by David Dessler - August 1, 2021
"This is how the system works."
The evidence-free process of arrest and conviction by the College and CAO is well known.
For example, my employment attorney, Shannon Beebe, here expresses surprise at what she see the College was able to do to me when she is first reviewing the materials for my legal action:
"There are rules about it... It's surprising to me that the College can basically get itself a protective order by harassing you through its own police force and its own attorneys, Commonwealth Attorneys."
- Shannon Beebe, Nov 21, 2017
"There are rules about it... It's surprising to me that the College can basically get itself a protective order by harassing you through its own police force and its own attorneys, Commonwealth Attorneys."
- Shannon Beebe, Nov 21, 2017
THE RULES FOR THE COLLEGE AND
ITS COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY
- NO EVIDENCE NEEDED TO ARREST SOMEONE ON AN INVENTED CHARGE;
- NO EVIDENCE NEEDED TO CHANGE TERMS OF BOND;
- NO EVIDENCE NEEDED TO ARREST SOMEONE FOR A PROBATION VIOLATION;
- NO EVIDENCE NEEDED TO PUT SOMEONE ON TRIAL;
- NO EVIDENCE NEEDED TO GET A CONVICTION;
- NO EVIDENCE NEEDED TO ISSUE A PROTECTIVE ORDER
The local magistrates who were needed to sign off on an arrest, search warrant, or protective order included friends who were willing to approve whatever the College wanted them to approve, no questions asked. This meant that the process did not have to pass muster with a "neutral and detached" magistrate, as required by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Every one of my arrests was approved by Heather Farr. I do not know who else among the local magistrates was willing to sign a blank check, as Ms. Farr was. I do not think it is many, but the College needs only one at any given time.
The judges in the Williamsburg/James City County District Court were, in my view, not corrupt. I could not find one inmate in the local jail who agreed with me. Apparently many of these judges had a financial interest in the jail's continued ability to make a profit, and that convinced the inmates, the fix was in. Some of the judges were extraordinarily harsh, or simply arbitrary, but I saw no evidence that they were corrupt. If they had been part of this system, there would have been evidence of their participation, and I could find none. I cannot be 100% sure, but in my view, looking at a great deal of evidence, it appears that the College/CAO system of simply making up felony cases that sent W&M faculty and students to 3- and 5-year prison terms was not known to the judges. At trial, they assumed that the Commonwealth's Attorney was telling the truth about having evidence for the charges.
Perhaps because the judges were not part of this corrupt system, but victims of it, the College worked aggressively to undermine the defendant's standing with his or her lawyer in order to ensure no problems in any hearing. The work was systematic, intense, and unrelenting. Opposing lawyers were lied to, coopted, bribed, intimidated, and even threatened. William & Mary's University Counsel was often successful in completely discrediting victims with their lawyers.
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The College of William & Mary in Virginia is located in Williamsburg, VA. Its attorney is the Williamsburg/James City County Commonwealth's Attorney. The District Court and Circuit Court are in Williamsburg. So is the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. These entities form a closed system.