Arnie Klein's My Word
Humboldt County District Attorney candidate, Arnie Klein, has a My Word column in the Times- Standard this morning. At first glance I didn't realize who wrote it and expected it to say something along the line of we shouldn't be bothering the homeless at all (I'm ambivalent on at least some homeless issues).
It turned out not to be that so much but instead suggesting the recent prosecution of a homeless fellow for illegal camping that cost the county $13,000 might have been handled better. He even offered alternatives:
"There were many different options that could have been explored, such as homeless court, a diversionary program, or penal code 849, which basically states “deemed not arrested and released.'' In other words, he could been held in jail over night and released in the morning. If the prosecutorial authorities felt that this homeless man had to be prosecuted, they could have filed the case as an infraction, which would have resulted in a court trial that did not necessitate the presence of a jury and a defense attorney."
Well written. While I'm sure there might be another side to the story, it's pertinent to the position he's seeking and nicely done!
No, that's not an endorsement of Mr. Klein by me. Just an observation.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:36 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
It's as if Mr. Klein did not read the original article. Mr. Carr refused a reasonable disposition and he demanded a jury trial. Seems kind of significant.
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_24776148/eureka-spends-13k-fighting-camping-violation-case-city?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
Klein spouts off about the homeless in general as if the individual in question, Dane Carr, had no history at all, was not a repeat offender and determined scofflaw, and as if 12 Humboldt jurors aren't adult enough to consider the all the facts and reach a just result without Mr. Klein's sage guidance.
What rubbish. Mr. Klein is, perhaps, a little in love with himself.
I'd say of the four candidates he's not the one in love with himself. Seems to me Klein was just raising an issue and making commentary pertinent to the race he's in.
I did read the guy in question was a "regular". I'd asked myself how we should deal with repeat offenders. Still, you can't help but wonder what a problem we'd have if more of the homeless regulars started demanding jury trials?
I've also wondered if this might get one or more of the other candidates to suggest they'll be the "tougher" one on the homeless. Hey, candidates need to differentiate themselves somehow.
Seems to me if the state is going to keep cuddling homeless and give them more and more benefits for being homeless then they need to set up a designated area for a tent city and at least give them a place to live legally either that or let the locals take care of it and run them out of the county as the wisdom of the old wife states you cannot have your cake and eat it too or we could use the example the Japanese are setting right now and use the homeless for hazardous material clean up by the way how do people feel about homeless people with no experience removing spent fuel rods at Fukushima
THC
Oh ask around. Arnie loves him some Arnie. Read his election page. HE's a hero. Just ask him.
read his election page. HE's a hero. Just ask him.
His election page is nowhere near as self absorbed as at least one I can think of. But, election web sites are supposed to tout the candidates strong points. They're supposed to impress people with the candidate, his persona and abilities.
...hey need to set up a designated area for a tent city and at least give them a place to live legally....
I feel the same way but even have mixed feelings about that. There was one legit homeless camp that made the news recently when it was closed down. It might have been Placerville that had some place just on the edge of town where homeless were allowed to pitch a tent. Worked out quite well by all accounts and was well run.
I forget why it closed. Might have been the land was donated and the owner was no longer able to help out or something along that line.
Here locally we've had both the south spit and Clam Beach encampments where the homeless gathered and were pretty much left alone until people had enough of whatever problems they caused- never mind the trashing of the camps over time.
At first I was more along the line of live and let live. Hey, they have to have somewhere to stay. I had to admit, though, after the camps were cleared out there was a noticeable decrease in panhandlers in Eureka.
When Fort Ord first closed down I wondered if they couldn't turn that into some kind of place for the homeless. The old buildings there would house thousands- probably tens of thousands.
Then I realized it would just become another institution with government enforcing and making taxpayers pay for upkeep and things like heating, plumbing and meals. It might well be a cure worse than the disease.
I don't know what the answer is. I do know people should be allowed a place to sleep and I'm firmly opposed to laws prohibiting pan handling, as much as I am often annoyed by panhandlers.
Here's a link to a short story on the closing of the camp at Placerville. While all the previous reports I read claimed it worked real well, this report mentioned an increase in crime as a result of the camp drawing people from across the country.
It also says the city didn't renew its permit. I thought I'd read something about the landowner not wanting to deal with it anymore, or having some other problem. Oh, well:
http://tinyurl.com/n4yydaw
By the way, I have worked with Arnie, and . . . there's no way he could have written this himself. He doesn't write. Strange but true.
The current D.A. doesn't write, either, at least not very well. You may remember his first two My Word columns in the Times- Standard that weren't much more than jabberwocky. Then he apparently had someone ghost write a My Word for him that seemed ok, but he got in trouble for plagiarism for writing.
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