On the morning of 04/27/2010 I went to the Belchertown courthouse, as summoned, to be arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful wiretapping. Naturally, I was extremely nervous and it was much more "educational" than I would have liked but the outcome was quite good, due in large part to the help I received from a number of people. (Note: no cycling-related content here.)

Don Frank suggested that I rewrite his motion to dismiss from the West Springfield case and submit it at the arraignment. However, I realized that this idea would not work since I would not have access to the police report until after the arraignment so submitting a motion to dismiss at the arraignment would ruin my opportunity to submit the motion later when I would have access to the police and be represented by an attorney. However, it did give me the idea that I could submit motions at the arraignment, which I had not been aware of before. When I mentioned the problem with submitted a motion to dismiss at the arraignment to Don Frank, he said that I could submit a motion for a show cause hearing, at which the prosecutor would have to demonstrate that my guilt was reasonably likely in light the evidence available or else the charges would be dismissed. A show cause hearing is similar to a motion-to-dismiss hearing except that burden of proof is on the prosecution in a show cause hearing and on the defense in a motion-to-dismiss hearing. More on this below.

From the idea that I could submit motions at the arraignment, it occurred to me that I should submit two other motions as well. I wanted to ensure access to the footage from my camera since I had some suspicion, with the camera being held by the Hadley police, that the footage might disappear before I could access and copy it, especially if the wiretapping charge was dismissed before trial. Also, my dad suggested that it might be possible to combine the traffic citation with the criminal charges into a single docket. This would make the traffic citation available as evidence against the criminal charges as well as require fewer court appearances. However, I did not know how to write or submit these motions. I seemed to have received all of the free help that I could from Don Frank. I tried to ask Bill Newman about this and some other things since he was supposedly representing me in some manner but he would not answer any of my questions.

I had been talking to Ruthy Woodring, co-founder of Pedal People and currently member of the MassBike Pioneer Valley chapter board of directors, about my problem (the general problem of being harassed by the police, not the specific problem of how to compose and submit the motions). At some point, she ran into an attorney friend of hers named Luke Ryan and she mentioned my case. Luke Ryan offered to meet with me. Caleb Gallus, a mechanic at Hampshire Bicycle Exchange and a participant in Western Massachusetts Copwatch, had also mentioned Luke Ryan to me when I told him about my problem since Luke Ryan also works with Western Massachusetts Copwatch, which has apparently faced abuses of the State wiretapping statute before. I met Caleb through our mutual friend Jesse Sevoian, who is a mechanic at Laughing Dog Bicycles and also has his own shop, Sevoian Cycles, at which he does welding, frame building, and powder coating. (Jesse built and painted my Xtracycle. Caleb might teach, or help teach, a class on basic bicycle repair that I am organizing in Amherst for Pioneer Valley Bike Commute Week / Bay State Bike Week.)

At our meeting, Luke Ryan told me some of the standard terms for the concepts I was describing and offered to send me some motion templates  With this information and a little more that I found on the web I was able to write a motion to remand, a motion to preserve evidence, and a "motion to combine" (my term). He also gave me some hints about how to present the motions. He said that it had to be done before the arraignment started, which meant that as soon as I called to come forward I would have to interrupt the judge and ask to speak to him or her (her as it turns out). Otherwise, it would have to wait for the first pre-trial hearing, which could be a month or more later, and the motion to remand could not be submitted at all once I was arraigned. I was terrified by the idea but I wrote a script for myself and practiced reading it in my head. More on this below.

He also explained some of the rules about show cause hearings, which seem illogical to me and which I have trouble imagining how someone might attempt to justify them. If the accused is charged with no felonies and if the charges did not originate with an arrest then they are entitled to a show cause hearing. However, if the accused is charged with a felony or the charges did originate with an arrest then they are not entitled to a show cause hearing, although the arraignment judge does have the discretion to order one. So it seems that charges that carry a greater consequence to the defendant and a greater expense to the court system are approached with less caution. Hence, I was not entitled to a show cause hearing in this cause because I was charged with a felony and I was not entitled to a show cause hearing in the West Springfield case because I was arrested.

At the courthouse, I checked in with the probation department where I filled out some forms with information about my identity and financial position. Because of my financial position and because I was facing a jail sentence, I was entitled to a court-appointed attorney so the wiretapping charge was something of an advantage to me there. There was some question about the money in my checking my account but that did not amount to anything. There was confusion all around about my name since I had been charged under my original name of Eli Cooper rather than my current name of Eli Damon. I had to explain it to several people over the course of my time at the courthouse, including to the prosecutor when I spoke to him.

Since Luke Ryan was planning to be at the Belchertown courthouse on the day of my arraignment anyway, he offered to help me there too. He checked over my motions. He told me that the show cause hearing was long shot but that there was no reason not to try for it. He photocopied the motions and told me to give the copies to the prosecutor. Luke Ryan found the prosecutor and got his attention for me and I gave the prosecutor my motions. This was not the prosecutor who would be assigned to my case. He was just on duty for arraignments. When he saw the motions he told me that I was not entitled to a show cause hearing. I told him that I knew this and reminded him that I was entitled to ask for one anyway.

Luke Ryan also introduced me to David Rock, the court-appointed attorney on duty that day. Although he had technically not been assigned to my case yet, David Rock looked over my case. He seemed to understand the situation and that along with Luke Ryan's praise gave me confidence.

My name (Eli Cooper) was called and, all psyched up, I looked at the judge, Lauren Macleod, and charged forward, ready to give my speech. I guess I charged to the wrong place though because, before I could start, the bailiff started acting all twitchy and told me to move somewhere else. Eventually I found the place where he wanted me to stand. The judge started talking. She must have asked me whether I wanted an attorney. I was assuming that I would not have an attorney until after the arraignment and that I needed to submit my motions before the arraignment so when she paused for my answer I asked if I could talk to her for a minute. She said that she did not recommend it. I told her that I wanted to present some motions. With an annoyed tone, she asked me again whether I wanted an attorney. It got the feeling that I would not get the chance to present my motions. I answered yes. She asked me if I had a job. I answered no. She annoucned that she was appointing David Rock to represent. It was very fortunate that David Rock already knew about the motions because he immediately stepped forward and told the judge about them, which I apparently was not permitted to do because of the rigid elitism in court culture. The judge summarily denied the motion to remand, that is, she rejected the notion of a show cause hearing without waiting for even a sentence of reasoning. However she did grant the motion to preserve evidence and the motion to combine. As in my arraignment in the West Springfield case the judge informed me that I could be held in jail if I committed another crime in any jurisdiction before this case was resolved, which had the effect of, being once violated, making me more vulnerable to being violated again. The first pre-trial hearing was scheduled for 06/01/2010.

I should be consulting with my attorney soon. I should also be getting a copy of the police report soon. I will tell you all when I find out more.