Sunday, January 30, 2005

People v. Minor (Cal. Ct. App. - January 27, 2005)

Here's a hypothetical. Imagine that you drive drunk, killing one person and seriously injuring two others. You convince the judge to suspend most of your sentence, and you're put on 5 years of probation, with one of the conditions being that you abstain from alcohol. You're doing swimmingly for four and a half years. What do you do during the final months of your five year probation?

(A) Keep clean. You're almost a free man!
(B) Get drunk in public, and get arrested.
(C) Get drunk in public again, and get arrested again.
(D) Get drunk again, drive your car, make sure to speed, and get arrested for drunk driving.
(E) Run a red light, get stopped by the cops, and then speed away while dragging a police officer halfway down the street.
(F) Each of (B) through (E) above, seriatim.

The correct answer, of course, is (F). At least if your name is Jeffrey Minor, in this case. Bright, eh?

Here's some extra credit: When you're looking at over 10 years in the clink for (B) through (F), where do you flee? (A) Some country without an extradition treaty with the US. (B) In a sufficiently obvious place in Italy that it will take the authorities less than four weeks to find you. (B) it is. Great job, Jeff.

P.S. - On the merits, by the way, I think Justice O'Leary gets it right. Italy refuses to extradite Minor for the parole violation because Italy doesn't like parole not counting as "time served," but nonetheless sends him back for the other offenses. Which get doubled at sentencing due to the prior strike (the DUI in which Minor killed someone). Minor claims this violates the extradition order, which didn't allow him to be punished for the parole violation. But Justice O'Leary holds that the doubling is just an enhancement, and doesn't violate the order, which was largely concerned about Minor not getting dinged for the parole violation. Which is the way I read the order too.