Life as a Public Defender
BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Instead of standing next to me in front of a judge, Carl Day should have been running an obstacle course wearing a rucksack. Carl was scheduled to depart for basic training in the United States Army two weeks ago. But at 18 years old he picked up his first criminal charge. The charge was battery or as I refer to it, battery by barbecue sauce.
Carl was working at McDonald's the day of the incident. The incident as described in the police report said Carl "threw a handful of BBQ sauces at his [the victim's] face causing them to explode on Luis's [the victim's] face and neck." The officer's report also noted that there was video of this alleged crime.
Carl called me in a panic when the charges were still pending so the only information I had from the state was the police report. Carl wanted to resolve his case so he wouldn't miss the date he was scheduled to arrive at basic training. I let Carl know that I didn't want him to plea to a battery that involved allegations of throwing barbecue sauce. My other concern was that his rush to resolve the case would lead to a battery charge that would be on his record for the rest of his life. Carl was desperate. He wanted to start his career in the Army so he could get on with his future.
I immediately reached out to the prosecutor asking her to look into this charge. I sent her a copy of the paperwork stating that Carl was to arrive at the military base for basic training in just over two weeks. The case was still pending so we did not have a scheduled court date. At this early stage we were at the mercy of the prosecutor.
Weeks went by. Carl called me so often that I recognized his voice the minute I picked up the phone. It was hard for me to explain to him that there wasn't much I could do. In emails and in person I repeatedly asked the state to look into this charge.
Carl's date with the Army had come and gone. We still didn't have an answer from the state and I still didn't have a copy of the video evidence but we did have a court date. Carl's arraignment was scheduled, for him to formally face the charges.
The morning we were in court I was told that the video, which I still haven't seen, showed the alleged victim as the aggressor. The video is to thank for the prosecutor finally doing the right thing.
Unfortunately Carl missed his ship out date but at least the great case of battery by barbecue sauce was over. The state dismissed the charges and instead of serving customers at McDonald's Carl is preparing to serve his country.
The high profile trials of Manuel Noriega, Timothy McVeigh, OJ Simpson and George Zimmerman are among the important legal stories Kim Segal covered as a journalist for over two decades. While working as a producer for CNN, she began attending law school at night, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2005.
At 46, she left her television career for a position as a Public Defender in Broward County, Florida.