Is there anything you need to be forgiven for?
Man, I was hoping this wouldn't come up. I haven't talked about this to anybody. I was probably 12 or 13, something like that. Now I'm a lawyer, and had that gone totally differently, who knows where my life would have led. I have never apologized.
The Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office is the oldest and biggest public defender's office in the world. We represent approximately 200,000 cases a year. Paper, paper, paper, paper, paper, paper, everywhere, everywhere. Every day, you have cases coming in, you have people needing help. We need to do a good job in every case. But to be honest, the enormous volume is overwhelming. I'm working in the neurocognitive disorder unit, where many of my clients are functioning intellectually and emotionally like they're a fourth or a fifth grader. Trying to find grace for my clients within a rigid justice system is very hard.
Johnny Reyes. Johnny was arrested in June of 2020, and he was assigned to me. Johnny is charged with three counts, residential burglary, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, and he's accused of criminal threats. I also see that he was born with lead in his blood. He was on the streets with his mother for a long period of time. He was suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This was a life that was predestined to have severe difficulties. It wasn't Johnny's choice.
My name is Elda Torres. I came to this country when I was 21. At the time, I had my son and my daughter. My mom was a wonderful woman, but the drinking changed her a lot. She was 42 when she was pregnant with Johnny. And Johnny saw her when she got a stroke. He was five years old. She passed away. So my husband and I, we decided to have him. He started to call us mom and dad. He was my brother, but we raised Johnny like he is our son. God gave us the strength to do it. That's what I believe. Luna is our family dog. And Luna, oh, Luna loved Johnny. Wherever he went, she always went with him. She helped him to calm down. Every time he got upset, he grabbed Luna and take her to the room. But soon, everything changed. Johnny got in trouble more. We can't control him.
The more I read through the case, it was obvious that his disabilities were causing his interaction with the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, it happens too often.
I want him home, but we need to pay a lawyer. It's very hard. We don't have the money. You know, even we working so hard, we don't really have the money to pay big lawyers.
You can tell a lot about a country by how it treats its most vulnerable people. We live in a country where the government can't just lock you up and throw away the key. The law guarantees that you will have some protection. Gideon v. Wainwright, landmark Supreme Court case, the defendant in that case, Clarence Earl Gideon, represented himself at trial and lost. Guilty as charged. So say we all. And filed an appeal on his own behalf and said, I should have been given an attorney because the Constitution says I should have an attorney, but I couldn't afford one. And that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said he was absolutely right. And they overturned the conviction, sent it back for trial with the requirement that he be given an attorney. And then at the subsequent trial, he won with his public defender. He won. Gideon v. Wainwright provides that everybody is entitled to an attorney. So if you cannot afford one, the government has to provide it for you. That's why I'm here.
Can you tell me what happened that day?
Johnny. One day he came to my house, started fighting with my husband. And that's why he went to jail. I love Johnny so much. And I don't want to see him alone. We miss him. Luna, 20 years old. Yes. Luna miss him too.
Johnny was accused of going into the house his parents rent without their permission. And then his father had found him drunk in the kitchen, at which point he began to attack him by choking him. And the police were called and Johnny was arrested. They didn't realize that he was going to be taken to jail and spend more than a year in custody. His total maximum punishment is approximately 20 years in state prison. This was an extremely high-stakes case. For everybody involved, they didn't want him to go to jail. Diversion is an opportunity to avoid a conviction by doing treatment. Breaking away from the criminal justice prosecution, you get diverted out of the system. If granted, it would allow him to get help and keep his record clean. It's a big deal. For Johnny, it would be a huge deal. But to apply for diversion takes a lot of time. The average felony case that I work on ends up being 5,000 pieces of paper. Every single issue on a case is limited by the amount of time we have. And paper equals time. Now, in Johnny's case, it was the very beginning of when I was able to really move everything, send everything, receive everything digitally. And it was the first time that we were able to get experts to conduct neuropsychological testing via video. And because our file exists online, I could see all the police reports, hospitalization records, educational records, medical records, all the treatment records instantly. It's game-changing.
My husband was very bad after Johnny hurt him. He felt like crying. My husband still don't forgive him yet. But, you know, we went to Big Bear and my husband, he found out a sweater for Johnny. He said, this is for Johnny. This is good for him. He will like it. A sweater for him. But still, it's a process. Forgiveness is the best thing that we can have. Because it makes our heart free. My husband, he has to make a choice to forgive him or not. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we also forgive those who trespass against us. Do not let us fall into temptation, and deliver us from evil. Amen.
In my request for the diversion, I pointed out all the disabilities that Johnny had had. I discussed all the trauma that he had endured. We presented a very strong and coherent plan to treat all the disabilities he had. It was the chance to change everything for Johnny. That moment where all the work, all the communications and information gathering, and the DA, and probation, and the regional center, and all the various other actors who were involved in our request for diversion. It was a chance to move on from a really, really bad moment, and make a better future from it. An opportunity to live a new life.
Is there anything you need to be forgiven for?
Um... Man, I was hoping this wouldn't come up. I haven't talked about this to anybody. I may not have told my wife. I was a bully in elementary school. Um... His name was David. Another student. I should have been expelled. I should have been expelled. Yeah. But he didn't ever tell anybody. I never want to hurt somebody. I never want to be involved in hurting anybody. Um... And... Uh... So that's one of my big regrets. I think if you're having trouble forgiving somebody else, I understand. And I don't blame you for not wanting to, or maybe even not being able to. Forgiveness is a gift. And gifts aren't expected. So I don't expect somebody to forgive somebody. It's not an expectation. If you can find it, that's grace. Ultimately, the judge agreed to divert him. I'm sorry.
Hi, may I speak with David, please?
David does not live here, okay?
Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you.
He's unavailable. Please leave your message after the tone. When done, hang up or press the pound key.
Hi, David. This is Noah Cox. We went to school together about 30 years ago. And I was calling to say hi and to apologize for being a total jerk. I see you're still in Cleveland. I'm in Los Angeles, California. I'm a public defender now. So, sending you my regards and well wishes. Sorry for this call from out of the blue, but I think it was about time. Um, thank you. Bye.
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