Captain Defenestrator

30th Nov 2016

Night Court (1984)

A Day in the Life - S4-E15

Question: I'm not familiar with the law so if someone could answer two questions I would be very thankful. 1. In the very last case, the defendant discovers that anyone not arraigned before midnight is set free which causes him to waive the right to refuse the reading of the information. What exactly does this mean? 2. Dan immediately starts reading off the list of information getting the case turned over to a grand jury. How can Dan reading the information get the case turned over to a grand jury if the defendant waived the rights?

Answer: The jails are overcrowded, so any petty offenders whose case isn't heard by midnight will be let go. The defendant wants the details of his case read (Instead of just the typical summary of the case that Mack gives Harry) because he knows it'll take a while and run out the clock on the midnight deadline, also sparing him the grand jury trial. Dan speed-recites the document quickly enough for Harry to rule on the case and bang his gavel just at the stroke of midnight.

Captain Defenestrator

3rd Feb 2016

Night Court (1984)

Nobody Says Rat Fink Anymore - S8-E10

Question: Harry recognizes one of the defendants who used to bully him when they were both children. Harry says that he can't participate in the case because of this, and also because that would make it a conflict of interest. Wouldn't any cases where his father was brought before him also be considered a conflict of interest, and why would Harry be allowed to preside over his father's cases?

Answer: Harry's father only came to his court as a defendant once (about trying to start a mutiny on the ferry). Harry said he was going to recuse himself when Christine said the Dept. Of Transportation had already dropped the charges, so it was a moot point.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Harry recuses himself from the case because of his own conflict of interest, however, his father is usually brought in for simple public disturbances and with his mental health record, gets remanded to a mental facility for examination. In cases like those, the judge's task is little more than signing a form, so there's not really a question of impartiality to be considered.

Captain Defenestrator

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