News From The Hudson City Court

This morning in Hudson City Court, Michael Madison, the bane of the 7th Street Park and its surroundings, was brought before Judge Connor in his prison jumpsuit and handcuffs.  Madison has been in the County Jail since early April, and today was his 3rd or 4th appearance in front of Connor since then.  On August 22nd in court, Madison's mental health counselor, Jill Potter, spoke out loud of the beneficial "injections" Madison had received during his 30 day stay at the Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie (I wonder who paid for that).

The court has been having difficulty with Madison, trying to determine if he was competent to stand trial.  Today the judge said that the results of a July 30 examination by two doctors found Madison to be competent and "he has the mental capacity to stand trial."   With that determination, the court, the County Assistant DA and Madison's public defender Michael Howard could proceed with charging Madison of his crimes and several violations.  

It took Judge Connor exactly 2 minutes and 45 seconds to read the list of violations Madison had been charged with late last year and early this year prior to being sent to jail (today was the 3rd time I have heard Connor do this) -- 40 or 50 in all, mostly for trespassing on the Citgo property across from the park, but also violations (tickets from HPD which Madison drops on the ground and never shows up to court for) for open container, illegal discharge of garbage, harassment, disorderly conduct, obstructing traffic, etc.  Then there was discussion about his misdemeanors and felonies -- 5 counts of stolen property, weapons possession, menacing in the second degree and possibly something else.

(How soon) will this resume?

Regarding the stolen property charge (credit cards, I believe, which probably took place in February or March), Assistant DA Carl Whitbeck said, "I am not willing to prosecute this," and so the charge was dismissed by the court. The menacing charge was also dropped. The weapons possession charge was the only part of the plea deal, and it was dropped to criminal possession of a weapon 4th. That was the only thing Michael Madison pled guilty to -- not one of the dozens of violations in and around the public park was a problem for him.  Problem for us, but not for him, of course.  Judge Connor sentenced Michael Maidson to time served with a conditional discharge. If Madison is arrested for a felony or misdemeanor within 6 months, he is back in jail for up to a year without a trial.

Connor and Whitbeck joked about how trying to hold Madison responsible for future violations would be useless.   It was as if they expect Michael Madison to return to his old nasty habits in the 7th Street Park as soon as he is able to, where ticketing him for violations is an exercise in futility.  Before being led out of the courtroom, Madison asked Jill Potter if she would pick him up at jail to drive him to DSS.  Jill said that she would, and off they both went, out separate doors.

Prior to Madison's case, a gentleman was brought before Judge Connor with a harassment charge.  The judge told the Assistant DA, the defendant and his public defender the following (in essence):  "While I was at a Yankees game recently, I got an email from my son with a video of the fight the defendant was in.  My son told me I had to watch the fight, and so I did.  Therefore, since I am considered a witness to the fight and the harassment, I have to recuse myself from this case."  Judge Connor adjourned the case to Thursday so that Judge Roberts could adjudicate it.

That is all the excitement you missed in court today.