By Alexander Jimenez
DUBLIN, CA – The judge in Alameda County Superior Court stopped proceedings here last week when he saw some reluctance from the defendant when his defense attorney asked for a three-week continuance because of the severity of charges.
Defense Attorney Jane Alexandria Brown requested that the matter be rescheduled to March 19 and was met with no objections from the judge or Deputy District Attorney David Ross.
But it did prompt Defendant Robert Paige to express his concerns and confusion. His objection was initially muffled. The judge, audibly annoyed, said that he could not hear Paige. This was not the only Zoom mishap of the day.
The defendant wanted to address the court, which he appeared to think he would not be allowed to do properly. He asked to share information about his case and raised concerns over how he was being presented in court.
“What I wanted to address with you, I am presently in custody,” he said, “and there are things that I haven’t been presented as an innocent man in this case. I haven’t been presented with an arrest warrant for anything.”
This came after an exchange between the judge and the defendant in which the judge explained to Paige that none of his rights were being violated. The nature of this extension of his plea hearing date was only to give his attorney more time to look over the case.
“Here is what I would suggest to Mr. Paige,” said the judge addressing the defendant, “you are facing incredibly serious, incredibly serious charges. Ms. Brown is an experienced trial lawyer. You should have an opportunity to share some of your papers and some of your questions with Ms. Brown. She is simply asking to put it over so she can give the respect that the case is due.”
Paige is facing charges of felony murder in connection to an attempted robbery. The judge reiterated that because of the severity and nature of the charges, his attorney would need additional time to go over the case. Paige appeared to accept this explanation.
The date was postponed for three weeks, until March 19.
Alex Jimenez is a court watch reporter for The Vanguard at Berkeley. He is a senior Political Science major at UC Berkeley. He is from Pleasanton, CA.
To sign up for our new newsletter – Everyday Injustice – https://tinyurl.com/yyultcf9
Support our work – to become a sustaining at $5 – $10- $25 per month hit the link:
