Fannie Smith
There is right and wrong under law. This book explains the difference. It defines crimes, punishment, good and bad behavior. It tells you how to minimize punishment or extend it. It looks at the court system from a court reporter’s view – the best seat in the courtroom, and armed with legal knowledge – always there, and always neutral. Some persons have been seriously harmed, wronged, and/or abused, and find it impossible to conform because they never had a chance to benefit from the laws that protect them. The system goes by tried and true laws and finds a place that’s right for the accused – somewhere between rehabilitation and punishment.
Fannie Smith began her court reporting career in Chicago. Soon she moved back to Minneapolis, near family. There she freelanced, working in the court system as a substitute and covering most of the conventions and business meetings in the area.
The last eighteen years, she was an official for the First Judicial District, working for Judge Robert J. Breunig. The area was rural, and became urban, bordering the south and west Twin Cities. In 1967, we were four judges and four court reporters. When she retired in 1985, there were near thirty. Today, the number has more than doubled. District, county, and city judges became the same and rotated throughout the courts of the district. In the 1970’s court reporters became a “pool,” answering to a court administrator at the convenience of the court system.
Fannie Smith was an early machine writer – never saw one in Chicago – second in Minnesota – in a world of pen writing court reporters who tolerated or “feared” the female machine writer.
In 1985, Fannie retired with her husband, Maynard, of fifty years. Together they spend about half of their time either in Milaca, Minnesota or in Sun City, Arizona. She’s been writing family histories, and has published on the Internet The Record Never Forgets 2nd Edition, History of Court Reporting and Shorthand; and a book of historical fiction, Opportunity 1850, about the emigration of four farm brothers from Europe who realized their American dream.
Easy Guide 01
FAMILY LAW
Juvenile Court - This court is designed for rehabilitation of teenagers who are younger than eighteen years old. These young people who come under the juvenile court’s jurisdiction for a law violation are processed in a different way than adult offenders accused of a crime. The juvenile will remain under the juvenile court’s supervision for review, helpful advice, or release until twenty-five years old. The juvenile is assigned to a counselor. Each juvenile offender will have to report to his assigned counselor on set dates until released.
If a police officer decides to confine the minor, he must place him in a juvenile facility, not an adult jail. The officer must immediately notify the minor’s parent(s) that their child is being detained. The minor usually is allowed to make two or more completed phone calls. At the juvenile facility, the probation officer will interview the minor (on intake), investigate the alleged offense, and determine what is in the child’s best interest. Options typically include counseling, releasing the minor and closing the case, referring the minor to a nonjudicial agency or community program, placing the minor informally in a facility to keep track of his behavior, referring the case to a prosecutor for filing a charge, releasing the minor to his parents, or retaining him in custody.
If the minor requests an attorney, the juvenile court judge must appoint one, usually a public defender or a court-approved counsel experienced in handling juvenile cases. The attorney represents the minor, not the minor’s parents, even if the parents hire and pay for the attorney.
If a detention hearing is to be held, it must occur within forty-eight hours of the minor being taken into custody. At the hearing, the attorney for the minor receives the police report, probation officer’s report, and any other documents that are available to the probation officer. The prosecutor usually submits the matter to the juvenile court on the basis of the police report and the oral or written recommendations of the probation officer. The attorney for the minor can cross-examine the probation officer, police officer, and anyone else who prepared reports regarding the minor or the incident. The minor has the right to confront witnesses and cross-examine them, and the right to assert the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
If the juvenile court judge decides that the minor violated the law, he can make the minor a ward of the court, and the minor will be detained. An arraignment hearing is held at the detention hearing. The minor, through his attorney, enters a plea and negotiations of the charges can occur—the equivalent of plea bargaining for adults.
e.g.: A juvenile court judge ruled that a sixteen-year-old accomplice in the shooting death of a jewelry store owner will not stand trial as an adult. The judge said the girl lacked criminal sophistication and was under the influence of an older man who took advantage of her naivete. She was a good candidate for rehabilitation at the juvenile justice system. If convicted, the girl will remain in custody with the state youth authority for eight and a
half years.
If the prosecution wants the minor treated as an adult, a fitness hearing will be held to determine if the minor is or is not fit for care, treatment, and training programs of juvenile court. If the minor remains in the juvenile justice system, a jurisdictional hearing is held, the equivalent of a trial in adult criminal court. The hearing is conducted in the same manner as a court trial in adult court, with opening statements, questioning of witnesses, motions, and closing arguments.
If the judge finds that the allegations in the petition are true, he declares that the minor comes within the provisions of the juvenile statutes. Then a dispositional hearing is held, the equivalent of the sentencing hearing in adult court. In sentencing a minor, the juvenile court puts the emphasis on treating and rehabilitating the minor, in addition to protecting the public.
If a minor is suspected of committing a crime, a police officer can temporarily detain him. Before the officer can question him, he must advise him of his Miranda rights. (The officer must explain and define the Miranda rights so the juvenile knows what his rights are.) For less serious offenses, the officer may issue a citation for the minor to appear before a probation officer. If the officer decides to detain the minor, he must place him in a juvenile facility and immediately notify his parents that their child is being detained.
At this hearing, the attorney receives the police and probation officers’ reports and any other documents or reports concerning the minor and the incident. The minor does not enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Negotiations then begin.
The juvenile court decides if the minor is guilty. He then falls under juvenile laws. In serious matters, the prosecutor can ask the minor be tried as an adult and sentenced in adult court.
After counseling, a decision in the case is made as to what is in the best interest of the minor: releasing him, referring the juvenile to a non-judicial agent, or to some community program. Closing the minor’s case is done by placing, or deferring, the juvenile to an informed prosecuting supervisor to keep track of his behavior, or releasing the minor to his parents.
At all juvenile court hearings, the minor, his parents, and the minor’s attorney are entitled to be present. However, the hearings are closed and confidential unless the judge opens the hearing to the public. Juvenile court is considered a civil court, even though it determines violations of criminal laws. The state or an assigned counselor then steps in and assumes control of the minor for rehabilitation purposes. There is no finding of guilt and no conviction in juvenile court. A petition is filed and the juvenile is found to come within the provisions of the juvenile code.
Unlike adult court, the minor has no right to bail, no right to a jury trial, and no preliminary hearing. The state steps in and assumes control over the minor. For detention purposes, most states provide that their juvenile courts can have jurisdiction until the minor is twenty-five years old.
Premarital Agreement - Sometimes called a prenuptial agreement. A couple considering marriage can agree in writing prior to marriage what their rights will be in property owned prior to, during, and after marriage, especially in second marriages, when property has been accumulated. This agreement requires that each party disclose fully their assets and debts to the other prior to entering into the agreement. If there is a child in the home, child custody must be in the best interests of the child or children, including a fair amount of child support.
Marriage - Once a couple is married, whether through common law or formal ceremony, they are subject to state law regarding their property and their obligations to each other and their children. If they decide to end their marital relationship, they must do so according to the divorce laws of the state where they are residents.
Common-Law Marriage - If a couple lives together like a husband and wife, have not been formally married, have not purchased a marriage license, the people around them believe they are husband and wife, and the couple want to be legally husband and wife, most states recognize that relationship as a common-law marriage.
