Wednesday

Highway north from Anchorage

Ultimate

Anchorage summer league finals

Fourth Amendment bag and stuff

via boingboing

This week

Monday, I had five Pre-Trial Conferences. Set a couple for change of plea and a couple for Trial Call. One Defendant did not show, so judge issued a bench warrant for $5,000, but he could well have made it for much more $.

At the beginning of this summer, it seemed like a lot to do two cases, I mean one right after the other, in court, after I'd had time to get to know the cases and had the files and everything. I must be learning something or something.

Today one of my bosses said she liked the pictures on my blog. I hadn't thought she'd know I was blogging. She said mine had been linked to by another blog, http://www.skellywright.blogspot.com/, well-read around here. Mine's given as a counterpoint to another AK PD intern's.

I leave in a few minutes for court. Went all out today- got the whole suit on, and dress shoes, too. Usually I'll go with the jacket, tie, and black tennis shoes (no, not the converse.) Change of plea, then two bail hearings. One of the bail hearings is for a client in custody.

Salmon

I watched them once, at dusk, on television, run,
in our motel room half-way through
Nebraska, quick, glittering, past beauty, past
the importance of beauty.,
archaic,
not even hungry, not even endangered, driving deeper and deeper
into less. They leapt up falls, ladders,
and rock, tearing and leaping, a gold river,
and a blue river traveling
in opposite directions.
They would not stop, resolution of will
and helplessness, as the eye
is helpless
when the image forms itself, upside-down, backward,
driving up into
the mind, and the world
unfastens itself
from the deep ocean of the given. . .Justice, aspen
leaves, mother attempting
suicide, the white night-flying moth
the ants dismantled bit by bit and carried in
right through the crack
in my wall. . . .How helpless
the still pool is,
upstream,
awaiting the gold blade
of their hurry. Once, indoors, a child,
I watched, at noon, through slatted wooden blinds,
a man and woman, naked, eyes closed,
climb onto each other,
on the terrace floor,
and ride--two gold currents
wrapping round and round each other, fastening,
unfastening. I hardly knew
what I saw. Whatever shadow there was in that world
it was the one each cast
onto the other,
the thin black seam
they seemed to be trying to work away
between them. I held my breath.
as far as I could tell, the work they did
with sweat and light
was good. I'd say
they traveled far in opposite
directions. What is the light
at the end of the day, deep, reddish-gold, bathing the walls,
the corridors, light that is no longer light, no longer clarifies,
illuminates, antique, freed from the body of
that air that carries it. What is it
for the space of time
where it is useless, merely
beautiful? When they were done, they made a distance
one from the other
and slept, outstretched,
on the warm tile
of the terrace floor,
smiling, faces pressed against the stone.

-Jorie Graham

Winner

She caught the most fish that day.

Her first fish

Was good that one of our group got a fish.

Russian River again

Less crowded this time, since the fish weren't really running. But a few people were doing well.

Pigs

Alaskans dig pigs.

Jerry's boat

That's the top of the halibut. The bottom is white. That one wasn't big enough to keep.

Bringing up the Halibut

A three pound weight goes down 130 feet quickly. Comes up slowly.

Boat's name is Sea Mist

We got on at about 7:30.

Bridge over Matanuska

Nice graffiti.

suddenly work

Just got five cases, four with hearings on Monday morning. Just got through them, got an improved offer on one, now gotta go!

This housesitting jig is about up, but I gotta get it ready for the weekend. Since I'm leaving, must leave extra food out for the cats. The cats will eat three days of food five minutes after I put it in the automatic-type feeder. What I'm leaving for is fishing. Halibut out in deep, blue water tomorrow, all day, starting at like 6 in the morning, which is ouch. Then maybe salmon from fast, green water on Saturday. Good to know people who have done this stuff before. It's an intern trip, and another intern is from up here, and he was to boot a commercial fisherman for like ten years before law school.

less less less

About the trip to Fairbanks: I rode with a guy who listens exclusively to instrumental Irish music. It's six+ hours each way to Fairbanks.

After getting back to Palmer on Sunday, I watched Spiderman, which I liked. Then I started watching Spiderman 2, found it ver pleasing and funny but fell asleep before end.

July 18:
Besides what I wrote below, I went to Anchorage to play in the summer league ultimate game. My team won. Got back to Palmer, finished Spiderman 2. Good movie.

Today the new temporary lawyer in this office said he might take my computor. Seems the office doesn't have enough computors. I'm sure he needs a computor. But if he takes this one, I quit! No, I kid.

More more more

Fairbanks was a lot of fun. Very smoky here in Palmer on Friday, bad enough to hide all the mountains, and to really smell like smoke. Caused by a planned, but not entirely planned, so, somewhatwildfire down south. Smoke hid McKinleyDenali on the way up. Played ultimate all day Saturday. My team went undefeated.

Today, changed a plea before a new judge, who sounds to me like Rod Serling, but maybe an octave higher. Client drove a friend's truck a little ways, got pulled over for a broken light. Cops check computor, find the plate's not the right license plate for the truck. Therefore the client must do 30 hours of community service. Also in the sentence, or in the consequences: 30 days of jail (with 30 suspended), three years of probation, $50 "surcharge" to the court, and $100 attorney fee (normally $200, but judge waived half). Just like the Archers said: little things can cost you everything.

Killer boat

Saw this with a For Sale sign on it by the road on the way to Hatcher Pass. It's a boat, and it's a plane. I mean that's an ultralight, sitting on struts fixed for it into the boat, but I couldn't see where it was held down, except that the plane's wheels were jammed under the gunwales. Sign said those skis on the front are for "snow travel." Met the owner, and he claimed that the plane stays in/on the boat at all times.

July 15

More logistics for Independent Study.

In court for a Trial Call. Had a deal and asked judge if could explain it, and he said ok, but didn't want to get it done today. Instead, we set a date for a hearing for a Change of Plea.

Now waiting for my ride to Fairbanks for the tournament. Packed and ready to go, and happy not to have to do all that driving myself, but who knows maybe I'll end up wishing I had. In any case I'm looking forward to being there. I needed a reason to go to Fairbanks, more than just that I wanted to see it, see that part of the state, the second biggest city in AK, get back up north where the days are a little longer. Tournament is the perfect extra reason.

Also, in the tournament I played in a few weeks ago, my team played a Fairbanks team. Called themselves the "Moustache Rodeo," wore jean cut-offs with pink tank-tops (both men and women) and sported mullets. They drove to Anchorage in a Greyhound-type bus that is at least twenty years old. Good People.

What else... outside today it looks like Knoxville air. Hazy down low, hard to see much of the mountains. It was like this a few weeks ago. Turns out it's from wildfires. A few weeks ago, the fires were near both Fairbanks and Kenai. This time, seems all the smoke is from the peninsula, down south. So I hope it's not smoky all the way up to Fairbanks. I've seen a picture taken near Denali last year, and the smoke is so bad you can't see the mountain at all. Denali, I should add, is on the way to Fairbanks.

July 14

More logistics for Independent Study.

Put together a form/motion request for bail hearing to add third party. AK PD has the best merging set-up I've ever seen. Change of Plea for a young man's first DUI.

Drove to Hatcher Pass, which was closed/covered with snow a month ago. Now all clear. Maybe camping up there after housesitting's done.

Fished at Echo and Meirs lakes. No catching. Picture is of Meirs.

July 13

Went to an arraignment. DA said, "so the PD comes to arraignments now?" I said "no, but they thought it would be educational for me."

Anyway, it was client's first criminal charge, of Minor Consuming Alcohol. She blew 0.081, so, 0.002 more than is legal, except that of course none is legal for a minor. Client didn't appear. DA said she was picked up four days before. This is a charge that does not lead to any jail time. So, DA decided to dismiss the case. So I guess that makes it my first dismissal.

Tried to catch the Anchorage hiking group. Intern #3 went with. Drove van to trailhead south of Anchorage, on Turnagain Arm. Made good time, only 7 minutes late, but we'd missed the group. Followed trail we found, and went some ways up Suicide Peak (I think) over the water. Found out next day we'd followed the proper first trail, but had taken the second part that was wrong. The proper second part was 20 feet away from the rockslide we climbed. Picture above shows view from how high got.

July 12

More logistics for the Independent Study.

In court to request a continuance. Neither judge nor state eager to grant or go along. Mr grounds was that we needed to wait on the court of appeals to decide the DUI lookback. That is: until recently, your DUIs were added up over your lifetime to determine your sentence. Just this year, the legislature made it not a lifetime lookback, but a fifteen year lookback. And for this client, it made a difference. But court and state said, "why put this off for a sentencing issue?" Long talk from judge regarding the issue. But then judge set for change of plea in August, which was at least a ways off, which is what I needed to get.

July 11

More logistics for Independent Study.

Bail hearing for a man's Eighth DUI. He was lucky to get out on bail. His mother seemed pretty tough, which I'm sure helped her to get to be the third party, allowing her son to get out of jail.

Played ultimate in Anchorage. Was league night. Field is next to Air Force base. Fighter planes were landing, one after another. They make an amazing noise.

Watched Bruce Almighty, which had many very funny things.

Kniko

Kniko was his name-o. Ver sweet dog.

July 10

Read the Anchorage paper and drank lots of coffee. Found my cell phone charger, which I'd been looking for for days. Watched "Mean Girls," which was a let-day-yawn, I mean a disappointment.

July 9

Two papers serve this area: The Frontiersman, which is more local, but is only published every other day, and the Anchorage Daily News (ADN). The Frontiersman has some good writing. They had a very long piece on the Butler murder trial (Butler was represented by the PD boss). But Anchorage is so close, and ADN covers enough Valley (as in Mat-Su valley, which includes Palmer) stuff so as nearly to be a local paper. Palmer/the Valley are to a large extent commuter towns. I've heard 40% of Palmer works in Anchorage.

Anyway I read both papers in the morning and drank Lots of coffee.

July 7, 8

July 7, Thursday, didn't do much besides work on getting the independent study together.

July 8, wrote the proposal and faxed and emailed it to school. Then watched an office atty. do a juvenile hearing, which is odd from the start since they're closed to the public, so I had to enter the hearing room (which was smaller, just a plain old room, unlike a courtroom) with the atty., then she had to get consent from the client and from his parents just for me to be there. Anyway seemed like they'd be able to do something for this kid. His parents were very involved, and the judge was open- in this case- to putting him somewhere other than in detention, say, with extended family, out in the bush, where there's less trouble to get into and more work to get done.

Then steak night at the Legion. But I should have skipped it this time to go to Anchorage for a Moveon.org get-together.

July 5, 6

Didn't do much on the 5th.

On the 6th, went into crisis mode when got email from school. Email said they couldn't find a teacher for my independent study. Suffice it to say that I really, really need to get an independent study, And, that I should not have relied on school's offer to find the teacher for me. So I called and emailed a bunch of professors and got one to say she'd sponsor the independent study. But then there were forms to track down and fax to and fro, proposals to send, approvals to win and etc. But was glad to get this thing on track, two weeks after getting it started.

Then went to birthday party for attorney from office (same one who'd provided first couchspace.) Then went fishing.

July 4

Woke up with neck in much pain. This couch is no good for sleeping. Didn't want to fish. Cats acted kinda psycho, wanted to eat very much.

Celebrated holiday by eating pig at the Legion. Was good.

July 3

After so much fishing without any catching, I wanted to go back to the Russian River, but then I didn't want to go there on this holiday weekend, and it's probably best that I didn't. Got recommended that Eklutna Tailrace was decent fishing for kings, and planned on going there in the morning of July 4.

Got a burger grilled outside, beef was from a New York family farm. The griller's family farm. Made for a good burger. Then went to Anchorage to play ultimate, but got there just as the last people were leaving the field. So I took the long way home, bounced on the trampoline, and watched satellite TV/Independent Film Channel. Fell asleep on a couch that had higher arms than the last two couches.

July 2

Went to third couchspace, then back to Caswell Creek. Still didn't catch any fish. Camped there that night. Had brought grill, so we could eat corn on the cob, instead of king salmon.

July 1

Requested a reset for a client who hates her lawyers (me, sort of, on that day). She's in court for driving without a license. She says she has a license, issued by her village. The state would drop the charge if she'd get a license, issued by the state. Instead, she comes to court and demands her attorneys' credentials.

Also set for Change of Plea a case involving a minor consuming alcohol. I'd been trying for days to reach the client, and had left messages, but when I got to court both the court clerk and the DA said they'd heard from the client's mother, who'd said they couldn't make it to court. But then they showed up anyway and we got everything taken care of and so good.

Another intern was there too, and this was when he was doing the trial in which I'd seen him make opening statement(s). Opposite him in that trial was the same DA opposite both of us for these hearings, and this intern and this DA were arguing over discovery in one of his new cases, I mean they were really going at it, saying things like "well that's for the jury to decide, isn't it?"

That night was when I went fishing the first time at Caswell Creek, when I went swimming, trying in vain to retrieve a borrowed lure. I'd arrived late to leave, which is why my ride said that there were two things you can't be late for: church and fishing.

June 30

Did two Change of Pleas, which took nearly two hours.

Matanuska River

This is from an overlook on Glenn Highway, on the way to where I was staying/"couchspace 2."

Knik

Knik

Bridge over Knik. Has big berms at each end, so cars can't drive over (new bridge is right next), but ATV or snowmachine can.

Knik

IMG_1998, originally uploaded by bobby toe.

Knik

Knik River

Knik is pronounced "k'nick," or something.

ak

Feeding the dogs at the dogyard or kennel.

Caswell Creek

Fishing for kings last weekend. No one had any luck. Except that I saw a bald eagle. Which reminds me, I saw two of them in Homer.

Couchspace 3

Three stories, nice decks, a trampoline! (fun), satellite TV (boring really), a dog, two overweight cats (fed twice daily), altogether quite nice. Further from town, though, at about 20 minutes. So this morning I tried the other way, by the highway, and that took 30 minutes. I'll have to leave this place in less than two weeks. Maybe camping after that.

Moose range

Everybody living out this rather long road gets a mailbox here, right off the Glenn Highway. The brown sign says "Matanuska Valley Moose Range." I didn't see any while staying out there, though.

dog walking

This is where I would walk the dogs at the second couchspace. Charlie's on a leash this time so he won't beat up on any other dogs or horses.

There's Charlie

Another view of the second couchspace. Note the minivan there. It's tuff.

Wed. June 29

Got to court to find find out that the client wanted an electronic monitor instead of jail, which was a new wrinkle for me, but was lucky since attorneys I knew were at court too and they helped answer the questions. And the judge helped too. Seems I had to ask for a delayed remand to give the client time to set things up with the monitoring company.

Had lunch with my main attorney ("main" since she's given me the most work) and her brother, so that I could meet her brother, since he'd offered me a spot on a fishing trip in mid-July. Noisy Goose cafe has good burgers, in case you're ever in town.

Walked all the dogs, then headed down to Anchorage, trying to get there for a weekly group hike. The group is made up of Anchorage office PDs, among others. I got about 10 minutes up the trail when I met them coming back. I went mainly to meet them, and I didn't care to go solo on a new trail, especially a new trail as much in the woods as this one was (I'd rather see the bear charge from a distance, and not from behind a tree or something), so, was a very short hike for me.

And anyways I thought I might then get to play some ultimate, since it was league night, and I'm on a team in the league. But I got to the fields to find two of four games still going on, neither of which was my team's.

Tues. June 28

Watched another intern give an opening statement. This trial was this intern's first. DUI, but seems video from cop's car didn't show any bad driving on the defendant's part.

Got a look at the couchspace to come. Owner would be leaving for France on Friday. Pictures above of the three story house. It's at least 15 minutes away from town, which seems like a long way, close as I have been staying previously.

Couchspace 2

It was a nice spot. I left it on July 2.

Stevie Ray

See Stevie Ray. Stevie slipped out of his collar while I was away at work on Monday (June 27th), and he never would let me close enough to put it on him. So, I didn't walk any of the dogs for a couple of days, because I didn't want him running loose when I was walking the good dogs. I tried for hours to get that dog used to me. Hours! But no dice. So, then I walk the dogs anyway, and Sugar's on the leash, Charlie disappears (runs around off in the woods until I get back), and Stevie walks the whole time right by my side. Still won't let me get the leash on him. Bad good dog.

Charlie

That's Charlie, who's still a bit of a puppy, but just as sweet a dog as you ever met. Neighbor doesn't care for this one, though. Neighbor says Charlie's been after his horses, as well as that Charlie's kicked his dogs' asses. Bad dog. Not really, though.

Sugar

That's Sugar, who is fifteen years old, and who has run in three Iditarods. My first couple of days at this house, Sugar wouldn't let me get close, so I didn't walk her, because she can't be off a leash. Then she did let me put the leash on, and she was really happy to walk. I mean she really needed to walk. Good dog.

cooking salmon hey rainbow

Taken on June 27, 2005.