Read this morning's article in the Northwest Herald (www.nwherald.com) about Raymond Gittings. He has apparently been in the Kenosha County (Wisconsin) jail for 13 months on the most recent charge of felony failure to pay child support. Although the article says he has been confined "for the past 13 months awaiting sentencing", he reportedly plead no contest in January to failing to pay child support, and so he has been there "only" for six months awaiting sentencing. The other seven months were awaiting trial.
But that's not the point. The point is that he could have had a free MRI almost eight months ago, courtesy of a 2008 court settlement involving the cancer scare in McCullom Lake, Ill.
According to the article, Attorney Timothy Mistrioty gave a voucher for the free MRI to Judge Barbara Kluka in about March. The newspaper says he "stopped short of filing a motion for a furlough" so that Gittings could leave jail to go for the MRI. What's the big deal about sending Gittings to a medical clinic or hospital with a deputy for 2-3 hours for an MRI?
Now, I haven't been to law school, but I think the way you get things done in court is to file Motions. Saying "Here, Judge," is not enough. You file the Motion for exactly what you want, and then the Judge rules on it. You wordsmith it so that you get what you want - or you don't.
The article goes on to say that Giddings, 38, has been indigent since adulthood, so that's about 20 years. How can he pay child support if he is indigent? Why didn't someone take him back to court and get the child-support order changed? If you don't have a job or assets or money, you can't pay child support. If he works, garnish his wages and have the child support sent straight from the employer to the court. If you have a mental illness, somebody (family?) ought to arrange for treatment and services. Right?
Having an indigent person with mental illness sitting in jail while his case is stalled in court is not right. Courts, everywhere apparently, allow cases to gather dust (called Continuances), instead of unclogging the system by tellling both sides to get busy and resolve the cases.
Jails are not mental health treatment facilities. It looks to me like little is accomplished by keeping Gittings in jail, except maybe he gets regular meals and, hopefully, medications for his mental health conditions.
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I know of a local lawyer who let a court case be strung out for well over a year even though he had a witness that would have gotten his clients exonerated in about 5 minutes. Then when the charges against his clients were dismissed, with prejudice, he got all bent out of shape. I guess it's all about money. Money and politics, the hell with justice.
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