'll come up and they'll put a flag up.

B

or they won't even recognize their name, cause. They claim that their names copyrighted.

B

it's nonsense..

B

I get a lot of correspondence that way, too.

B

and they spend an extreme amount of money on postage and stamping.

B

But it really is wesley snipes,, the actor.

B

Went to jail based on that because he didn't pay his taxes.

B

because he thought he wasn't. A natural citizen of the united states.

B

The best I can say, is,, it's nonsense., it's going to get you in trouble.

B

It's funny in a way,, but it's disruptive to the court. Proceedings. and people like that tend to get, go out that door rather than back out that door,, because they're not complying with the court.

B

remember, in court,. I have the power to look over at bobby and say,. I need this person detained because they're causing a disruption.

B

they're, creating contempt of court.. I want you to take them. and I can incarcerate the person for any period of time that I find appropriate as long as it's no cruel and unusual punishment.

B

It's pretty awesome power when you think about it.

G

Just to go back on your question.

G

sunday,, easter sunday,, I had an experience.

G

I pulled one over easter sunday evening.

G

and it was a gentleman who was born in 1957.

G

Who was claiming to be a sovereign citizen.? I pulled him over for a taillight out..

G

I walked up to his truck.. He rolled his window down that much.

G

He didn't say a single word.. All he did was took. His papers, threw 'em out the window, on the ground.

G

Claimed he was a sovereign citizen. and I had to deal with that.. I initially pulled him over for a taillight out and it went a lot higher than it should have been.

G

He initially could've gotten a warning..

G

He ended up leaving,, getting a few citations.

A

[Shaem] choices, choices, ladies and gentleman, choices.

A

ma'am,, you had a question?.

O

[Female attendee] yeah,, I'm just wondering do you have to have a reason to give them.

O

For the dog to search a car.

N

Like a normal traffic, stop.

F

Do you just let the dog go through or do you have to have--.

A

[Shaem], the answer is yes and no.

A

officer. Mckay pulled over the car here.

A

You had a weapon there.

A

if it's five minutes, dogs in the neighborhood,. Why not?.

A

You, okay with that,, ms. holley?.

H

[Ms. holley], you always put me in terrible positions.

I

It's not in her nature to agree.

A

[Shaem] she's, a public, defender, she's, got to say yes.

A

the answer is,. If officer mckay calls trooper fohs over and he can be here in a reasonable amount of time for him to complete that traffic stop, the law says it's fine. yep,, it's fine., it's fine., but he has to do that. Traffic stop and own that traffic stop. if, for example,. It was just marcos in there, and marcos had a license.

A

and he wrote him. A ticket, gave it to him, and then the trooper got there. judge. Morrissey would probably throw that case. Out, saying that's too long..

A

That's an unreasonable stop, and that's a new arrest., but in the-- [female attendee], (mumbling) level of reasoning, (mumbling).

I

The trooper can walk through.. He can walk through with his dog. so, one of the ones we have recently, the trooper's outside of the stadiums.

I

just walking the dog in the middle of the stadium., picking up any odor that occurs.

I

There's no protection.

H

It deals with your expectation of privacy and what constitutional guarantees you have.

A

As long as the dog--.

H

They're gonna do it whenever they want to, and then it's a question. Of--.

A

[Shaem], you have no privacy expectation on the road out there. in your car, inside, absolutely.

A

dog are going outside your car,. If he alerts,, then they're gonna get in your car.

A

In real life,, (mumbles) don't be outside of the car.

A

He would not come to your home and do that. he'd go get a warrant for that, if he wanted to.

I

We have a couple of questions.

N

[Shaem] yes, ma'am? so,, going back to the demonstration that we had.

N

Since either of them didn't have a license or whatever,.

N

But especially the driver didn't have his license,, but the car wasn't his.. Could the criminals be charged because he allowed--.

A

[Shaem], it's my car,, let's ask., so it's my car, officer mckay, and you pull them. Over.

A

trooper fohs, you're on alert,, you gonna charge me?.

G

If it's your car sir, and he had a substantial.

G

Amount of drugs, marijuana, everything else.

G

Then not only are you gonna get charged,, but I'm gonna write a search and seizure warrant. and then come to your house and search your house, and everything else. That's associated with your vehicle., my house?

G

yes, sir,, your house., my house? yes., my whole house?, your whole house.

A

[Shaem], ms. holley,, can you get to my house?? We're gonna have a search warrant party over there, apparently. totally.

I

[Shaem] the answer: is, they're gonna get a warrant, they're gonna-- and they're gonna, seize the car and try to take the car from him. Too.

A

[Shaem] car's gone.

H

The car's gonna be on the lot. (mumbling) charged and convicted judge, spencer., probably not,, unless they can prove he knew at the time. What was in there, and he had some tie to it., but they could go search his house, and they could forfeit (mumbling) just said,.

H

Try to seize it and forfeit it., he could lose his car because it's tied to drug activity.

H

So there could be other consequences besides just getting charged criminally.

A

[Shaem], seeing the lectures I make. dear chief judge morrissey., how are you, sir? yes,, it's 2:00 am., I'm sorry, judge. yes, chief,, I'm arrested.

A

yes, chief,. It was a felony.

A

why,, chief? well, see,, I lent some 16 year old, my car, cause he wanted to go to the mall, and he got arrested.

A

drugs, 75 grams., fired?, yes,, chief, I'll turn. My robe and gavel. In.

A

I don't know those kids,, but I gave them my car for no reason.. I didn't know that dude. [male attendee] so,. Why did you let me borrow it then? [shaem], because you asked., I'm a nice guy.

I

(Laughing), do you have a question?? We have one over here. judge.

A

[Shaem] where? yes, ma'am? so,. Do you know that (mumbling) part of the (mumbling),.

O

Because they were accessories?.

I

No, they were part of the illegal possession.

I

so,. You heard ms. holly say a term called constructive possession.

I

just because it's not in your hand, doesn't mean under the eyes of the law,. You don't possess it. so, as long as it's within, and she said, reach,, lunge, or grasp.

I

so,. I think with one of them--.

A

Cayla was sitting there,, you saw cayla reach, right?.

I

She actually proved what's possession., that's what constructive, possession's all about.

I

and it's the same thing if you're standing here., so you're standing here, and you drop your whatever.

I

Little baggy of 75 grams of heroin right here in the tree stump behind you.

I

It's not actually in your hand,, but you are possessing that.

A

And I'm talking to him, so so am I.

B

Yeah, oh, that sucks. the argument,, usually in the car,, you guys are all gonna, be friends, right?, you usually,, typically don't drive around with people, you don't know., they're gonna, be your friends, and if one of your friends has weed on them.

B

And you come into court and say, "I had no idea. He had drugs on him.

B

"Yeah, he's my best friend".: do you think I'm gonna believe that?

B

again, common sense, right?, the judge uses common sense in there, and I'm gonna be like,.

B

I knew everything my best friends were doing..

B

We were all part of it, right?

B

so,, I'm gonna know whether he's holding or not, right?.

B

You gotta be careful about that, because you may not be doing it,.

B

But you know your best friend's doing it.

B

and yet you're gonna go to jail as equally as he's gonna go to jail.

A

Before we move on,, the dogs have to go.. So do the officers. anymore questions for the officer or the dogs? yes, ma'am?.

N

[Female questioner] was there ever a situation where someone tried to take the dog?.

A

Hold on, that dog is sworn, first off., that dog is a sworn officer.

E

That would be a very bad day for somebody.

A

That would be a bad day for a bad person., because a,, the dog has teeth that I don't want in my leg. and b,. That's an assault on an officer. and c,. That's his partner.

A

and d, his roommate, and his fourth child.

E

That's gonna be a bad day for somebody. [female questioner], but has anyone tried to? no. no.

D

Officer mckay,, I got something for you. here you go.

A

Woo, he found it, now he's been arrested, charged, and bailed out.

F

Awesome, more charges.

A

All right,, ladies and gentlemen,, I'm a change gears,, but before we do that,, I want to send-- one more., one more question., [female questioner], how many dogs can (mumbles) have?.

E

At a scene? (female attendee, mumbling).

E

[shaem] tell her., I mean, that all depends on what we're doing. like,. If we're doing a search warrant of a house,.

E

Sometimes we've had two dogs..

E

I also carry a bomb dog,. So when we work the stadiums,.

E

We'll have six to eight dogs..

E

It all depends on what we're doing., if we're tracking a felony suspect, we'll have two, three,, maybe even four dogs., some bloodhounds,, some patrol dogs, and we'll be tracking for miles and miles and miles.

A

Officer mckay, trooper fohs,. Thank you both very much.

A

euro,. Thank you very much., (attendees applauding) yes, sir?.

D

Go ahead, he's right, there.

D

(Mumbling) robinwood,, you said, was a high crime area.. You can use that for suspicion,. So if I was like standing--.

G

I could use that just as a reason to conduct an investigative stop.

G

so,. If I was standing at the 24 mart, and just standing outside just hanging. Out, could you-- walk to you and say, "what. Are you doing?"? I can come over and I can initiate a conversation with you., try and determine what you're doing.

G

what you're up to, and I can then conduct a field interview.

B

Did everybody hear that?

B

he asked whether,? Can you say it to me again?

B

being in a high crime, neighborhood gives you any special rights..

B

Did you ask the question about being in a high crime neighborhood?.

I

And then he asked,, what? If he's just standing outside the royal farms or whatever.

I

Can an officer come up and talk to him?.

B

I had a case a couple years ago, where there were four individuals walking down a sidewalk in a high crime neighborhood.

B

and they had handkerchiefs out of their back,, indicating they were gang, members, typically., showing their colors and three of them. Ran.

B

Well, flight gives the officers probable cause to believe that some criminal activity., but the fourth guy just stood there..

B

They came over and searched him, and he had a knife on him,, but he didn't run..

B

He didn't do anything, and so the issue to me was,.

B

Is the fact that he's in a high crime neighborhood doing nothing., but three of his friends ran when the police came.?

B

Is he guilty of having that weapon on him or not?.

B

And I found "not guilty".

B

arguably,. Some judges would have found him guilty., but I find that the constitution doesn't work differently in a high crime neighborhood, than it does in a low crime. Neighborhood., it works the same everywhere. You are..

B

You have to give some indication of criminal activity before the officer can come over and stop you and frisk you.

B

Those are the arguments that we hear in court.. Madam public defender will make that argument very strongly.

B

and mr. adams will make that argument in the opposite direction.. We have to try to find that balance as a judge somewhere,, and sometimes it can really go either way.

B

and I find myself using the standards that we have, beyond a reasonable doubt.

B

in my mind,. That means I gotta be really confident that I'm making the right decision.

B

and I've sat there sometimes, when it comes time for me to give a verdict, and I'm struggling to figure out which way I'm gonna do.

B

And that makes it easy for me,, because then they haven't proved beyond a reasonable doubt to me., and I know they haven't, cause. I can't quite make the decision.

A

[Shaem] officer mckay,, thank you very much,, sir.

F

Appreciate it, thank you.. It's always great. Seeing you. (attendees applauding).

A

We're gonna change gears, momentarily., we're gonna, dim the lights,, and I'm gonna show you a video.. It's a video of someone who's much like you.

A

a high school kid, around this time,.

A

Spring actually, and something tragic, happened.

A

This is not something that youtube's made up..

A

This is a real life video., a real life story that I find to be impactful, and I'd like you to watch it., take a look for me,, please.

A

I always love sitting in the back of the room, standing in the back of the room. As you all watch the video. I've seen the video.

A

seen it a few times now..

A

I always enjoy sitting in the back of the room because I like to see who it impacts. Most.

A

and I always have a hunch who it's gonna be., when it's parents and students, here, parents, cry first.

A

Dr. arlotto allows me to do this program with the school board.. I had great relationships with people, like mr. hood.

A

Dr. mann is a big advocate of this program, she's, an assistant superintendent,. Mr. crane,, I saw you wouldn't even look at it, man. you're, like me..

A

I never met mr. crane,. I knew it was coming..

A

I like to see the impact of this video., because if it's not fresh,, if it doesn't touch somebody., then I'm doing my job wrong and I failed.

A

I like to watch the biggest, baddest dudes in the room who grin at me and give me that mug face whole time in the program.

A

You know who you are,, because I'm all, "look at you now",, but you know who you are.. I love watching. You look away, when someone's snot slips out their nose.

A

A

That's everyday. no,, not everyday for me.

A

I don't understand the science,, I'm not the smartest dude in the room,. I recognize that.

A

So, my opinion,, when you're part of a team,.

A

You know when you're weak.

A

You get somebody who has the knowledge,, the skillset.

A

No matter what sport you're playing., what activity you're taking part in. education,, whatever you're doing., if you're weak in that area,, get somebody to help. You do it.

A

Made a bad choice. get somebody that can help you get out of it..

A

I made a bad choice cause I like that video,, but I don't understand all of it., so I made a better choice., so I made it right,. I got new friends.

A

ashley george is my friend, she's a nurse., I'm a lawyer. she's, a nurse. she's smart,, I'm just a guy who likes to talk a lot., but she understands the science.

A

but more important than science,. What was in the video that you may not understand? What's going on. or more importantly,, she sees everyday,.

A

People like sean and rob.

A

This is my friend, ashley. she's gonna. Tell you a little bit about this video you saw, her everyday life and what she sees, every single day.

A

Not grown folks who are old like me, and judge morrissey, people like you.

A

J

Hey, good morning., thanks for having me, my name is ashley..

J

I'm a trauma nurse at johns hopkins hospital, in baltimore, in the emergency department.

J

Thank goodness, I only do adults., but we do see adults like sean and robbie, because we take everybody, 15 and older.

J

If you have any questions, please,, that's what I'm here for., please raise your hand and let me know. otherwise,, I'm just gonna try to explain to you some of the things that maybe you didn't pick up, if you're not familiar with what happened..

J

The first thing is that what they don't tell you is. There were three kids in the car that day.

J

there was a female.. She was ejected from the car and she died pretty instantly.

J

Or very soon, at the site of the accident from her injuries.

J

Robbie,, the second boy that you saw,, he will, he will never get better from that.

J

But what they were trying to do, is,.

J

Your muscles have memory, and so,.

J

If you use that muscle like they picked his hand up, and they were trying to make him brush his teeth..

J

Your muscles have memories, and so, by utilizing that same muscle,, they were trying to help him regain some function.

J

He'll never breathe on his own,. He had a tube in his neck,, which is called a trach.

J

that trach had a ventilator connected to it,.

J

And that was breathing for him..

J

You could see, if you saw,, both sean and robbie,.

J

Their heads were kind of misshapen..

J

They both had what's called a skull. Flap removed.

J

It allows the brain to swell so that it doesn't get crushed by the skull..

J

The brain can swell and then take time to heal back down.

J

So they remove part of your skull, and then close it back up.

J

To give your brain time to heal., because when your brain gets traumatized,.

J

Your brain gets injured, like that., it swells up when it's injured, and if your skull is on there,, it causes damage to the brain.

J

The injuries that probably happened to these boys, and it can happen in a lot of car accidents.

J

Is you're driving.

J

you slam on the brakes or you hit something.

J

and your brain inside your skull, bangs forward on the front of your skull.

J

bangs backwards on the back of your skull and swells and gets injured like that.

J

so,. Both boys did have significant brain injury.

J

Sean,, the first boy that you saw,, he had several tubes going everywhere.

J

in both sides of his nose and into his mouth.

J

The one tube in the one side of his nose was breathing for him.. It was a tube going all the way down into his lungs.

J

and that tube was breathing for him..

J

He had one tube going into his mouth., which was probably to suck up all the secretions in his stomach. so that they didn't go into his lungs if he coughed or by gravity,, came back up.

J

He did have significant damage, bandages, blood,. The skull was removed from the front of his head., which tells me that's probably where his brain was swelling..

J

And like the video said,, they were maybe smoking. Some weed,.

J

But they just ran a stop sign. and maybe a second sooner or a second later,.

J

It might not have happened., but it did,, because that was just the timing.

J

and because of that, one girl, died.

J

Sean,, they took off the ventilator,, they removed life support, and he died.

J

and then robbie is still alive,, but he's no more functional than that?.

A

[Shaem] paraplegic.

J

Yeah, he'll never be independent, again.

J

Does anybody have any questions about what they saw?

J

yeah? [female attendee]? When was this?.

A

About six, seven years, ago.

A

It wasn't in mark county,, but it was in maryland., baltimore, county., rob and sean and the young lady that.

A

Ms. george told you about,, she passed, were all high school students.. They were out on a joy ride.. You heard the dad say they were on a joy, ride.

A

Skipping class., let's be honest,, let's keep it real,. We all skip class.

A

I skipped class. not going to skip these classes, okay,, but we skip class,. I get that., don't skip the class you're in now., I understand that,, but they skipped class.

A

left school. left school with four friends.

A

left school, and now there are only two friends.

A

And of the two, sean's still a paraplegic.

A

A little bit of weed,, that's all it does.

A

ashley told me weed,, I say weed,, we say marijuana.

A

But tell the science.

A

it doesn't make our reaction. Great, right?.

J

Right. so, there's a lot of controversy about.

J

Legalizing marijuana right, now., but the fact is, you get behind the wheel,.

J

It slows your reaction time down so much that if you were driving, and you were in the same situation, but you weren't high,, you might be able to stop in time., but once you're under the influence,, your reaction time is slow and you just can't stop in time.

J

So that could have been what happened, or they just missed, the stop sign.

A

Not a myth,, it's factual, and science says it.. I heard you whisper in my ear over here, dude.. Don't let me drug test you., it's not a myth,. It's factual.

A

But,, let's be honest,, I don't care how many of you drive.

A

None of you are as good a driver as me.

A

by definition,. I've been doing it a lot longer than you have., I'm not a good driver as bobby george.

A

bobby george, been driving longer than me. and he's been trained, professionally.

A

cause he's an officer and he had to go through defensive driving and then the pursuit driving. things of that nature,, so obviously by definition, he's better than me., but don't get it twisted, that one joint slows your time. Down.

A

Your reaction time down.

A

and if you're an athlete,, you see me looking at you,.

A

Y'all know I'm looking at you. if you're an athlete,, don't think, "I'm in great shape".

A

I used to be in shape.

A

If you're a student,, don't think, "well, I got straight a's,, no big deal"..

A

Let's keep it real.. Let's say you have less than 10 grams of marijuana. civil citation,, but you smoke weed and you drive?.

A

That's still a crime. you're still going to jail for a year,, a $1000 fine.

A

But who cares about that??

A

Who cares about that? the most important thing,? Mr. crane,?

A

Do you have kids? [crane]? I do.

C

I have an 18 year old son, and a 16 year, old, (mumbling).

A

Yeah, I have one of them, a 16 year, old.

A

And mr. crane,, you and I have something in common.

A

We're sons and we have sons, children.

A

And I'll tell you,, I made a lot of mistakes in my life..

A

I make them every single day of my life.. I make them sit in there as a judge, and I get off, and I'm mad at myself..

A

I fail a lot of things that I do with my life.

A

I failed at everything in my life, so far, frankly,, except for one thing., I'm still a work in progress with my kids..

A

I'm gonna keep working at it,, but I failed as a father.

A

Somehow my son's pissed off at me., my daughter's upset with me., I failed as a son,, a husband,, a brother.

A

And I failed as a son, most importantly, and I'll tell you. This is why., because mr. crane and I, we're dads., but the worst thing we can do as sons, cause he's a son of somebody, make our mothers cry.

A

Ashley's here today,, I don't know where her brother is.

A

Ashley's dad's here, today, ashley's, mom, sometimes comes., my dad sometimes comes, and my dad and her mom, both cry.

A

I've seen adults cry in here.. The worst thing, we're gonna, do,, son or daughter,, is make your mother cry..

A

I promise you that,. I promise you that.

A

You can let them down,. You can make that right., you can anger them,. You can make that right..

A

You can upset them,. You can make that right.

A

When you see ashley, and she does all she can do in the er to save your life., she does her god's best to save your life, and she cannot do that, and you're dead..

A

You can't make that right.

A

You can't make that right..

A

I want you to have a good time. soon. You're gonna be juniors and seniors. you're gonna party for your senior prom, or party for the junior prom. or just party, because you want to party..

A

Maybe y'all win a baseball championship..

A

Invite me to the game. If you go.

A

you're gonna celebrate at the party. If you win a big game., I don't know that, but make good choices.

A

Cause if you're seeing ashley,.

A

You made a horrible decision,.

A

And you made it worse by doing whatever it is that got to where she is. and you're, laying down, and ashley's gonna spend some of her time brushing yo teeth.

A

Any questions about the science or what was going on with sean and rob,. You want to ask ashley?.

A

Did you still want to, okay. right there one. yeah. yes, sir. [attendee], so they only cut part of the skull (mumbling).

J

No, I mean, they want to leave protection for your brain,, so they only take,. It's maybe that big.

J

They only take that much to give it room to swell,, but they want to leave protection.

E

(Attendee mumbling).

J

The whole,, the whole brain swells, yeah., but different parts of your brain control, different things., the front part of your brain- is doing all of your judgment.

J

All of your thinking., the middle part, does all of your movements and your senses and your breathing. all that stuff's important.

A

[Shaem] ashley, tell me about the science of the cerebral cortex when it's at its maximum.

A

Capacity, growth or final formulation,, how old are you?, bless, you,, jeremy.

J

In your mid 20's,, 25, 26.

A

And what does that control?? What does that do?.

J

Your judgment,, your personality,, all that stuff is not fully formed until you're in your mid 20's.

I

Did you hear that?.

A

25, when your brain is fully formed.

A

To make good decisions.

A

I'm an old man. I've been with my wife since I was 17 years old., so I told her for the first 17 to 25, 26 (mumbles)., all those bad choices. I made,, I wasn't ready yet., I wasn't grown, right?.

A

I wasn't grown.

A

the problem was, when I got 25 and older and now 45.

A

she's still married to me, surprisingly.

A

I tell you this because,, I'm a tell you. It's gonna be okay to make a mistake, because you're not ready, yet. you're, not fully grown yet..

A

Your brain's aren't developed fully yet. ashley, just told you that., it's okay, to make a bad choice., make it right.

A

and own it., because you're going to,, it's okay,, it's science., but don't make it worse, right?, don't make it worse for me., yes,, sir?.

D

(Attendee speaking).

A

Yes, in this case, sean and rob's decisions were impaired by the marijuana.

A

(attendee speaking).

A

My brain will never big, as probably everybody in this room right here., I'm not that smart, I get that., but it's about choices, and at their age, sean and rob's age,. Their choices were impaired by a,, some marijuana.

A

and b,, because their brain's not fully developed.

A

so,. I would love for you, when you make a bad choice,, make it right.

L

[Attendee] (mumbling) mean by, "you, make a bad choice,, make it right?.

A

Yes., you know how you make it right?. Let's say you're hanging out at a party and your friend made a mistake, and you're where you shouldn't be. call your mom, call your dad, call a friend., get a ride,, don't make it worse for me.

A

your friend,, you don't know the person who you say is a friend.. You don't know who he is or she is. don't go with. Them, don't get in the car for me.

A

Before ashley sits down, anymore, questions for ashley?.

O

[Attendee] ashley. yeah? [female questioner]. Have you seen any cases where marijuana is laced with something?.

J

Yeah. so, actually,. I just heard about the very first case of somebody dying from marijuana laced with fentanyl.

I

[Adams] we've had two in ann arundel, county., broadneck! right?, that's you guys? [attendees], yeah. yeah,. You guys have one of them, and the other one's a 19 year old,.

I

I can't remember where the other one is., both of them fentanyl-laced marijuana.,.

A

[Shaem] mr. adams,, my dealer would not lace my weed with fentanyl. [adams]. Yes, he would.. No, he wouldn't.. Yes, he would. he's a good dude,. I know him.

I

[Adams] no,, he would. it's about money,, it's not about whether they like you,, judge spencer.

A

[Shaem], I get a good score from that dude., and can you tell if it's laced with fentanyl?.

O

No, not at all. how small is the (mumbles)?.

J

I mean, powder.

I

Hey, guys,: do me a favor, everybody hold out your hand for a second.

I

I want you to look and put eight grains of sugar in your hand..

I

Eight grains of sand, can y'all. Imagine that?.

I

That's enough to stop my heart.

F

That's enough fentanyl to stop my heart.

J

There's this stuff called carfentanil,.

I

Have you heard about that? (audience agreeing).

J

It's an elephant tranquilizer.

I

Put it down to one grain of sand., how many of you all are seeing that in your weed?.

A

Anybody seeing that? and how many of you guys-- [shaem] hold on, hold on, hold on.. You saw that in your weed? (laughing).

I

How many of you guys want some weed head on a corner.

I

Mixing up eight grains of sugar into whatever.

I

It is that you're gonna put into your body? who's, gonna trust that guy?

I

fentanyl is what anesthesiologists use to put you to sleep.

I

Before a doctor cuts your body open.

I

That's how powerful it is, before they cut your body open.

I

and when they do that, you've got, the electrodes on your body. there's a thing called a crash. Cart that keeps you alive in.

I

Case your heart goes into cardiac arrest., there's tubes and stuff. there's a thing that goes down, you're intubated, so it can help you breathe., that's how fentanyl is used..

I

It's used by a doctor with four years of college, four years of med school, two years of working,.

I

Before they give it out on their own.

J

Five, five years of working before.

I

They give it on their own. oh,, five,, sorry. see,. That's why we have ashley there.

D

It was just a comment, first of all, fentanyl is expensive,, so the people who are lacing, wait,, wait, wait.

I

Wrong. wait, wait, wait. fentanyl,, it costs 1/10th--.

J

Right, now,, it's cheaper than heroin.

I

1/10Th the amount of heroin,, a $30,000.

I

Volume of heroin costs $3,000 of fentanyl.

D

But that's because of dosage and how it affects you,, like a lower dosage of fentanyl, will affect you more than a lot of heroin.

A

Can you call justin back, please?.

D

D

people who are lacing the weed with fentanyl,.

D

I'm sure that the users who they're selling to know.

D

Because I don't think they're-- no. no.

I

That would be wrong number two.

J

Let me tell you about memorial day, two years, ago.

J

Memorial day, two years, ago,, maybe nine, 10:00 o'clock in the morning., we get our first overdose., they come in, and we give them narcan,, which is the antidote to heroin or to narcotics, same as pills..

J

The second one comes in, couple of minutes: later,, the third one comes in. and finally, we said, what is going on?

J

and the first guy that overdosed, he said,.

J

"Well, the dealer that I always go: to, "he's, giving away a memorial day, taster".

J

Is what they call it.? They give you a little dose, a taster.

J

well,, guess what?, all those tasters that he gave away from free, to all of these people, they all overdosed., and they had no idea that there was fentanyl in it.

I

I will agree with you that some people know.

I

When a dealer has something hot, like that.,.

I

That there are users that will flock to that cause. They know that is the highest edge that they can get on their high.

I

and they're willing to play russian roulette with it.

I

but,. I believe the broadneck student, it was passed to him.

I

He did not choose to put himself down--.

A

Is that a risk you want to take? [ashley] also--, I'm asking the question, hold on, ashley., I'm asking you,. Is that a risk you want to take?

A

hypothetically,? Is that a risk that you think your friends should take?

A

I

And then, understanding that you.

I

Don't even know how well it's mixed., it's not like. Somebody takes whatever quantity of fentanyl that they're cutting into the stuff that they're pushing on the street, and it cuts in equally so that the pill that you get,.

I

Has the same concentration as the pill that marco gets.

A

By that,, I guarantee what he's trying to say is,, that student who's selling that fentanyl-laced marijuana got a d in chemistry.

I

[Adams] didn't even make it to chemistry.

A

He didn't even pass 9th grade biology.

A

or she, and she's selling the drugs to your students,, your peers,, your school.

I

Look, I get the rationale, you're trying to argue rationally.

I

You guys, just listen to me for one second on this., you guys are trying to think rationally., which is great, you're students, you're, going through this logically..

I

What we're talking about isn't logical.

I

Dude pushing stuff on the street,, it's not logical..

I

You could sit here with a great rational,, debatable argument.

I

That you, as a student, should come up with.

I

we're talking about the real life consequences of some fool, who doesn't care, whether you live or die..

I

He doesn't care whether it's mixed properly.

I

We deal with that fallout., your mom and dad, when they bury you, deal with that fallout.

I

so,. I think it's great that you can academically confront me with some concept.

I

About whether or not a kid knows or should know or doesn't know, but the truth is,, it kills you.

I

We've had 51 deaths, this year.

I

25 of them have made it through the office of the chief medical examiner..

I

That means that they've had the toxicology done on the dead person. they've taken their blood. they've, seen what chemical is inside of their blood.

I

20 of those 25 that they have confirmed, straight fentanyl..

I

The other four of five are heroin-fentanyl mixture.

I

24 out of 25 cases are dead from fentanyl.

I

I got one dude: who's died from a heroin, overdose, one.

I

Please,, I mean,, I know you guys, can argue. it's great, you're students., it's just not the truth of. What's going, on. [shaem] ashley, go ahead.

J

Trust me when I say that they're not, the dealers are not telling who they're dealing to what's in it.. I know that they might know their dealer.

J

Might be their next door neighbor., the dealer does not care if shaem overdoses,.

J

He's still getting money. (attendee speaking).

N

(Ashley laughs).

O

And it might not even be that they're purposely putting it into marijuana, or whatever.. It's so sensitive that we just had a meeting with all of our county (mumbles),.

O

And none of us are allowed to even handle the bags in court because there could be residue on the outside that could kill us.

O

and they said,, even when they open the bags and close them,.

O

They can't prevent the dust and the residue from coming out.

O

And if we were to get that on our fingers and somehow, if we ingest it,, we could die.

O

so,, it could be, say your dealer's also mixing heroin.

O

And whatever and he's also doing, he's also...

O

[Ashley] wrapping. wrapping weed., [ashley] or bagging. and bagging it and weighing it on the same scales..

O

You don't know what else he's doing. it could get in it that way. it might not be purposeful,, but it's still happening.

J

One last thing I wanted to just share., judge, spencer and zack, who's coming in, will talk about this too. he's my brother, he's a firefighter..

J

They carry, firefighters, and I think a lot of police officers now, are carrying narcan.

J

narcan is the antidote to heroin.

J

And pills and stuff like that., if you ingest and you overdose,, meaning you're, not breathing,, they can give it to you..

J

It takes away your overdose and you wake up..

J

The problem is, that was created for things like heroin.

J

Things like fentanyl, and especially carfentanil. they're having to give six, seven, eight doses.

J

In order to wake somebody up, to bring them back.

J

and they don't carry,, my brother zack, who's a firefighter..

J

He gets two doses of narcan, that they can give you..

J

That will not wake you up from a fentanyl overdose..

J

You need sometimes two just to wake up from a heroin overdose,. So let me tell you.

J

If it happens,, there might not even be enough to save you.

J

Which is sad, by the time you get to me.

J

and the second part of narcan is that.

I

The half life of narcan is about half of the time that the heroin will affect you.

I

So you may have enough narcan to bring you back to life.

I

But when that chemical agent stops working on your body,.

I

You still have the powerful affect of--.

J

Overdose again.

I

Yeah, you re-overdose., we just had a kid who was hit with seven hits of narcan,.

I

And about three hours later,, they had to send him in to the er cause he had had so much fentanyl in his system.

A

I'm so confident.

A

First of all, ashley,. Thank you very much for helping.

A

helping me, helping our students, our friends, understand..

A

Can we give ashley a hand of applause, please?, (audience applauding).

A

Jeremy, you're next., I'm so confident that you guys are not going to use the drugs,, I'm good., but I want to tell you something..

A

I know that you're all good people.

A

A

I've been doing this now long enough to also know that good people make bad choices. Sometimes, it happens.

A

Told you before,, I own mine., I'm one of them,. I made bad choices., not too long. Ago,, recently.

A

I don't know if I want to say I had the privilege and honor,.

A

Or the responsibility and duty, to try a case..

A

I sat on the case, and I was moved.

A

Someone over here asked me how long ago the case was involving sean and rob.

A

I had a case involving a young man by the name of ryan jeffries,, and it was just the other day.

A

I had a case involving my friend, ryan jeffries,.

A

And it was here in ann arundel, county.

A

I had a case involving ryan jeffries, and the incident happened.

A

Where you and I live.

A

you old mill, students, you feed in from the severn area.

A

The hanover area over that way,, it happened over there.

A

And as I'm hearing the case,, I thought nothing about schools and court..

A

I heard the case.

A

And to close the case,, I had one thing on my mind.

A

One thing on my mind, and one thing: only.

A

A

it wasn't, when. it was, how long.

A

how long, shaem, are you going to do this?

A

and do you have the courage,, the guts, and the gumption to do it?.

A

Oh heck yes,, I did., but I can't tell the story.. I can't tell it right because I get emotional., so I asked my friend, mr. lerner. ben lerner's, the prosecutor that tried the case. he's the young man, mr. adams, assigned to the case, charged the case, brought the case. Forward.

A

I want him to share the facts of the case, and, as it went, forward, how we got where we are today.

L

Ben. as judge spencer said,, I'm ben lerner., I'm a prosecutor here in the county..

L

This is ryan, jeffries., judge, spencer, told you,. He had an incident that happened.

L

December 12th, 2015, is when it happened.

L

But I'm going to take you back before. That. ryan grew up in anne arundel county, he's from anne arundel county,. He went to south river, got into college..

L

He went to college, graduated. got a good job, moved back here.

L

Had a successful life, was doing well.

L

December 12th, 2015,, he was at a party.

L

He drank a little bit, and he made a simple choice.

L

Decided to drive home.

L

It's easy, anybody could do it.

L

That's kason donato.

L

Ryan didn't know: kason.

L

Kason has a mother who loves him..

L

He has a fiance, he's, got a son, bryson.

L

This photo was taken december, 12th,, 2015.

L

That's the last time that his son saw him.

L

At about 1:40 in the morning,.

L

The police received this 911 call.

K

[911 operator] anne arundel, county 911., [male caller], a kid just got hit: (bleeping) middle of 170.

K

I mean, just totally ran (bleeping) the car just kept going.

K

Dude is dead,: dude is dead right at the street from the (mumbles) 170.

K

[911 operator], sir (mumbles). [male caller] (mumbling). (bleeping) (dial tone) (phone ringing) [male caller]. He died, he died.

K

(Phone ringing).

K

(911 operator, speaking) [male caller] a kid just got hit,. He literally just got ran (bleeping) in the middle (bleeping) 170. (mumbling).

K

He just got ran over as the car (bleeping).

K

[911 operator], where is it? [male caller], it's literally on the right-hand side, across from from the trailer park. across from the trailer park on 170,.

K

Past the fire station on 170,, headed up towards (mumbles).

K

On the right hand, side (mumbles)., oh my god. [911 operator]. What's the closest intersection?, [male caller], there's no intersection., he was literally out in the middle of the road.. I went past, and I just happened to see. Him., then all of a sudden, the car that's coming up behind me done, ran him right, over., [911, operator] okay,! Is it near florida, avenue.

K

[male, caller] (mumbling)? He went towards florida avenue.

K

I kept coming because I didn't see what was going on.

K

[911 operator]: what's the intersection where he was? [male caller]? Oh my god., he was going (mumbling) before 90.

K

[911 operator] what? [male caller] (mumbles), the bar, on 170.

K

[911 operator]. What's the intersection, sir? [male caller], there is no intersection.

M

[911 operator]: what's the closest intersection?.

K

[Male caller], I guess it's--. What's the closest intersection (mumbling)., I don't know, virginia avenue., I'm gonna get ready to turn around and come back..

K

Oh my god.! I live right up the street. I'm turning around and coming back. [911 operator] okay.

L

All right, this is real,. This happened, here.

L

Ann arundel county police responded to that.

L

[911 operator]. Can I get your name, sir?.

L

No, he hung up. when they got there...

L

That's what they found.

L

That's kason donato.

L

The picture you saw of him holding his son 12 hours earlier,. That's him now.

L

When the police got there,, the car that hit him, ryan's car.

L

Well,, it was gone,, he left.

L

The police found evidence,, they tracked him down., they went to his house,, they found him.

L

Found out he had been drinking, and they arrested him.

L

L

Ryan was drinking,, he got behind the wheel,, he drove home.

L

That's kason, donato, and now ryan's arrested.

L

He hired the best lawyer. one of the best lawyers in the whole state.

L

Came to court, found guilty by judge spencer,.

L

And now he's looking at years.

L

Years of his life that he might have to spend in prison., kason's, dead, and ryan is now looking at years of jail. Time.

L

Has to face judge spencer.

A

A

I was looking at my friends over there from old mill. because, as I listen to this 911.

A

I've heard it,. This is the third time I've heard it..

A

The first time was in trial..

A

Mr. lerner played it for me again..

A

I drive that road everyday,. It's telegraph, road.

A

I drive it twice a day to get to and from work.

A

Sometimes six times a day getting my kids to and from practices.

A

I want you, in your mind, think about it.

A

What road do you tell them? Is a crossroad?.

A

Virginia avenue is far down by ridgeway.

A

There's old (mumbles),, but the old severn inn's there now,.

A

But there's no road right, there. you're in a panic,. What do you tell this? 911 caller?.

A

I do it everyday now,, I think of kason everyday.

A

(Mumbles) backpack was found in the woods.

A

Who says kason should go to jail?? I mean, sorry,, who says ryan, should go to jail?.

A

You're daggon right, you're, daggon right.

A

But he's not in jail, he's not in jail.

A

Not now, not today,, not anymore.,.

A

That's on a street in your county., some of you drive it everyday.. I can't make it more real for you.

A

That's a case that that man, right there, who lives in this county, tried, was found. Guilty.

A

can't make it more real for you.

A

oh,, but I can., because the man who did that needs to stand up and own that, and he will.

A

Ryan, appreciate you coming today.

A

This is ryan jeffries,, ladies and gentlemen.,.

A

This is the man you saw in the first clip.

A

He wants to tell you some things.

M

How are you guys doing today?, I'm here to talk to you., speak to you about something awful, that happened.

M

The biggest mistake of my life., I have made thousands, millions, of all the right ones.

M

I had graduated high school, went to college, made my parents, proud, started a family.

M

done everything right.. I did one thing wrong, and it cost someone their life.

M

And I cannot tell you enough how one decision,.

M

However, inconsequential,, however, small.

M

can change your life and the life of everyone. Else.

M

I just want you guys to understand that just making one single choice, it doesn't matter how small it is.

M

can literally change your life forever..

M

It can undo everything. all the good that you've done in your life.

M

For one simple mistake,, one poor decision.

M

And, you guys,, I know you're, not driving yet..

M

I know you haven't, had the chance to get out there and experience the world and go through awful things like this., but I don't want you to have to do that..

M

I want you to learn from my mistakes.. I want you to see that I'm just like you., I literally came to school in court, 10 years, ago.

M

I sat right in that chair,. I sat there.

M

I sat here and listened.. I sat through this whole thing, and I didn't take it all to heart., but please take it to heart for me, please.

M

Please think about that before you do have this chance to drive, this privilege, to drive.

M

this privilege to go, have fun.

M

this privilege to go. Live your lives.

M

Please don't make that same mistake, and learn from this.

M

And take this opportunity to learn from everyone here who has spoken to you., to understand what you can do,, that you can change.

M

That you can not make these poor decisions., but in some cases you will.- and I just want you guys to know that, even though you will,.

M

That there's a chance for you to make it right, and for you to make it better. and, like judge spencer said,, he wanted you to own it..

M

I went in there and I owned it., and I want to introduce you today to the man who gave me my freedom.

M

But I also want to introduce you to the woman who gave me my life back.

M

And that's kason's mom, who came here.

M

Who held my hand, while this presentation was going on.

M

To tell me that it was okay. that she forgave me., that she had the compassion to. Forgive me for the loss of her son.

A

[Shaem], that's not it,, that's not just it.

A

Ryan had a chance to speak before I put him in jail,.

A

Not in jail, out of jail, I should say.

A

And I've been doing what I do for a very long time.

A

I've heard a lot of cases., never in my life, in my 20 some odd years.

A

Of experience as being a lawyer., have I sat in a courtroom just like this, packed.

A

Every person in the room was bawling, myself, included.

A

The bailiff,, the courtroom clerk,, the defense lawyer, mr. ryan jeffries- was crying,.

A

Mr. ben lerner was crying.

A

And it wasn't because of anything I said, or what ryan said at that juncture.

A

There's, in my opinion, two reasons: ryan's not in jail.

A

What ryan told me, he'll finish doing that momentarily.

A

It was the heart,, the compassion.

A

I don't have the words for you., I bawled,. I got off the bench and bawled some more.

A

But kason's mom spoke.

A

And she begged me not to put him in jail any longer.

A

And I thought about it,, but I got off the bench and I said, I thought to myself, "I'm, not sure I can do this". and then she got back up again,.

A

I'm gonna put her on the spot.

A

cause as part of ryan's probation, for the next five years of his life,.

A

He's gonna make this right.

A

But I had to make sure kason's memory was not lost.

A

In my opinion, and she's here., I don't know if you-- it's hard for me,, that's her son.

A

We're gonna change that clip..

A

Do you want to speak to these kids? sure.

A

[Shaem], if that doesn't move you,, I don't know what does.

A

that's kason's mom,, that's someone's mom.

A

And the man who took her son from him.

F

Good morning, everyone.

P

The first thing I need to do is give honor and glory to my god, and my lord and savior.

P

Because without him, I wouldn't be here.

P

Standing here, able to talk to you.

P

And to show you that, god is love and love, exists.

P

Everyday you turn on your tv,. You see something bad., you see something hateful,, you hear it everyday.

P

But not often do people have the strength.

P

And the courage to stand before you and show you and display love.

P

and that's why I'm here.

P

To show you that ryan made a terrible, mistake,.

P

And he should not have to spend the rest of his life, not having support and love.

P

Not just from his family, but from the people that god brought in his life for that very reason..

P

Which is to show you guys that love is real.

P

Can you turn back to my son, please, for one moment,, the picture.

P

This is the first time I saw my son.

P

After he moved out of my house., I live in new jersey, by the way. we're from new jersey.. My son moved to maryland, where my stepfather lives in bowie,.

P

After he graduated high school,, he came to stay with me once he wanted to come back home..

P

He moved out around the second week of november.

P

And I hadn't seen him since.

P

His birthday was november 16th,, and this was taken 17 days after his 24th birthday.

P

17,, I want to pause right there just to rewind.

P

And tell you that I was 15 when I got pregnant with him.

P

I had him at 16, and the scrutiny that I had to deal with,.

P

Being pregnant as a teenager.

P

Losing friends because their parents didn't want them around me, because I made a mistake.

P

And I went against my mother and my father's rules.

P

I did something that caused me to get pregnant at 15,.

P

And I had him at 16., I lost a lot of friends,, but I never lost my mother and father's support,.

P

And the community that I grew up in., they helped me raise him..

P

They helped me raise this beautiful soul right here.

P

And him and I, right before he moved out,, we got into an argument.. We hadn't spoken for about three weeks, and it was eating me up. because there's a part of you as a parent,.

P

Who don't want to let your child grow up.?

P

And you know the best decisions for your child.

P

At least you think you know., and we had an argument that was so bad- that we didn't speak for about three weeks.

P

And then the wednesday before he passed, away,.

P

My son had gotten bitten by a spider, and he put the picture on facebook. well,. You all know that he deleted and blocked me, cause. He didn't want to talk to me., but he was still friends with my girlfriend..

P

She called me and she said,. I was in school by the way,.

P

She called me and she said, "monica,. You need to call kason.

P

"He's in the hospital. "his leg is extremely swollen "and. It looks like it's infected". and that was on a wednesday..

P

I called him,. He answered my phone.. I didn't think he was gonna answer,, but he answered my call.

P

and we spoke for about five minutes before the doctors came in, and he said, "mommy, I'll call. You back"., I didn't think he would,, but he did.

P

and before he could even say hello, I said, "I am so sorry".

P

He said to me, "mom, you're, not sorry,, remember?,.

P

"Your mother did not raise a sorry child.

P

But I will accept your apology".

P

I taught all my children that., you don't say, "I'm sorry"., you apologize and you ask for forgiveness.

P

because even too, as adults,, we make bad choices.

P

We make wrong decisions,, but you can always right. It.

P

Right,, you can make it right.

P

That was on a wednesday.

P

saturday,. The last time I spoke to my son,.

P

Was about 11:36 in the morning.

P

He told me him and leanne,, which was his fiance, and his son were gonna, go, do laundry., they were gonna, go run errands. and I said, "I'll come to maryland"..

P

He said, "no, mom. "don't worry about it. "I. Don't need you to come,, let's shoot for next weekend".

P

I said, "you sure? "because. I know you need help., "you and leanne need help with the baby. "me, mommy,, we'll pack up the truck,, we'll come".

P

"No, mom,, it's okay".

P

His last words to me: were,, "I, love, you".,.

P

"I'll talk to you later".

A

[Shaem], what was the next phone call? You received,, ms. monica?.

P

That was saturday.

P

sunday,, I'm texting,, no response.

P

monday,, I'm texting, no response.

P

Tuesday,, I'm engaged in a conversation at school.

P

With two of my classmates about him.

P

And we're laughing because he was a class clown.

P

And my cell phone was blowing up.

P

can't have cell phones in school,, but it was blowing up to the point where I looked at it. and I noticed leanne, and I said, "it's gotta be an "emergency because she's calling me".

P

and when I hit the green button,.

P

She was screaming, hysterically.

P

"He's gone, he's gone!

P

"he's dead, he's dead!".

P

And I said, "what: are you talking about?".

P

"Kason, he's dead". meanwhile,. I hear the officer asking her to give him the phone.

P

I dropped to my knees, and he said, "ms. donato",.

P

And all I heard was, "is kason donato, your son?".

P

And I said yes.

P

I can't tell you anything else after that,, but I had to find out. My son died three days later, over the phone.

P

Imagine your parents having to go through that.

A

[Shaem] I want to fast forward, because she heard that.

F

We had our trial.

A

(Mumbling), ryan.

A

Go ahead, I'll, just stand: here. (shaem, talking) yes. go ahead, ryan.

M

M

This was me,. I was just like you guys..

M

This is one of my friends' weddings.. We were having a good time, having a party, enjoying ourselves., like you, guys, all do,, every saturday., every sunday, we were all in high school.. We all did the same. Thing.

M

you're gonna grow, up, you're gonna go to college. you're gonna drink, you're gonna, do the same: thing.

M

you're, probably gonna. Try drugs. you're gonna make decisions that aren't the best.

M

But we make decisions in life and we learn from them.

M

I hope that you guys can take from this, that you can learn from that. and that when you do make a poor decision,, the most important thing is to just own it.

M

To own that decision. this was me,. We had a trial after the accident.

M

I received this,, these were charges.

M

For a hit and run, drinking and driving.

M

You can see my car.

M

This is kason.. This is how he should be remembered.. This is the young man that gave so much happiness to the world., so much happiness to this woman right here, to his mom.

M

His mom is here.

M

The compassion and the faith this woman has.

M

To be able to come here and support me in this.

M

the person who took her son,, it just,, it knows no bounds.

M

And it's a testament to kason, to what she gave to him.

M

To what she's, given to her other children., to what she's given to you, today.

L

And don't be mistaken,, don't get it twisted, okay?

L

after he was found guilty. I asked judge spencer, I stood up and I said, "put ryan jeffries in jail, judge, spencer.

L

"Look, what he did, put him in jail, for years.".

L

And you know who got up and told judge spencer, not to put him in jail?.

A

The woman with the biggest heart,, the most courage,, the most humility,, the most strength and love in this room.

L

And the reason that she did that,, I wanted him to go to jail for what he did.

L

She wanted him to be able to get out of jail.

L

To be in this room today to talk to you.

L

To talk to everybody,, so you guys don't do the same thing.

L

That's what she wants.

A

She wants to spare your life.

A

She wants to spare your life.

A

She doesn't want your mom getting that phone call., your dad,, your grandma,, your aunt.

A

I can't make this up.

A

He stood up, asked for jail., he spoke, said whatever he had to say.. Ms. donato spoke once.

A

I got off,, I cried,. I came back.

A

You can't see,- or I can't see., but behind that curtain right there is ms. lisa, she's. My courtroom, clerk. and bobby george is probably behind there.

A

lisa heard this. (knocking).

A

She picked up the phone, called lockup, and bobby walks around., because what that means to lisa is,, I'm about to put somebody in jail. bobby knows: that, stands behind, them, pulls the handcuffs out, secures them..

A

She made the phone call,. The guard came out and stood behind mr. jeffries.

A

I look him in the face every time I see him now,.

A

I don't make bones about it,.

A

I wanted to put you in jail. for years., I'm angry., my god,. I was angry.. I was hurt.

A

mr. crane,, I'm a dad just like you, man, and I was dying. Inside.

A

A

And there's one thing, one thing.

A

To stop that from happening. saved ryan jeffries from spending a very, very, very, very long time in jail.

A

Monica donato, said, "judge,, you can't do that".

A

She actually walked. Over, did what she did earlier, I was humbled.. She hugged him and said, "you gotta save his life..

A

"Kason donato can't die for nothing.

A

"Someone's gotta do something".

C

I said, "okay".

A

I got down,, I brought the lawyers back.

A

We wiped our tears, and we got a plan.

A

This is my plan..

A

If that don't move you, nothing will.

A

skip the dead body up there, cause. She saw it.

A

She cries when she sees it.

A

We've come almost full circle,, not yet., but what I'm gonna tell you is something from earlier.

A

judge. Morrison said it to you,. Dr. arlotto said it to you,. This is real life.

A

I don't know any of you.

A

I like you,, but I don't love you yet., give me a chance,. I might love you., but there's love in this room., the love that this woman carries in her heart,, not just for her son, for all of you.

A

Ryan said: it, you're gonna make some choices.. I don't want you to smoke. Weed, you might.. I don't want you to drink,, you might.. I don't want you to drink and drive,. You might.

A

Own it and make it right.

A

Because I can't promise you., I can't promise you, the young man, you kill,.

A

Will have a mom like this superhero.

L

[Ben] I've never seen anything like it. Before.

L

I don't think judge spencer has either., not in all my life.

A

I think about it. On a daily basis., I told you,, I drive that road everyday..

A

When I think about having to see ms. donato, I get teared up.

A

But then I see her and ryan interact, and I heard the words she said.. I have the notes that I scribbled down on my trial pad in my chambers..

A

You don't know this,. I keep it on my desk.

A

I don't have a picture of kason on my desk.

A

I don't have anything from kason..

A

I have ms. donato's words.

A

Because that is what spared.

A

Ryan jeffries from going to jail., but that also allows me the privilege.

A

Of giving her the benefit to speak to you.

A

Good dude., good dude., sea hawk., south river., went to college. got his masters. got a job, did fabulous. Things, record was crystal clean.

A

Good dude made a bad choice.

A

Anybody still want him to go to jail?, go ahead,, be brave,, tell him. he's right, here,, he don't care.

A

yeah, look, look,, look, prosecutors, do..

A

He ain't mad at you..

A

He's not in jail, anybody, okay with that?.

A

I'm okay with it, I've come to grips with it.

A

Because ms. donato asked me to do, so.

A

Not for her, not for her ego,, not to lessen her blow.

A

In my opinion, to save your lives.

A

To save your lives., maybe one of you, job well done,, ms. donato., maybe five of you, you're a superhero, ms. donato., maybe 10 of you,. You are among the gods in my eyes,, ms. donato.

A

I'll be honest, he's a dad.

A

mr. crane, you're, a dad. mr. adams, you're, a dad. dr., arlotto, you're, a dad.. I challenge you,. I don't have the courage to do that.

A

I don't, so I'm a give you my mean mug,, my (mumbles) face and say, "judge, put that man in jail and throw away the key".

A

(Laughing) I stand here next to this woman, and those words never came across her lips.

A

The thought,, at least in my mind,, in that day,, never crossed her mind.

A

Her mission,, it didn't involve you at that. Point.

A

Her mission was to make sure kason,.

A

His passing didn't go for naught.

A

And we, then we thought this through..

A

How can we do this??

A

How can we make this worthy?

A

first thing I did was call dr. arlotto.

A

"can. I have lunch?" that man said, "I'll meet you at the normal spot".. I won't tell you where it is., I'm at the normal spot, and we had lunch.

A

And after I met with mr. jeffries and mr. lerner,, I had gotten ms. donato's approval,. This is the result.

A

I'll be honest,, this is the second time we've done this with kason and ryan.

A

First time was,, I would give us about a 85% on our score, agree?.

A

I'm a tell you why. cause: it didn't, have the secret ingredient to bring it all home and make it real..

A

I didn't have this, a mom.

A

Man,, I'm a dad, and I think I'm a great dad..

A

I think I'm a rockstar., but I know that at the end of the day,, I'm just a dad and mom's rule the world., I'm a son, and I love my mommy best, bro.

A

I love my mom to death,, so have someone's mom standing here is okay.

A

Having kason's mom here,, I think, brings it all home.

A

We talked,- and here we are., let's show another slide of kason. there's one more slide. I want you to see., look at that beautiful woman and that beautiful man.

A

that was right, before,, that was at the church, right? uh-huh.. Look at that young man.

A

K

(Bryson cooing).

A

That is his son.

A

That's his son, holding his picture.

A

Now, I got teenagers,, he don't.

A

You got young ones,, you remember, that.,.

A

Dr. arlotto,, you remember when your kids were young as that one? imagine them holding your picture,, not having your dad there, man., better yet,, you're teenagers.. Imagine not having your mom or dad there..

A

Graduation, picture, team, picture,, (mumbles) championship,, not there.! Imagine that., well,, mom and dad will be there,, but you won't be because you're, drunk or high.

F

A

I'm not coming to your funeral.

A

I'm not., I won't keep it together,, because I failed you.

A

Ryan made a point,, he said it last time,, I'm diligent and copious..

A

I hope you guys take,. I take notes the whole time here,. I want to know what I'm doing,, what I'm gonna say: next.

A

ryan came to school in the court,, sat on that side. 10 years, ago.

A

Tell you something.

A

My colleagues who did this before did a great job.

A

My colleagues before me didn't have what I have..

A

I have a fabulous team,.

A

I have a great friend in dr. arlotto to help me do this.

A

This program's come light years from where it used to be.

A

10 years ago, they didn't have monica donato.

A

10 years ago,. They didn't have some judge that was gonna put ryan jeffries in jail.

A

10 years ago,. They didn't have mrs. george here.

A

To tell you about what happened in the hospital., they didn't have that,. I got it.

A

In 10 years,, I hope dr. arlotto's still there and I'm gone., I'm not gonna, be doing this then., but I hope someone says, "that program, then, "that was the bomb diggity "and that dude rocked it well, in his pink shirt".

A

Tie, I'm sorry, and my socks, mr. adams.

A

see,. I got it all,, but I have ms. donato.

A

If that doesn't change something in your lives,, nothing will.

A

A

part of this issue, is, the premise.

A

Ryan's here, ask him a question: if you want to.

A

Be brave, ask him. the super human's here,. If you want to ask her while she's here, ask her.

A

mr. lerner's here., he talks to me now. for a period of time,. We weren't even communicating.

A

He wouldn't even look at me,. He got over it.

A

You have a question, young, man?, yes, sir?.

G

[Justin], how did you learn to forgive?.

P

D

D

Do you mind if I give you a hug?.

P

What's your name? justin.

P

I called justin up here cause he's fond of you,.

P

And he was distracted, and I wanted him to pay attention..

P

I put you on blast,, I'm sorry. (laughing). He was a little distracted, but I wanted him to come up here. because me too,, like all of us,, can be distracted.

P

And distractions can cause issues that cause us to make mistakes, because we're not listening.

P

We're not actively listening, and I want him to actively listen to me..

P

I want to be able to hear him clearly,, because I want him to hear my response clearly., but I also want to let you know that I'm here to pay attention to you.

P

so,. Ask your question. Again.

D

How did you learn to forgive?.

P

How did I learn to forgive?, I believe in god., I believe in god, and god controls everything inside of me.

P

Behavior is learned., but I can't explain it from a spiritual, sense.

P

At least,, maybe not right, now, how I was able to forgive ryan., but I never, and hate is a strong word,. I never hated him.

P

I was angry, because of what happened to my son,.

P

But I never hated him.

P

I wanted to meet him,. I wanted to see him.

P

I wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with him, and we will.

P

But I need to be a part of his life to continue the love that I feel in here..

P

I needed to execute into him, on him,.

P

Around him,, so we can pass it to you.

P

So,, I don't know if I directly answered your question, "how did I forgive?". I just know how to love,, and I know how to love hard.

P

I know how to love passionately., it's innocent,, it's real, and I'm just gonna.

P

Continue to do that and keep god first.

A

The distinction is,- that's a mother's love., you like her,, she likes you., I'm telling you both now,, you don't love her and she don't love you.. You know why?, I won't let it happen. Yet. you're, not old enough to love him. Yet.

A

When you're like 25- and you still dig him,, then you can love him., she might like you,, you might love her,. You can't love her yet,. You ain't grown.

A

at 25,. She still like you,, come see. Me, I'll, marry. You myself. that love's the love you need,, a mom's, love, bro.

F

Okay, thank you.

A

In all seriousness,, it is that love,.

A

That humility,, that passion that didn't.

A

Send ryan jeffries to jail.

A

I'm gonna say it again, in a criminal matter,.

A

The defendant always has the last word.

A

Always has the last word, and ryan spoke.

A

The tap happened. I tapped on my desk,, it was over.

A

Ms. donato stood up and came back and she asked me what she asked my young man, justin right, here, "judge,. Can I give him a hug?

A

"and. I want to tell him, I'm sorry he's going through. This.

A

"I want to tell ryan's family, "I'm sorry they're going through this".

A

cause ryan's family is there, and his friends are there..

A

His colleagues and neighbors are there.

A

and she asked me to give that man a hug and tell him, he's sorry.

A

she's, sorry to him.

A

I knew at that juncture,, nothing I could do..

A

Then she asked me not to do what I was gonna do, and I honored her request.

A

Some of you may say, "you're crazy"., some of you may say, "you're stupid"., some of you say, "you're, soft and you're light"..

A

I say, I had a chance and an opportunity.

A

I've been blessed with the privilege of having the benefit of ms. donato and mr. jeffries in my life.

A

That makes a difference.

A

10 years ago, someone's talking to ryan back there,, it didn't make a difference.

A

I'm hoping 10 years later,.

A

Someone who was you, someone who was you,.

A

Someone you all have or had, makes a difference.

A

That's my hope,, that's my hope.

A

Ryan's gonna do this again, cause, I'm gonna ask him to.

A

Ryan's gonna do something else, cause I'll. Ask him to.

A

But I want you to know part of what spared ryan,.

A

Was ryan did a lot, and I didn't ask him to.

A

He was humble and owned. His mistake.

A

And turned in a courtroom like this, and apologized to ms. donato.

A

before he knew I was gonna or not gonna do.

A

I understand that someone's life was taken.

A

not lost on me,, but the person who that affects most,.

A

Has asked to make a difference in your lives.

A

And I'm begging you,, don't make that three plus hour drive from new jersey, this morning, to get up at two o'clock in the morning to be here to talk to you,. That's her, go for naught.

A

I'm not paying her to be here.

A

I didn't buy her gas,, I might buy her lunch.

A

But she's here because she wants to make a difference in your lives.

A

Help me make, her the rockstar that she is.

A

You have a question or do you just want to say hi?

A

no, I have a question. yes, ma'am.

N

How can you forgive someone.

P

That you can't see,, you can't touch, and you can't hear?, you said,. How do I forgive? [female questioner] as advice,.

N

How can you forgive someone that you can't see,, touch, or hear? someone? That's not here?.

P

I have faith in god, faith in prayer.

A

Ladies and gentlemen,, this is my second time., my second benefit and privilege of working with ryan and ms. donato.

A

I gave us an 85, the first time,, I'm gonna, give us a 98.

A

I want to earn the 100% on this test, on this presentation.

A

The way I earn my 100, is that this team does their job.

A

And we do our job collectively, as one team is. If, when we leave here,, we go, do our thing, and you do your thing,.

A

And make some better choices.

A

kason donato, telegraph, road,.

A

A

I'll say it one more time,, kason donato.

A

That's with a k,, I want it to be in the back of your heads.

A

And then you heard what his mother said., ms. monica donato said she's here cause she has love to give, you.

A

Don't make it for naught.

A

We're gonna change gears and turn the cameras off, and ask the lawyers to get their cases together. and they'll present you a few cases real quick. before we do that, I'd like to give ms. donato and mr. ryan jeffries a round of applause for their humble-- (attendees applauding).

A

Thank you so much.

A

(mumbles),, you know that, right?,.

D

I appreciate it.

D