C'ville Monkey Case - Round 1

The court process began this morning in Carpentersville in the case of Carpentersville vs. Linda Ramirez Sliwinski, who is accused of Disorderly Conduct. This case started when Ms. Sliwinski allegedly told children of a neighbor to stop climbing in a tree and to stop acting like monkeys. The problem? According to other reports, the children are black.

Because Ms. Sliwinski is an elected Trustee of the Village of Carpentersville, the Village retained special counsel to handle the case.

Fortunately for all involved, the case was the first called this morning by Judge Susan Clancy Boles. Ms. Sliwinski, Gabe Fuentes (her attorney from the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block), and the special prosecutor approached the bench.

Due to noise in the courtroom, which will be addressed later in a separate article, it was difficult to hear the proceedings. Mr. Fuentes informed Judge Bowles that he will file a motion to dismiss the case, and the judge assigned the due date of May 28, by which the motion is to be filed. The attorney for the Village has thirty (30) days to respond, and then the judge will consider the Motion.

The next court date is July 23, 10:00AM, at which Judge Bowles will announce her decision on the Motion to Dismiss. If she dismisses the case, then it's all over. If she doesn't, then a new court date will be set.

The issue in this case is the First Amendment right to free speech. Protected speech cannot be criminally prosecuted. So, if I call you a jerk, you might be offended; you might be upset; you might get mad. But I have not committed a criminal act.

Ms. Sliwinski has taken the high road (and also the smart road) by remaining silent. This case will play out in court. You may have heard these words before: "You have the right to remain silent."

If you ever do hear these words (for example, from a police officer speaking directly to you), then you had better zip your lips - no matter what. Because what will follow is, "Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." And so it will. Nobody is kidding about that.

So, if you don't want something used against you in a court of law, then shut up! Yes, you have to identify yourself. If you were in the military, you know the "name, rank and serial number" bit. And that's all. Name, address and date-of-birth, and then shut up! Assert your right to an attorney, and then be guided by the legal advice you receive from your own attorney.

The Complainant in this case could not be identified in the courtroom this morning. Was she there? She certainly had no obligation to be there; however, if I had charged someone with Disorderly Conduct, you could be your bottom dollar that I would be at every court appearance involving my case.

What should happen in this case? The Village of Carpentersville should "see the light", recognize that Carpentersville, Illinois, is in the United States of America and that freedom of speech is still a right in the U.S.A., and drop the case. Can it do that? Of course.

Will it do that? Well, I suspect it gets sticky for them, because someone will raise his head and scream "favoritism", since the accused happens to be a Trustee of the Village. Can Carpentersville make an appropriate decision without wasting the valuable resources of its community? Only time will tell.

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

Hellooooo, Carpentersville...

Remember the woman Carpentersville who yelled at her neighbor's kids while they were shinnying up a little tree. Seems that she yelled at them to stop acting like monkeys, or something like that.

The neighbor took offense, whether any was intended or not, and had the woman charged with Disorder Conduct under a local ordinance of the Village of Carpentersville. Not the State law, mind you; "just" a Village ordinance with a $75.00 fine. In fact, when releasing information, the police department said she "was fined $75.00"; but that was not the case. The charge carried a $75.00 fine.

Today I called Carpentersville to find out when the woman's court date is. You'd think I was trying to get the combination to the lock on the front door at Fort Knox! Somebody ought to know; right? Like, maybe, the police department? Or the Village administrator's office? Or the Clerk of the Village, who also is connected with the local court of the Village?

Ha! It must be the one of the best-kept secrets in town. I left two messages for a police commander who, I was told, would be the contact person. And the Village Clerk forwarded my request to him. How long would it take him to call me back? Sixty seconds?

What's the big deal? The big deal is that the woman charged with Disorderly Conduct is a Village Trustee which, by the way, probably never should have made it into the paper. She didn't yell at the kids because she was Trustee; she allegedly yelled at them because they risked injury if they fell or because they might damage the slight tree they were climbing.

So much for "it takes a village to raise a kid"; right? Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut, turned her back and, when she heard a thud and screams of pain, just turned up the TV volume a little. But, no; instead, she yelled at the kids. The problem? The kids are black. You'd better not call black kids "monkeys", even if they are acting like monkeys.

I grew up reading Little Black Sambo. Never for a minute did I think of race. It was a story about a little black boy who ate pancakes. Lots of pancakes. Now? You can hardly find a copy of that book. And, if you can, you'd better hide it.

The court date will be revealed. (Or maybe the Village was smart enough to drop the charges.) Court dates are public record. What a waste of everybody's time to have to file a FOIA Request for a court date! But, if they want to play the game that way, I'm in.

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

C'ville PD: "It's Like a Parking Ticket"

You have probably heard about the woman who called her neighbor's kids "monkeys", when they were climbing in a tree in their front yard. Her position as a Carpentersville's Trustee should never have made it into the news, but it did - and big-time.

When I telephoned the Carpentersville P.D. to ask when her court date would be, the operator (dispatcher?) told me that she had been fined $75.00.

First of all, that's absolutely incorrect. She was issued a Village citation that has a $75.00 fine associated with it. By all reports, she has not paid the ticket. She certainly has not been (already) fined $75.00, unless the officer had his hand out for the fine when he issued the ticket. Not likely.

The operator/dispatcher explained that the ticket was just "like a parking ticket" (her words). As if a parking ticket (and, therefore, this Disorderly Conduct ticket) really was of little consequence.

Now, some people might be inclined to thumb their noses at a parking ticket. Big deal; right? How much is the fine for a parking ticket? $5.00? $10.00? And what happens if you don't pay it? Probably not much.

But is a Disorder Conduct ticket more important? In almost anyone's eyes, it is. The operator explained that the woman was not charged under a State statute, "just" under the City Code.

Will she fight it? Probably. Should she fight it? Absolutely!

Did she commit an act that was "alarming and disturbing"? If all she did was say something, "Hey, stop climbing in that tree like monkeys", what is "alarming and disturbing" about that? That was Hillary Clinton's "it takes a village to raise a child" theme, wasn't it? You know - when Mom isn't minding her kids and the kids are climbing a small tree and risking broken bones if they fall, shouldn't someone step forward and intervene?

Perhaps she should turn the tables on the Mom and file a Disorder Conduct charge against her! Certainly, she has become "alarmed and disturbed" by the actions of the mother of the kids and of the police officer!

She should fight this ticket. Yes, it will cost her more than $75.00. Is it worth it? Yes. Will she win? Well, in court you take your chances. You can mount an excellent defense, and it will still be up to the judge. A local judge will worry that he is showing favors to a Village Trustee, if he finds her not guilty. Will the court have to go outside for a different judge to come in?

With the information being given out by the police department, it's no wonder that newspapers are reporting that she "was fined." The police department needs to educate its employees that the ticket was issued and there is a fine if the recipient pays it or is convicted.

Why is this important? Because it can happen anywhere. It can happen to anyone.

There will be a hearing. When will the hearing be? Stay tuned.

Hey, you monkeys...

Be sure to read this morning's Northwest Herald article on Page 1C about the woman who spoke to children playing in a tree in front of their own house. Not her children, her neighbor's children. Not her tree; her neighbor's tree.

She apparently told the children to "quit playing in the tree like monkeys."

The neighbor and the children complained to Carpentersville Police that they were "alarmed or disturbed", and the woman was cited for disorderly conduct.

Well, I am alarmed and disturbed by reading this!

Should I have Tom Musick and the Northwest Herald cited for disorderly conduct this morning?

Should I have the Carpentersville Police Chief and his officer (s) cited for disorderly conduct for alarming and disturbing me?

Based on the information presented by Tom in the article, this has to be a gross miscarriage of justice and a gross misuse of police power. It serves to squelch free speech and threatens every resident in Carpentersville.

Should I be afraid to drive in Carpentersville because obeying the speed limit might alarm and disturb some idiot behind me who wants to go 60MPH in a 35MPH zone? Will I be arrested for disturbing her peace?

Now I can admit that there might be "some" circumstances when a "like monkeys" comment might be construed as a hate crime. Not very many circumstances, but there might be some. If so, then charge her with a hate crime.

Come to think of it, I get alarmed and disturbed a police car runs a red light at 25MPH. Should I have the driver charged with disorderly conduct? Of course not! He's not breaking the law, which permits him to go through a red light (carefully, which he was). But was I alarmed and disturbed? That would be a pretty stupid assertion, and I would expect the police department to have the guts to stand up and say so. And I believe they would.

But life is different in Carpentersville.

And why would there even be any mention that the woman cited was a Carpentersville Village Trustee? What does that have to do with anything, unless she ran out to the tree and said, "Look! I am a Carpentersville Trustee, and I'm telling you to quit playing in the tree like monkeys."

Is the article correct that this incident occurred last Saturday and she was already fined $75.00? I doubt it. She might have been cited on Saturday. Unless she coughed up the $75.00 and pled guilty or no-contest by signing the ticket and forfeiting any $75.00, she is entitled to a hearing.

I urge her to fight it. When she is found Not Guilty, I hope the Northwest Herald will grant the same amount of space to this "news."

And, the next time the monk - - , errr, children, are playing in the tree, just look the other way when they fall and get hurt. If the mom happens to wonder why the kid is lying on the ground, not moving, not crying, then she can get around to going outside and checking on the kid. Hopefully, the child will only be stunned and will still be breathing.

And then she'll probably charge the (Trustee) neighbor with disorderly conduct for being alarmed and disturbed that the ought-to-be-concerned neighbor wasn't minding the kids up in the tree. And since the neighbor is a Trustee, maybe she'll also charge the Village. After all, there must be a deep pocket somewhere.

By the way, why wasn't the complaining neighbor's name in the article?