Glibertarians.com 2019 Archive

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  • Saturday night something, something, links of something.

    Smarter than Congress.
    “What, me worry?”

    So here’s a fun story. My effing hunting dog will eat pretty much anything. So what is he eating lately? The decomposing chunks of grass from the deck of my lawn tractor. The grass grows fast and moist this time of year, so there’s a lot of fodder available. He went outside a couple of days ago and puked his guts out. I had to hose down the patio.

    What did he do Thursday, when we went to get a bag of dog food? He puked his guts out in his crate. I felt bad for him because he had to spend 20-30 minutes stuffed up against one end of his crate.

    Did I mention that the two things that gave me the most problems during my career were puke and shit? Bleed on me all you want, but that stuff is kryptonite. We got home and I let the dogs out. There was dog puke and puke juice all over the back of the Tahoe. God bless WeatherTec. I started the “harrup, harrup” thing when I smelled it. I asked my wife to take the pad out of his crate, so that I could take everything else out and hose it down. I then found myself running through the house, trying to get to the bathroom before I had another mess to clean up.

    After depositing a piece of quality New York style pie in the oblong repository, I made my way back to the driveway. The pad was still in the crate. I was able to direct from a distance, tossing out a couple of unproductive, “harrup, harrups” in the process. Everything got hosed off and laid out in the sun.

    But wait! It gets better. Fast forward to Friday morning. He wouldn’t eat breakfast, couldn’t get comfortable and was groaning. Hunting dogs don’t show distress unless something is seriously going on. A quick call and off to the vet we go. Yay! He’s got a rock stuck in his intestines! Surgery time! He’s puked up rocks before. He’ll grab one from the garden and run around the yard playing catch with himself and his new buddy, the rock. Every so often, it goes straight down the throat. Usually, there’s a 4am, “harrup, harrup” coming from the hallway, followed by a clunk as the rock hits the floor. Not this time. It was small enough that it went the other direction.

    Fortunately, the rock had moved down far enough that the vet was able to work it down the colon towards the back end. He pooped it out this morning. He has a zipper from exploratory surgery, but they didn’t have to cut into the intestines. I call that a win. And now he’s bashing us in the back of our legs with the cone of shame after paying $2,000 for the privilege.

    Yeah, links.

    Tranny snakes.

    Srsly, what could possibly go wrong?

    Lou Reed sighting.

    Totally not a shithole.

    “Drought in California is the new normal.”

    No, not really.

  • Let’s defend a Nazi

    I seem to struck a nerve with my intransigence over Game of Thrones.  So I guess I might as well pick on another item of social significance.

    This is my review of Four Peaks Xerocole IPA

    Okay I am kidding.  Seinfeld isn’t a terrible show, but I do agree with the opinion the humor and plotlines of many episodes can be a bit dated from time to time.  There are however, certain episodes that will stand up as well as any.  One such example is Season 7, Episode 6:  The Soup Nazi.

    Seriously, this episode is way better than the episode of M*A*S*H* where the Korean lady suffocates a chicken.

    I will cover the main points for context but if you want to check out the entire script here’s a link, or I am sure you can look around the internet and find the episode somewhere.  It begins where the sociopaths Jerry, Elaine, and George are discussing which movie theater they would like to visit when Jerry suggests one in particular because it is near a place that sells soup. In spite of Elaine’s preference for a burger at that time, Jerry continues to rave about the place but there is one caveat:

    ELAINE: Boy, I’m in the mood for a cheeseburger.

    JERRY: No. We gotta go to the soup place.

    ELAINE: What soup place?

    GEORGE: Oh, there’s a soup stand, Kramer’s been going there.

    JERRY: He’s always raving. I finally got a chance to go there the other day, and I tell you this, you will be stunned.

    ELAINE: Stunned by soup?

    JERRY: You can’t eat this soup standing up, your knees buckle.

    ELAINE: Huh. All right. Come on.

    JERRY: There’s only one caveat — the guy who runs the place is a little temperamental, especially about the ordering procedure. He’s secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi.

    The ordering procedure; here is where I defend the Soup Nazi.  There are a number of places in nearly any city that has a particular procedure one must follow to order.  The pizza joint I frequently patronize doesn’t take names for phone orders, they give you an order number and expect you to give it to them when you pick it up.  Many even developed a jargon to ordering.  Some of these places might be stricter than others when asking to adhere to such places but I will give a few examples, feel free to point out others.

    • In-N-Out Burger.  They only have a few items on their menu, but they actually have a “sort of Secret Menu” on their website, that should you go up to any In-N-Out and ask for an item off this menu, they will be more than happy to make it.  Then there is this.  I am not endorsing In-N-Out.  I personally don’t think it’s that great, and honestly no fast food burger really is.
    • Geno’s (Philadelphia).  There’s a lingo to ordering a cheesesteak.  Should you find yourself there and don’t want to look like moron and subject yourself to Philly’s signature hospitality, they explain how on their website.
    • Starbucks.  There really isn’t anything unusual about ordering here, but I think this is more of a principled stand against something that often manifests itself at a Starbucks.  If there is a line with 20 people in it, know what the hell you are ordering BEFORE you arrive at the counter.  It’s just coffee, there’s nothing abnormal about it, and if what you want is one of their coffee cocktail…things, the menu has a decent enough explanation of what’s in it to know by the time you get to the counter.  It’s a common courtesy that I hope doesn’t have to be mentioned here.

    It is in this spirit the Soup Nazi had his ordering procedure.  For further background, this episode is actually based on a real place, and the Soup Nazi is a real person, who recently filed for bankruptcy.  As you might be able to see from the photo from the featured image, it isn’t a large venue.  The ordering procedure the Soup Nazi requested is primarily meant to keep the line moving.  As Jerry explains:

    JERRY: All right. As you walk in the place move immediately to your right. […] The main thing is to keep the line moving.

    GEORGE: All right. So, you hold out your money, speak your soup in a loud, clear voice, step to the left and receive.

    JERRY: Right. It’s very important not to embellish on your order. No extraneous comments. No questions. No compliments.

    That’s it.  That’s his requirements.  The instances where the Soup Nazi throws the main characters out of the shop is where they interrupt the flow of the line.  George gets his soup taken away over his complaint he didn’t get any bread.  Before it is pointed out this is a legitimate complaint–it is, however he did get his money back and the next time they gave him bread with his order.  Elaine was tossed out because she took forever to order, and tried to make small talk with the Soup Nazi (“Did anyone ever tell you, you look like Al Pacino…WHOOAH”).  Later she went in to thank him for a piece of furniture, which angered him because he didn’t think Kramer was going to give it to somebody so eagerly willing to aggravate him and interrupt the line of customers…again.  Another was kicked out because he tried to be cute and order partially in Spanish; the Soup Nazi might have just been a dick there.

    Supposedly the actual owner of the Soupman was offended by the entire episode, and upon recognizing them, threw out Jerry Seinfeld and the rest of the cast when they visited.  He…also tried in vain to not pay federal taxes, hence filing Chapter 13.

    Does this really sound like somebody we should hate?  I contend he is not.  This is nothing more than an entrepreneur that has a extremely desirable product, but limited capacity for space to deliver his product.  His simple demands to keep the line moving are met with such contempt, Elaine’s only recourse is to publish his secret recopies and ruin his business.

    Now the beer in question is a local beer, and one I plan to sent to my BIF recipient, regardless of his distaste for IPA…. it was released earlier this month and went straight to tall can territory.  It does have a dry, biting IPA flavor we all love to hate, but it is also reasonably light and refreshing.  Before it is pointed out this is a contradiction–it is, however even I have purchased this on more than one occasion so it isn’t too bad.  Four Peaks Xerocole IPA: 3.0/5

  • Saturday Morning Memorial Links

    The holiday weekend begins! I will start it by taking advantage of the delayed onset of the convection oven season and taking a stroll through the mountains, then hiding in my laboratory working on my latest artificial vagina electronics project. But not until I spew out links, and maybe comment a few times before heading off to the San Tan Mountains.

    In today’s birthdays, a fellow of dark and stormy nights; one of my childhood crushes (lookit dem lips!); someone whose legs need to be shaved RIGHT NOW; a large bald guy; a smaller bald guy; and, of course, Wayne.

    News coming up next.

     

     

    She looks like fun.

     

    Hey, y’all, watch this!!!

     

    Team Red, showing that they’re as principled as Team Blue.

     

    “Riiiiight. What’s a cubit?”

     

    At what point will we just say, “OK, she’s dumb,” and then ignore her?

     

    Build the wall!

     

    Where’s my surprised face?

     

    Why does this sound like total bullshit and outrage theater?

     

    Next time you need an emetic, save the money and read this story instead. This MUST end up in a SugarFree tale.

     

     

    Old Guy Music goes back to the standards. I would have a hard time picking my favorite song, but this would make any short list. And holy shit, there’s Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance, Ben Webster… and the all-but-forgotten but brilliant Betty Roché. I’ve used other covers of this for OGM, but this one is the Duke himself.

  • Friday Night Cryptid All Star Links

    *SPACE SMITH not included

    The Cryptid of the Week order of presentation got a bit scrambled. OK, we lost it. Rather than try to hash out who/what would link when, we asked all three of our very special contributors to give us a hand tonight. First up, the Senior Vortex Correspondent, Zardoz.

    THE CORONA EFFECT IS MOST FLATTERING.

     

    ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. THE TABERNACLE HAS SCANNED THE CHOSEN ONES COMMENTARY AND ARTICLE CONTRIBUTIONS SINCE LAST ZARDOZ SPOKE. ZARDOZ IS PLEASED. ZARDOZ WAS PREPARED TO THRILL ALL OF YOU WITH THE STORY OF THE GUN WIELDING, NEARLY AN EVIL PENIS SELF-ELIMINATING BRUTAL THAT KEPT ILLICIT SUBSTANCE STORED IN HIS ANAL CAVITY…HOWEVER, THE CHOSEN ONES MIGHT HAVE ALREADY NOTICED IT. THEREFOR, RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE LINK FROM ZARDOZ!

    • ZARDOZ WONDERS HOW HE CAN GET A SUBSCRIPTION TO THE NEWSPAPER MENTIONED IN THIS STORY. WHILE A BIT PUZZLED AT THIS PROCLAMATION; “In a rare video published by IS’s Al Furqan network in April, the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi encouraged followers to fight on and weaken the enemy by attrition, stressing that waging war is more important than winning.” ZARDOZ WILL ACCEPT ANY RESULT THAT LEADS TO CONTINUED CLEANSING OF THE FILTH OF BRUTALS.

    ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.

    Well, I have to say, it is nice to see that Zardoz keeps track of all of your comments and contributions. For all his demands for “cleansing”, I think he may be a bit of a softie inside. Next up, our Senior Cascadia Correspondent, STEVE SMITH.

    IT GOOD BOOK!

    STEVE SMITH GLAD BE HERE. HIM FLY IN FROM CASCADIA…AND ARMS TIRED! STEVE SMITH WANT TRY HAND AT COMEDY, LIKE COUSIN SEA SMITH. HIM NEED LEARN MORE JOKES. ASK BEAR, MOOSE AND RACCOONS, BUT THEM NOT VERY FUNNY. SO STEVE SMITH RAPE BEAR, EAT MOOSE AND USE RACCOON AS LOOFAH. NOW THAT HILARIOUS! BUT FUNNY GLIBERTARIAN PEOPLE WANT LINK, SO STEVE SMITH FIND GOOD LINK. AND HIM GIVE LINK. TO YOU.

    • STEVE SMITH SAD SEE PART OF CASCADIA WEAK AND HELPLESS. 100 HOBOS TERRORIZE BIG CITY. SO HIM OFFER HELP. BY HELP, MEAN RAPE TROUBLE MAKING HOBOS.

     

    SAD SMITH

    FREE CASCADIA!

    Free Cascadia indeed, Steve. With that, we come to our final contributor for the night. SEA SMITH, our Senior Maritime Correspondent.

    SEA SMITH HAVE FUNNY FRIENDS!

     

    SEA SMITH GLAD SEE COUSIN STEVE SMITH TRY JOKES! SEA SMITH GOOD JOKE TELLER. WHY FISH BLUSH? IT SEE OCEAN’S BOTTOM! HAHAHAHAHA! SEE WHAT SEA SMITH MEAN? BUT YOU NOT HERE FOR JOKE. YOU WANT LINK. SEA SMITH FIRST SAY MAP NOT HIM! … MAYBE SOME “BOARDED”, IYKWSSMAITYD!

    • THIS MAKE SEA SMITH SMILE. HE LIKE SEA CUCUMBER. THEY GOOD IN SALAD. MAKE GOOD PICKLE. NO EAT IN LITTLE SANDWICH…SEA SMITH NOT ENGLISH.

    COME IN, WATER IS FINE!

    Well…that was interesting. Thank you SEA. And thank you all for tuning in for tonight’s Links! See you in the comments.

  • Friday Afternoon I’m Baaaaaack Links

    Man, I feel like that was an especially good rehab visit, er, work trip. Yeah. It was a shit-fest, but at least I missed all of the vomiting and literal shit that my children put out all over the homefront. Happy Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy your barbecues and drinking!

    Someone decided to make an art film I might watch.

    I’m suuuuuper shocked that the leader of a sex cult that focused on branding and degrading women had trouble getting it up. After you’ve branded your fifth woman, regular old sex must seem just boring.

    Good dog. She deserves ALL the treats and belly rubs.

    Oh boy, more bombings in France.

    Formulaic, but fun.

  • Hard work or luck, which is it? The pathway to prosperity.

    Setting aside every ounce of cynicism that I possibly can, I’m able to address the economic left and economic right on their stated views of prosperity.

    Specifically, the economic left assumes that extraneous factors (luck) are the driving force behind prosperity (and paucity). The economic right assumes that hard work is the driving force behind prosperity, and the lack of hard work is the driving force behind paucity.

    As is always the case, reality is somewhere in the middle. For every Jobian sob story the left trots out in their parade of horrors and for every Paris Hilton they shame, there are thousands… tens of thousands… of everyday people who have worked hard, weathered the uncertainties of life, and retired comfortably as millionaires.

    Personally, I think the economic right is closer to the truth than the economic left. As Roger Penske said, “(Good) luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”  A barista with an oppression studies degree isn’t a victim of bad luck. She’s suffering the consequences of her poor decision making. Somebody who makes a ton of money in the stock market isn’t “lucky” as much as they’re reaping the benefits of their preparation.

    This isn’t to say that I don’t think that people get royally fucked or incredibly lucky. However, my personal observation is that most “bad luck” is a result of shortsightedness and a lack of risk management. Most “good luck” is observed by an envious person who doesn’t see the hard work required to achieve good things. The one situation where my belief in personal responsibility wavers ever so slightly is in kids and teenagers. It’s a tall task to ask an 18 year old who has grown up in a financially illiterate family and a financially illiterate culture, with all of the incentives pointing in the direction of financial ruin, to grow up, make good decisions, and not fuck up.

    However, there are three reasons why government has no business getting involved. First is that when you’re the primary cause for fucking up the culture, you shouldn’t have a voice in the solution. The modern economic left fucked up a variety of American cultures’ perception of money over the past 75 years. They have no leg to stand on when they complain about the results of their own idiocy. Second is this is exactly the right place for private charity. Cutting financial illiterates a check is idiotic and amplifies the cultural defects that cause the financial illiteracy. However, private charities are much more likely to condition any financial assistance on learning financial literacy. Third is that in 21st century United States of America, you get to fuck up quite a few times financially before you’re screwed for life. People have come around at age 50 or later and still have been able to retire with dignity. An 18 year old has 40 years to have their “come to Jesus” moment and live on less than they earn, and they’ll still be able to shop in the produce section for groceries instead of the cat food section.

    “Oh, but they can’t get a decent job with a living wage.” Bullshit. First, that’s exactly the kind of “bad luck” that is actually poor decision making causing completely foreseeable consequences. If you haven’t gotten your GED, it’s not bad luck keeping from getting beyond minimum wage. Second, I’ve met people who have saved enough for a comfortable retirement as janitors, in retail, and in fast food. Y’know what they did? They lived austere lives, took very few risks, spent less than they made, and invested for decades. I remember hearing a story of a janitor who averaged less than $50k annually over his career, and retired a millionaire.

    “Oh, but the American dream is dead, you can’t do that anymore.” Bullshit, again. I think there’s a massive divide in my millennial cohort, and I think that this divide articulates why the American dream isn’t dead. Looking at my classmates from high school and college, the divide is simple. Those who learned uncommon skills are making bank and those who did not learn uncommon skills are mooching off their parents and supporting Bernie. Obviously the dividing line isn’t as stark as I’m describing it, but it’s a pretty strong difference. Classmates with education and humanities degrees are struggling to progress beyond beverage arts. Classmates with STEM and business degrees are finding career jobs.

    Where’s the luck in that? Well, I guess you could call being born to parents who cared enough to call a spade a spade good luck. I guess you could call a mathematical aptitude and a disdain for the easy way good luck. However, that massively undercredits personal agency. That’s really the issue, isn’t it? The left seems to believe that agency occurs where opportunity fates it. If you succeed, it’s because you are privileged with good fortune (in the traditional Greek conception of the term). If you fail, it’s because the fates have conspired against you. They double down on this rejection of agency for young people. They assume that a 15-20 year old (or 26 year old) is incapable of exerting control on their own life. Nevermind the fact that adolescence is a new concept, teenagers are made out as completely unequipped to make adult decisions. Much of this is the fault of a failed education system and a culture of irresponsibility, but the fact remains that the average 17 year old is treated more like their 12 year old sibling than like their 21 year old sibling.

    I often think back to my high school and college days. There were many times when I passed up fun (as a 15-20 year old) to achieve something more important. I remember getting out of bed at 5am on a Saturday to hop on a bus and drive up to Testicle State for a math competition and to hop on a bus to Rose Hulman for a robotics competition. I remember sitting in a restaurant across from the campus bars on a Tuesday night, watching the education major girls lined up for another night of drunken dancing , knowing full well that I’d pass them during their walks of shame the next morning as I walked back from then engineering lab after pulling an all-nighter. We both got fucked, them much more literally than me. I had my fun, I wasn’t anhedonic, but when the left tries to paint my millennial cohort as victims of a student loan crisis, I think back to those images burned in my memory. Are they victims of bad luck, or were they just immature idiots poorly prepared for adulthood?

    Once you cut out all the fluff, it comes down to a simple piece of introspection. Are you a victim in your personal narrative, or are you a hero? The left self-identifies as victims. The right self-identifies as heroes. As with all things in the real world, the truth is a bit of both.

  • Friday Morning Pre-Weekend Links

    It is shaping up to be a busy Friday, just to get me in the mood for a sweet, sweet three day weekend. And my first task of the day is the Bringing Of The Links.

    Of course, as is my custom, I first bring the birthdays. We start, in theme, with a crypto-Jew judge, whose main virtue was that he replaced the execrable Oliver Wendell Holmes; Bill Clinton’s spirit animal; my spirit animal; and a guy noted as the worst performer of his own songs.

    Enough of that, news beckons.

     

     

    Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.

     

    Trump has as much respect for the First Amendment as Obama did. Of course, the article leaves out the inconvenient comparison.

     

    This is what happens when the neighborhood changes.

     

    Missed it by that much!

     

    Mood Rings are soooooo 1975.

     

    It was his mother.

     

    Baltimore, always a delight.

     

    “When you wish upon a star…” I guess this is what my favorite SciFi writer is up to these days. Not sure why he needed the condom.

     

    And really, isn’t that why you pay her? The DIY shit doesn’t cut it.

     

    This worked so well the last two times.

     

    Old Guy Music is here to illustrate an earlier point- this cover of Country Pie, though admittedly a bit overly slick, is in every single way better than the original.

  • Poll: Homeowners’ Associations

    We’re currently renting a nice house in an upper middle class neighborhood.

    The landscaping around the house annoys me somewhat, because there is a section of grass in the front near the street and a larger section of grass in the backyard. We’re in a desert. Of course, there are rules from the HOA telling us how often we have to water the grass to maintain the appropriate level of green.

    So, we’ve been watering the bare minimum that we can get away with.

    There are also a number of trees and flowering shrubs in front, along the sides of the house, and in the backyard. These are desert-adapted plants. That makes me happy.

    Last week, we received a notice from the HOA.

    This is a planned community created and governed by deed restrictions. The purpose is to ensure that your neighborhood continues as a well-maintained community with enhanced property values.

    The following non-compliance issue with respect to your property was noted:

    It has been reported that bushes are missing. Please install additional landscaping in your front yard pursuant to the Design Guidelines or approved landscape submittal. (emphasis as received)

    Bushes are missing? I would love to know how many we are supposed to have. And how they counted. The large number of flowering shrubs between our driveway and the home to the west are firmly on our side of the boundary. There are many additional shrubs directly in front of the house and in the yard to the east. (And I am super curious about all the homes on the street that have fewer shrubberies than do we. Indeed, some have none at all, and only a couple cactus or century plants. Did they all receive notices?)

    Well, we’re renting. The only time this becomes my problem is when the landlord has people all over my space to install more shrubs. That aren’t needed. That I am then responsible for watering.

     

    So, tonight’s poll: HOAs. Do you have one? Would you ever own a home where there is one? Would you be the neighbor who tattles when someone’s grass is 1/4″ too tall? Or walk around counting shrubs?

    Discuss!

  • Thursday Afternoon Links of Disruption

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    DreamHost will be upgrading our MySQL server this afternoon sometime between 1600 and 1900 (4 p.m – 7 p.m.) Pacific. You might notice some small interruptions of the site availability. Not to worry. Glibertarians.com has not been hacked nor have I had to blow up the site.

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    Good afternoon, my dear Glibs. And the rest of you, too.

     

    For those of you still on Team Google. SMDH.

    Those storms in the lower midsection of the country? “The Arkansas River, which was just above 37 feet, or 9 feet above flood stage, at Muskogee, Oklahoma, was expected to eventually reach 43.5 feet. Officials encouraged residents in several communities along the river to leave their homes.” Still not good and might get worse.

    I hate Netflix more and more. 

    Ouch.

    I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone here that J.D. Tuccille is OK in my book. “If my wife and I and Anthony himself have properly done our jobs, he’ll be equipped to take care of himself and to offer aid to others. And he’ll be thoroughly immunized against the promises, lies, and temptations of demagogues.”

    And on that encouraging note, I’ll leave you with some music. But never fear, I’ll be back with a new poll tonight, if all goes well with the database server upgrade!

     

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  • Mentally Incompetent to Stand Trial – What does it mean?

    There’s a few concepts about mental states, and how they affect a defendant during legal proceedings.

    Let’s cover the first : Mentally Incompetent to Stand Trial. What does that mean?

    Here’s the scenario: State of Michigan is charging that the Defendant committed a crime (duh). Defendant meets with attorney. After the first meeting, the attorney wonders a few things about the defendant, based on the D’s behavior.

    Such as: he can’t remember facts of the alleged crime. Sure, he could have been too intoxicated . . . . however, he can’t remember where he lived before he moved here. He knows he’s in jail, and he doesn’t like that, but can’t really seem to keep the conversation going to help his attorney understand his version of events. And maybe he has a few odd gestures, expressions. (More signs of mental illness are listed here, from the national alliance for mental illness).

    You see, the idea of “due process” is broad. It includes that the defendant, to have due process, has to understand the proceedings and be able to assist his attorney in defending the case. If the D can’t do that, then he is mentally incompetent.  And if a defendant is  mentally incompetent, then the proceedings are halted (but not dismissed).

    Any questions about a D’s competence should be raised by the attorney as soon as apparent. (However, the prosecutor or the judge can raise the issue as well). The defense attorney should make a motion regarding competence that asserts that 1. the D can’t assist his attorney in defending the case and 2. possibly, the D lacked the capacity to appreciate that his conduct was wrong, or didn’t conform to requirements of law. That last sentence is the lead-in for the affirmative defense of NGI, or not guilty by reason of insanity. Also called “legally insane.”

    After that motion is made, the court will refer the D to an interview by a forensic psychologist to make a determination of competency. The report of the psychologist is then released to the court, attorneys, etc.

    Option 1: the Defendant is found not competent. Just because a D is found incompetent does not mean that there will never be a trial. Instead, the next step is that the D has to have mental health treatment – and the court issues an order for this – so that he will become competent to stand trial, at a later date.

    This idea seems to also offend the D’s right to speedy trial, as guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment. However, dismissing the case based on competence is not fair to the state (sadly). Also, the speedy trial right has never been interpreted to have a definite deadline by the Supreme Court. For example, the Supreme Court hasn’t ruled that “any delay to trial longer than 24 months would prejudice justice.” Michigan however, does limit the amount of time a D can be treated, (MCL 330.2034) to no longer than 15 months, or 1/3 of the maximum sentence which the D would have if convicted, whichever is shorter.

    Also, technically speaking, the D is not being punished by receiving treatment, as he is no longer in jail, he’s in the hospital, receiving treatment.

    Option 2: Defendant is found competent. If a defendant is interviewed, and found to be competent, an alternative to halting trial for D’s treatment  is a “no contest” plea, which would be based on the idea that he was too intoxicated/ abusing substances, etc, to be able to recall the crime. But use of alcohol /substances is not a defense, and does not make a person legally insane at the time of the crime.

    Also, some crimes are open to alternative sentencing, through mental health treatment courts. This is a diversion program, that is essentially the same as sobriety court. It requires that the offender plead to a crime, then complete mental health treatment for a period of months. In exchange, the state will “nolle prosse” the charges, once the program is completed by the offender. The likelihood of repeat offenses goes down significantly when the program is completed. However, it is much like intensive outpatient, and requires a lot of participation by the offender, such as 3-4 weekly appointments at counseling, group therapy, probation /parole appointments, and regular medication review.

    Next installment: legally insane – or Not Guilty by reason of Insanity.