What would you do?

[Smidley]

To Whom It May Concern:

I am the victim in this case, and I have a few questions. Also, please consider this to be my victim impact statement to be submitted to the court.

Firstly, why is case 2006CM001386 cross-referenced with my case?

Secondly, why is Kyle only being charged with a misdemeanor? Statute 940.19 (2) states “Whoever causes substantial bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another is guilty of a Class I felony.” Statute 940.19 (4) states “Whoever causes great bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another is guilty of a Class H felony.” Statute 940.19 (5) states “Whoever causes great bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause great bodily harm to that person or another is guilty of a Class E felony.”

I have brought this up with your office before, and I was informed that the difference in wording implies broken bones, hospitalization, etc. Kyle’s (whom I had never met before the incident) unprovoked sucker punch caused a fracture of the anterior table (outer bone) of my right frontal sinus. In addition to the cosmetic deformity, I now suffer from semi-frequent sinus headaches in my forehead that have forced me to miss work and school, worsened cold/flu symptoms, excessive mucus drainage from my right nostril, nose bleeds from my right nostril, and, most recently, strange “fizzy” headaches on the top-right side of my skull. The fun doesn’t end: I am now more susceptible to potentially fatal “mucus balls” forming in the fractured sinus because the inner sinus wall is no longer uniformly smooth. I would call that substantial or great bodily harm.

What’s the point of drafting statutory law if criminals won’t be properly prosecuted under it? As I’ve mentioned before, I have brought this up with your office before on separate occasions (this is the third or fourth attempt). The usual response was “we’ll look into it,” but to my knowledge, very little “looking into” occurred. The last time, however, I was informed that he would be prosecuted as a felon only if he tried to fight the charge. Is the DA aware that there were five eyewitnesses all willing to testify against Kyle? Justice…are you there?

Finally, why is the status hearing continuously being delayed? The last date was supposed to be September 26. Now it has been delayed to December 4.

I understand that your office is very busy and that I am not the only victim of crime in this city. However, if Kyle is allowed to get off with a simple misdemeanor, I will be compelled to file a tort claim of assault against him seeking monetary damages. I feel that our court system is already clogged with civil suits – legitimate and frivolous alike – so I believe this course of action would be undesirable for everyone involved.

Sincerely,

Smidley

Note: If convicted, he will be forced to pay the hospital bills and missed work.

Any suggestions, additions, or omissions?

Also, what would you do.

[CoonDawg]

Break a big, wooden baseball bat over HIS sinus.

[Knothead]

I'm afraid I'm missing something here.

What's this about? What happened?

Could we have some background, Smidley?

[Zitch]

We're missing details, but it's not too difficult to infer what happened. As it is, I really have no idea what to suggest. Vigilante justice does feel good here, but it doesn't pay the hospital bills, and it might get you convicted for a felony in this great, ironic, U.S...

[Knothead]

Agreed, Zitch, but...

...with more detail, we MIGHT find a loophole!

[Smidley]

Sorry. I thought there was enough information in the letter to the DA's office.

I was at someone's house in May of 2005 and got in a verbal confrontation with some drunken buffoon that I've never met before. I thought everything was resolved when he sucker punched me in the forehead out of nowhere. I was sitting shotgun in a car with four (good looking) girls at the time, so not only did I not have any backing, I'm sure jealousy played a role. I assure you that if I was with at least one of my male friends, this guy would have been beaten to near death.

I went to the ER the next day because I was having nose bleeds out of my right nostril. There was a lot of swelling and the ER doctor said they wouldn't do any x-rays or MRIs since I wasn't knocked unconscious.

After the swelling went down, I could feel that something wasn't right. Unfortunately, I had a hard time convincing my doctor that something was broken. He sent me to a ear, nose, and throat doctor who finally confirmed the fracture, and he sent me to a surgeon at a medical college. By that time, one to two months had gone by, and any surgery would have been very complicated. The fracture had already set, and he would have had to rebroken it. He gave me two options: one that involved cutting my scalp from ear to ear and pulling it down to fix it, and one that involved making small incisions around the fracture and working under the skin. The former had a higher chance of success than the latter for obvious reasons. Either surgery would have been purely for cosmetic reasons, though, so I opted for neither.

Now, it's been a year and a half and this guy is still free. The wheels of justice move extremely slow!

[Knothead]

Oh. Okay, simple assault and battery. I'll assume you immediately reported the incident to the cops and had him charged, HMMM?

Yeah, the wheels o' justice indeed move slowly. Anyway, the jerk can expect to get hassled out of his mind (not to mention, financially RAPED by the lawyers) in the slow-grinding process.

Don't worry, Smidley, he's in DEEP regret already!

The legal system is dived up into sections; the CRIMINAL system is what this guy is dealing with right now; IMO, you were cross-referenced only because you're the guy who got hit. But the criminal court does not necessarily concern itself with restitution to YOU.

Sorry, but you'll need an attorney of your own in order to sue for personal damages in CIVIL court.

Never mind about all that jazz about "vigilante" justice. Zitch was right.

btw, good for you for being your own advocate to the D.A....in case you haven't figured it out yet, this is not the kind of case that gets those guys all hot and bothered. So keep right on poking 'em!

[Smidley]

I waited a couple of days to report it because I wanted to find out more about the nature of the beast. I was living with my parents at the time, and I didn't want any retaliation against me, them, or their home.

The case that is cross-referenced with mine is a completely unrelated hit-and-run case against him that was apparently dropped by the DA for lack of evidence. This guy is a real winner!

I know I'll need a private attorney to sue, but I'm thinking about asking my dad's lawyer to refer me to someone trustworthy and who will only collect if I win.

Thanks for all of the replies so far.

[draboo]

If the case keeps on getting delayed,and/or mr buffoon gets charged with a misdemeanor,I might consider going to the media with a nicely written letter praising the prosecuting attorney with the fine job his office did with the handling of this case.

Seems like Kyle or his family has some money to spend on attorney fees.

[clancy]

If you can not afford a lawyer for a civil action, there is always small claims court.