Garland Municipal Court Ignores Rules With Pro Se Defendant In Code Compliance Case

View of alley where the Garland code inspector parked his
truck and stood on the side of the truck bed to look over
the 8ft privacy fence.  

On October 5th, I went to court for another pretrial hearing regarding seven citations issued by the City of Garland Code Compliance.
I had filed a motion for Discovery in September. I thought that once the prosecutor got a look at all the misconduct and fraud committed by code inspector, Dawood Haq, they would simply dismiss the tickets rather than let it go to trial and have his conduct become public record. No such luck.

The Garland, Texas municipal court has a very effective system that maximizes their incoming revenue. Here is how it works when someone is issued a citation...

The defendant appears in court and meets briefly with the prosecutor. The defendant can plead guilty and pay the fine or they can plead not guilty and request a trial by judge or jury.
In my case, I requested a trial by jury.



They then set a date for pretrial hearing for motions that is usually 2 weeks. At the pretrial hearing
the prosecutor will meet with you first to offer any deals.  Next you both see the judge to go over any motions that you filed. In my case I filed a motion for discovery and to dismiss.
The judge and prosecutor will deny just about every argument that you have and it doesn't matter that what they say or do is completely illegal or violates your rights.

Consider the court and the Garland legal system to be like the Mafia.

Example: You make a deal with the Mafia and they screw you over. You cry foul and they tell you, "What are you gonna do about it? Huh?" 

You can't do a thing unless you want a bigger world of hurt brought down onto you.

You are then given a trial date. My trial is scheduled on December 4, 2017.
This is when defendants REALLY get jerked around.
When you appear for your trial on the date you are scheduled, the courtroom is full of people and all of them are there for their trial as well. The judge calls you to the bench and will explain the following...

"Our docket is overbooked today and there is no way we will be able to get to your case today. We are going to have to reset your trial date. Step over there and the clerk will get you set up with the new date...... NEXT!"

The docket that day has15 to 20 cases scheduled and the court will only continue to proceed with 2 or 3 cases. The remaining cases will all be reset.
Remember.... "What are you gonna do about it, huh?"

The defendant appears on the new trial date you were given (usually one to two months from last appearance). Its the same thing. Courtroom full of people assuming they will be having their trial that day but, the judge will call you forward and explain the same thing as last time...
"Our docket is overbooked today and there is no way we will be able to get to your case today. We are going to have to reset your trial date. Step over there and the clerk will get you set up with the new date...... NEXT!"

Are you seeing what they are doing? A lot of the defendants have to ask off of work in order to appear in court and by the time they start to notice the pattern the court operates on, they have already had to appear in court 4 to 6 times and it is not easy to arrange to get off of work so much.
A good number of defendants end up not appearing for a court date and they are then deemed GUILTY! Some defendants get worn down and just pay the fine rather than continue to have their case reset. Then there are some that continue to show up on the dates they were given and they continue to have their case pushed back until they move up the docket list and are number 1 or 2 on the docket.

Now that you are next in line for trial, the prosecutor talks with the judge and they will usually offer you one final plea deal to avoid trial. It is usually a pretty attractive offer that most defendants accept. For those who turn it down in order to get their day in court, they are told to have a seat while the court prepares to proceed.
The defendant sits and waits to get started and 75% of the time, the prosecutor informs you that your tickets are being dismissed and you won. The other 25% will have their trial and the defendant is kicked around by the prosecutor and they hope the jury sides with them.

All in all, a defendant representing themselves will need to appear in court a minimum of 7 times and possibly more than 10 to 12 times. It is usually more than a year before the case is finally closed.
That is hardly a "speedy trial" as we all have a right to.
Just remember.... "What are you gonna do about it, huh?"
Keep in mind.... ALL of that will usually take place BEFORE the defendant ever has a chance to be heard!

What I wrote above is what anyone can expect to face when proceeding Pro Se or representing themselves.

Every time I appeared in court, I noticed other attorneys who were there representing clients. Some of the attorneys were there by themselves and some were there with defendants who hired them.
I can speak from personal experience that I have never seen a defendant appear more than ONE time when they had an attorney with them. AND... the people with a lawyer with them ALWAYS saw the prosecutor and appeared before the judge before any person in the courtroom who was representing themselves.

The lesson here is simple...
If you ever get a ticket in Garland, Texas for traffic or code compliance violations, you WILL have your rights violated regardless of how much evidence you have to support your innocence. Both the judge and prosecutor will bully you around with what seems to be legal reasons but, as long as you don't have the legal background or the financial means to get legal help.... Its the same thing.
"What are you gonna do about it, huh?"

I have a right to be heard in court to defend myself against the accusations against me. The prosecution has the burden to prove my guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I have a right to face my accuser but, while all that is true.... It simply doesn't apply in Garland municipal court.
But, "What are you gonna do about it, huh?"

Thankfully, we all have the first amendment to protect us. Free speech! As long as what I say is the truth, what I say is protected by the first amendment. I may not get to make my case and defend myself against the unethical, crooked code compliance inspector and his supporting cast of people he works with but, I am going to tell the public everything I can in hopes that those people in code enforcement and the municipal court are finally exposed and held accountable for their misconduct and even illegal actions against everyday citizens.