By Mark David Blum, Esq.

Yes, it is true. Through no fault of my own (heard that one before?), I spent six hours against my will at the Onondaga County Justice Center in Downtown Syracuse.

No, I was not in custody. No, I was not free to leave.

I have this nickel / dime criminal case that has underlying it some serious political issues. It feels like because of the nature of the case and client, the “system” has been knocking me and my client around quite a bit for the past nine months. That is not new.

Yesterday, the case was on for a hearing. The schedule was for it to start at 9:00 a.m. When I arrived at the Justice Center at 8:45, I was advised the proceeding had been scheduled for 11:00 a.m.. Nobody called me to let me know of the change. I sure loved fighting that “rush hour” traffic from Manlius to arrive at the church on time – only to learn I was two hours early.

With nothing to do, I sat in the waiting area at the Justice Center. At 10:30, I signed in, got a locker, put my stuff away and went outside to chain smoke. By 12:15, I had grown weary of sitting and called to find out what was what. They told me the matter had been rescheduled for 1:00 p.m. Neither the Justice Center nor I were told about that change.

At 12:45 p.m., a State’s witness showed up for the proceeding. That was a good sign. We chatted and he told me that he too had been told to be there at 9:00 a.m. but received a call at the last minute and was told to be there at 1:00 p.m. Hmmmmm.

By 2:10 p.m., the witness was calling everybody he could call and I was calling everybody I could call and nobody could give us any information. The witness left. I hated to leave because the client really needed the hearing. But, without the witness present, the hearing was not going to happen anyway. After five and a half hours, it was game over.

Now, we wait for another day.

First, I have to say that over the course of five and a half hours on the hard metal seats of the waiting area of the Justice Center, you have an ideal observation post as to the goings on at the facility. Most times, I just come and go like a tornado … doing my business and getting the hell out of there. The sound of a door closing and locking behind me makes the hair on my neck stand up. Knowing I cannot leave until “they” let me is a very creepy feeling. I find myself holding my breath until I find myself outside and breathing fresh air.

This time was different. As free as I was to come and go, I could not. Though I was not inside the secure portions of the facility, never before have I been more confined than I was yesterday. As an attorney and officer of the Court, I had an obligation to my client and to the system to be there and to be ready; even if it meant waiting. While the system will never wait for a late attorney or client, there is not an attorney in practice who has not waited what could total to months waiting for judges or courts to start on time or their cases to be called. This made me a prisoner because I could not in good conscience leave.

Second, I had to the chance to witness first hand what I already knew to be true. Custody Deputies and employees of the Onondaga County Justice Center in Downtown Syracuse are professional and honorable. I watched how over and over, they demonstrated their respect and kindness to the general public. They did their jobs with efficiency and treated everyone as human beings. While having to do business with their facility is not something you would wish for; if you find yourself in the position of doing so, then you can take comfort in knowing that the Deputies and Employees of the Facility are good people who do good work.

Third, something odd struck me. Over that same period of time … five and a half hours … only five lawyers showed up to see clients. A couple more may have slipped through unrecognized. There are several hundred inmates in the facility and I found that so few lawyers actually came and went to be a noticeable fact.

You can count me as being among the guilty I have three clients in the facility yet I saw none of them; not even the guy on whose case I came to appear. I could not leave the lobby lest everybody show up and the hearing start without me – which is not a good thing.

Fourth, I am not herein claiming any kind of super strength or super morality for sitting so long. In fact, I was not among those who sat the longest. There was a larger and gathering crowd of folks who sat far longer than did I. These were people who lined up to get numbers to they could visit with inmates. Visitation hours were late in the afternoon but people started showing up at about 9:00 a.m. to get a seat in line.

All but two of these people were females. All but four were Black. There were several pregnant women. One child sat patiently with her mom. I listened to them as they spoke of bus schedules and doctor appointments. They talked of work schedules and babysitting schedules. Money was never an issue as they were all in the same boat. My heart went out to each and every one of them and I wished I could waive a magic wand and make their lives pain free. In my mind, I kept telling myself the lesson that I have learned over the years. This too shall pass.

I had the chance to overhear many conversations. Foremost among them were “stupid lawyers” and “fucking judges”. It was also amazing to see how many of them knew each other either from repeated prior visits or just from society.

Some folks who had been detained and were ordered released also showed up in the lobby. They went to the window where you get your stuff back after you are released from custody. The folks I saw there all tended to be white. One construction worker stood out as he commented on the beautiful jail and how much money was being spent on the prison system … and that is why they keep arresting people for drugs. “Too late”, I thought. He should not have voted for prohibitionists. Most folks do not change their opinion until it is too late and they or a relative get snagged in the web.

In the end, for me it came down to being so tired that I needed to either leave the facility or commit an act that would get me a bed upstairs. The person who made me sit there all day deserves the latter. Obviously, I chose the former and quickly scribbled a note to the Judge explaining my absence.

… and so the game continues.