f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

Schenectady (NY) County Judge Karen Drago knows “farfetched” when she

sees it — and defendant Frank Darmody is grateful. Judge Drago dismissed

a grand jury felony charge against Darmody on one count of “attempted criminal

possession of a weapon.” (Schenectady Daily Gazette, “Charge tied to weapon

dismissed,” Nov. 19, 2005, $ubscpt)

 

 

During a traffic stop on various violations, Darmody had told an officer that

there was a gun on the back seat of his vehicle, but it didn’t work and he was

repairing it for a friend. Tests showed that the gun was inoperable, and thus

could not be the basis for a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. However,

the innovative Assistant Schenectady County District Attorney, Martin Burke,

decided to seek an indictment based on Darmody’s intent to repair the weapon

and thus make it operable. Burke has admitted that he’s been unable to find

any case law on this issue.

 

Judge Drago therefore made a little caselaw of her own, in People v Darmody

(Oct. 28, 2005), stating:

“The People’s argument that the charge should stand because

he intended to repair the weapon and once operable he would

be in possession of the weapon is farfetched at best.”

Seems to me that the grand jury should have laughed A.D.A. Burke right out

of their hearing room. Of course, if Darmody had been caught in the very

act of repairing the gun, Judge Drago might have reached a different conclusion.

Would you? Any criminal law experts out there with an opinion?

You’ve got to wonder what ADA Burke might decide to do “bombfuse”

to anybody in possession of the book The Boy Mechanic –

a 1913 compilation by Popular Mechanics, available free

from Project Gutenberg, with the following cautionary

disclarimer (via RyeBlog and Blawg Review‘s Anonymous Ed) :

“These projects involve items such as gunpowder,

acetylene, hydrogen, lead, mercury, sulfuric acid,

nitric acid, cadmium, potassium sulfate, potassium

cyanide, potassium ferrocyanide, copper sulfate,

and hydrochloric acid. Several involve the construction

of hazardous electrical devices. Please view these as

snapshots of culture and attitude, not as suggestions

for contemporary activity.”

 

 

 

country stop sign–
the pink glow of sunset
through .22 holes

midday heat

the staccato staccato

of a nail gun

 

 

 

against the rumbling
of the thunderhead:
his toy gun

 

 

Lee Gurga

from Fresh Scent (Brooks Books, 1998)

 

 

 

hunting season

i read the inscription

inside my wedding band

 

 

 

 

lonely road
a policeman listens
as i recite the alphabet

hunting season
i lower my shotgun
to watch the pheasants

ed markowski

 

 

 

• by dagosan

smells like Thanksgiving —

two dads smoke cigars

behind the garage

 

 

[Nov. 20, 2005]

 

“BombFuseN”