Miss Ginger's Kangaroo Court®

Here again is Miss Ginger Grant with more riveting cases from the courts of Harris County Texas, and in Miss Ginger's Kangaroo Court®, YOU, dear GingerSnaps, are the sole judge and jury!  So let's get cracking!

Jakadrien Turner, a 15 year old Dallas girl with clearly a troubled home life, ran away to Houston, shoplifted, and got caught.  Apparently not wanting to be returned to her mother's custody, the young girl made the very poor decision to lie about her identity,  giving the name of a 22 year old Columbian national upon her arrested.  Jakadrien identified herself as Tika Lanay Cortez, and claimed that she could have her passport and and Columbian identification papers sent to authorities. She couldn't, and ultimately she was deported, and lived in Columbia for a period of time long enough to get pregnant. Her grandmother finally tracked her down in Columbia, worked with authorities to get her returned to the US, and now her mother (the one she ran away from) is suing the DHS, the Justice Department, and Janet Napolitano for $15 million dollars!! 

Here's where the story gets a bit sketchy, so grab a glass of wine- the Kangaroo Court will wait.

Jakadrien told authorities that after she ran away, she fell in love with "a trafficker", whatever the hell that means.  Of course, he abused her. Of course, he threatened to kill her and her family if she tried to leave. And of course, she managed to miraculously escape him, yet never told authorities about him until the whole ugly mess landed in court.

Apparently, in the short two weeks between her escape from her captor and her arrest, she met some people with family in Columbia.  Throughout her time in jail, she made multiple phone calls to these people, all the while maintaining the alias of Tika Lanay Cortez. Her new friends were unable to provide her with false documentation to prove her legitimacy in the US, so she was deported. 

Here's where the game of "he say's/she say's" starts.  The Associate Press says it reviewed some 15 phone calls that were recorded during her incarceration, and throughout all of those calls she maintained the alias of Tika Lanay Cortez.  But once a Dallas TV station shined its cameras on her upon her return, she's all "Oh, no, I told them I'm just little 15 year old Jakadrien Turner and I wanna go home to my momma!"  

Now, keep in mind, this little girl plead guilty to the shoplifting charge. She never told her attorney that she was lying about her name.  She was told of the immigration hold, and had 8 days to muddle this over in her mind and say "oh, I'm just kidding" but she never did.  And once she was handed over to Immigration authorities, she never told them she was an American citizen, and never complains of the deportation.

So now Granny, on the left, has her baby girl back, to spoil and love the way only a grandmother can.  And her Momma, on the right, has dollar signs in her eyes as she claims her baby girl has been a victim of discrimination.

"Ms. Turner's illegal detention and deportation are the direct and foreseeable consequence of official policies, patterns, practices and customs that manifest not only intentional discrimination based on race and ethnicity and a failure to recognize basic principles of due process, but also a reckless disregard for human life and liberty," according to the lawsuit.

So, what say ye, jury?  Does Momma get $15 million in reparation for  violation of her daughter's civil rights, or does the suit get thrown out as frivolous? Do you think it would have been handled differently had her skin been a different color? Read the evidence, and you decide.... in the comments section, of course!!

Ugliness

Before Miss Ginger jets off to Vegas for a weekend of vodka and slots with her brother,  she feels compelled to comment upon the ugliness that's going on in Houston right now.  It saddens her to see this going in her world, much less in her own beautiful city!

So, here's the story in a nutshell- you can read more on chron.com and get the names and details if you're interested. 

Some Afrian American kids stole some shit.  The cops came.  The cops chased the kids, and there is video of the cops pinning the first kid down.  The kid was convicted, and now says that a cop kicked him and stomped his head and used excessive force. The city conducted an investigation and fired the cop. The cop was tried for using excessive force, and an all-white jury acquited him.

Let Miss Ginger say, first and foremost, that she has absolutely no idea what happened in the moment.  She has not viewed the video, and even if she had, her opinion wouldn't matter.  The jury determined that they could not disprove from viewing the video the cop's claim that he used his foot to brush the boy's hand toward his hand in order to grasp it and secure it behind his head.  That action, apparently, would be considered "normal force" in the course of the cop's business.

Let her also say that she wants very much to trust the judicial system.  Fortunately for her, she has never found herself in the situation of having her integrity determined by a jury of her peers.  She's not exactly sure how she would feel if she ever found herself in that predicament. Hopefully, she never will.

She can't help but feel, however, that something is clearly broken, and this case demonstrates her point to a "T".  In her mind, it is the judge's responsibility to ensure that the trials that happen in his court are handled in a manner above reproach.  How can any judge, in good faith, allow a jury to be formed that appear homogeneous in any manner?  A jury should represent a cross-section of the population, and I can promise you that the population of Harris County is not 100% white.  That alone, in Miss G's mind, is enough to declare a mistrial.

The ugliness got even worse the day after the trial.  Quanel X, a notable African American activist in Houston, along with 3 respected African American pastors in the city, scheduled a meeting with District Attorny Pat Lykos to discuss their thoughts on the case and get her take on it.  From what she has read, Miss Ginger gathers that not a lot was accomplished in this meeting, but she commends Quanel and his friends for speaking up and opening a dialogue in a respectful, well-intended manner.

On the flipside of dignity and respect, ex- City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones made and ass of herself, cursing at Quanel for not including her in the meeting.  WTF?  You want to meet with the DA?  Schedule your own damn meeting!

So, an indignant Jolanda and her friends from an African American rights group swarmed the DA's office, lying on the floor in the hallway and disrupting the business of the entire DA's office. Again, WTF?!  Is your command of the English language so poor that you can't approach the DA in a dignified manner, request a block of her time, and share your thoughts and hear her insight on the case? No wonder Quanel didn't want you on his team!

Miss Ginger finds herself torn to form an opinion on the case, but she sure has formed one about Jolanda and her embarassing ilk!

Happy Derby day Mayo!!

It's 2 of Miss Ginger's favorite spring Holidays, all rolled into one!!  Can't wait to see all her friends at Derby Day!!

The press has recently criticized the adult beverage companies for turning Cinco de Mayo from a cultural observance to a drunkfest.  Miss Ginger is gonna have to do a little research on that...

Meanwhile, Jeebus weeps for usurped holidays.....