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Questions of race, class and justice

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published November 30, 2005

James Evans is just one of many people who believe its time to ask some serious questions about our judicial system.

Evans, the executive director of the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope, has organized a town hall meeting Thursday to discuss the apparent inequities in our legal system. It will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Beulah Baptist Church, 1006 W Cypress St.

The meeting comes in the wake of the high-profile Jennifer Porter case, but the Debra Lafave case also has spurred discussions about our system.

Porter, a 28-year-old schoolteacher, received two years of house arrest, three years of probation and 500 hours of community service for her involvement in the fatal March 2004 accident that killed 13-year-old Bryant Wilkins and 3-year-old Durontae Caldwell.

Lafave, a 25-year-old middle school teacher, pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery last week after being accused of having sex with a 14-year-old male student. Her sentence was three years of house arrest and seven years of probation.

Each case raises questions about the role race, class and even gender play in our judicial system, but Evans made it clear he is simply an organizer and facilitator. He says this isn't a meeting he has called for, but a meeting called for by the people.

"There are many other people who are coming forth to express their concerns about how they've been treated," Evans said. "We want to give them a chance to express themselves in an intelligent way, not in such a way that is disrespectful to our panel guests, but in a way they can ask questions of people who are privilege to information."

To help answer the questions, Evans has convened a panel made up primarily of the principals involved in the Porter case. Among those scheduled to participate: state attorney Mark Ober, Porter defense attorney Barry Cohen, community activist Michelle Patty and attorney Tom Parnell, who represented Lisa Wilkins, the mother of the two kids.

Don't go, however, expecting the Porter case to be tried. Evans wants the panelists to explain the legal reasons behind some crucial decisions about the case, not argue the evidence.

"This is deeper than Jennifer Porter," Evans said. "This is about looking at the disparities among African-Americans who are entered into our justice system, and many other facets of our justice system because justice should be blind."

One of Evans' questions centers not on the Porter case, but on Lafave. He thinks about a particular statement attorney John Fitzgibbons made about Lafave, and wonders what it says about our judicial system.

During the media frenzy that led up to the plea deal, Fitzgibbons said, "To place an attractive young woman in that kind of hell hole is like placing a piece of raw meat in with the lions. I don't think Debbie could survive it."

Asked Evans: "What are you saying, that the percentage of Americans in prison are ugly people who deserve to be incarcerated? Are we saying that if you're young and poor and not articulate, that's a green light to harsher punishment?

"Are we saying that others deserve less punishment or a lighter sentence like in the case of Jennifer Porter or Debra Lafave because of how they look?"

Hillsborough County Public Defender Julianne Holt also will be on the panel, and while she wasn't involved in the Porter case, her comments on the system in general may prove just as worthy.

Much has been said about how high-priced defense attorneys can make a difference while public defenders, swamped with heavy case loads, are not as well-equipped. If the meeting turns to a discussion of potential solutions, maybe we need to talk about helping Holt lobby for more funding.

In the end, however, this meeting may not amount to more than just some healthy venting. Although speakers will be limited to one minute, Evans is allowing for questions, comments or suggestions. It'll be fertile ground for emotion, and that's okay, for once.

But true progress will come only when there is a substantive examination of how race and class influence judicial decisions.

That's all I'm saying.

--Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]