Operation of Law….

by Richard Midgett/PNN Media intern

"Dear Richard Midgett the city of Fresno hereby denies your claim with the city by operation of law"

7 AM. And 90 degrees Fahrenheit confirmation that I was in Fresno California. It was time for the moment of truth and I had to bike the 2 or so miles from the shelter to my P.O. box. Already sweating from the morning sun beating down I was not looking forward to this adventure. Leaving downtown promptly at 9 AM. I was reviewing all the cases I had filed and thinking to myself if I had left anything out or room for the city to argue some lame excuse for their screw-ups. The more I thought as I rode the hotter the sun felt on my back. Did I name all of the parties involved? Did I use all of the appropriate code violations for all the accusations I had made? Did "I'" fuck this up? Or would I be vindicated in my advocacy for a friend who was being railroaded by anyone in a position of authority.

The closer I got to my destination the slower I felt I was peddling. I had lost my home, my job and my property in this case as "Fresno's' finest" (police) had thrown me out. They violated my civil rights because they had no writ of possession. Also the police only gave me ten minutes to pack and my little car could not fit a bedroom worth of furniture into it.

I arrived in a pool of sweat and panic to the post office. Upon opening my box I saw the last 2 months of work staring me in the face. This literally was it. I either would come through this more prosperous as well as my friend and roommate or… I did not know what the hell the "or" part was or would be. I was relying on my faith and advocacy to bring me good karma.

Using my left thumb I slid my finger threw the envelope opening it slowly and looking for a sign of surrender, defeat or some indication that maybe just maybe the city was wrong in this matter on at least one issue.

"The city of Fresno hereby denies your claim by operation of law". Ok. So I lost this one so it is city 1 me zero. Next play. I was very thorough in my investigations and clearly remember on one of my trips downtown to drop off a finished case their was a group of city officials arguing with the analyst assigned to my cases about the police departments responsibility for dependent adults. I had figured I at least won that case as I proved beyond any reasonable doubt (love that phrase) by citing over 20 welfare and institution codes regarding the police departments responsibilities under the DEPENDENT ADULT PROTECTION ACT.

Their were so many types of case I had filed that as I opened each letter I had to look at the filing dates to remember what each case was.

On to next envelope. In my mind I saw the case as it unfolded again, remembering the date for the circumstances " the city of Fresno hereby denies your claim by operation of law". As I look at the third envelope I am beginning to feel a bit of despair. Did I lose? Or was I losing? I began to start asking my self. I open this envelope a bit more slowly, reviewing the date of the incident with the case file. " The city of Fresno Hereby denies your claim by operation of law". At this point I just start ripping open the remainder of the letters. It becomes easy to see what the position of the city is because your eyes eventually as the letter opens becomes transfixed on the exact location of the page were the words begin. The city of Fresno.. .

I opened every letter from the city. I leaned onto the table in the post office and became sort of numb. I could not believe it. I had taken these cases all the way up to the city council and no one was willing to admit liability. Or were they? . I was too angry to think about that right now. I was to shocked and amazed to think about what I had read very clearly .All I saw at this point was that I had lost and I had lost big. My whole life right in front of me now gone. I was in school. Something I worked over a year to return to. Had a good part time job something else I worked for a year to achieve with my boss so I would not be called in for overtime or extra assignments that would affect my classes. I lost my property. All that stuff I could not fit into my small car like my computer, schoolbooks, bed, and television. The big stuff. Not as important as the little things but can create a real inconvenience when you find a new place and have nothing to put into it. You now have to buy it form scratch.

I got onto my bike and headed towards the college. Another one of those things I had worked hard to achieve was housing closer to school. I am now picturing those little wings that fly around usually holding money in the middle and flying away but in this case the object in the middle is my house and it is flying into a sea of flames. My temporary housing is now gone since it was my sister's couch and she has four children to raise and needs here space. The sun feels hotter against my back as I cruise down the street that I have traveled for almost a year but now not knowing what is at the end of it for me.

It was a Saturday and holiday weekend so no one was really on campus and I first felt a sea of depression coming over me if I stepped onto the campus so I parked at a bus stop bench across the street to gather my thoughts.

I read and re-read each letter I had received at least twice. I then counted the letters. I had received eight letters covering 23 separate cases involving issues of criminal and civil rights violations to general incompetence. This city had broken a lot of laws and did actually admit they had done so.

The city felt a certain level of immunity as no Fresno county judge would challenge their actions as I had tried to do in vain. Also getting any lawyer in Fresno to challenge the status quo of the city, its policies or practices was impossible. They all went to the same law school for Fresno County and were all literally alumni of each other.

If you checked District Attorney records, Public Defender records and a large majority of sitting judges they had all gone to San Juaquin College of Law. Bit of a conflict of interest I had thought.

So I sat on the bench of the college campus remembering my short life here .I will miss you all very much. Have to go now. Back to the shelter to pack my few bags then San Francisco here I come. .