Prop 47: One way to clear Humboldt County court backlog; except for 1 guy who added to his fate by arguing with his lawyer in court

Normally, it is the felony days that feature a packed courtroom calendar. If I am there for a 2 p.m. case, I plan on staying until 4. And misdemeanor court days go faster, usually.

Today, it looked like a misdemeanor day but it was not. As I sat in court today, waiting for the Quentin Williams case to be called, with the exception of one case, about 6 cases moved along quickly because petitions in each of these cases were being filed by defense attorneys to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.

These are cases that were charged before Prop 47 passed.

I do not know what the charge was in the one case for the guy that argued with his public defender, Casey Russo. What I do know is that I have seen him before in court. Mr. Russo was standing with him by the "box" where in custody inmates are seated and attorney-client conversations are usually private. Unless someone raises their voice.

What I could gather was that he was expecting a plea bargain. Well dude, when you have dates set and trial is to occur in a couple of days, maybe you should have taken the offer sooner. Instead, dates were set for the case to proceed to trial. Waiting has consequences, so does crime. Repeated crime, unless of course, you are a Prop 47er. Then you get to go out, steal, as long as it is under $950, you get off with a slap on your wrist.