[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Hi, everyone, I'm Dan Abrams, and this is "Court Cam."
- You should be ashamed of yourself.
- I want dude off my case. [spits]
- Got a runner.
[people yelling]
- Hey! - Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Hey! Whoa! Hey!
- This is not TV court! This is for real!
♪ ♪
- First up, we go to a pretrial hearing
in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
[suspenseful music]
44-year-old Corey Harris has been charged
with driving with a suspended license.
♪ ♪
15 years earlier, Harris had his license suspended
for failing to pay child support.
A court then rescinded the suspension in 2022.
But according to the state,
Harris never followed up with the necessary paperwork,
so the suspension was never officially lifted.
So when Harris was pulled over in October of 2023
and cited for driving with a suspended license,
he was given a no-cash bond
and ordered to return to court at a later date.
♪ ♪
Today, he's scheduled to appear
before Judge Cedric Simpson
to discuss next steps in the case.
- Court calls case People versus Corey Harris.
- Harris's attorney announces herself.
- Harris joins the hearing,
although it looks like he's in a car, driving.
- Hello?
- Are you driving?
- Actually, I'm pulling into my doctor's office, actually.
So--so just give me one second.
I'm parking right now.
♪ ♪
- Judge Simpson appears confused.
[quirky music]
- So maybe I don't understand something.
This is a driving while license suspended?
- That is correct, Your Honor.
- And he was just driving, and...
he didn't have a license.
♪ ♪
- Uh--
♪ ♪
- No, I'm looking at his record.
He doesn't have a license.
He's suspended and he's just driving.
[suspenseful music]
- That is correct, Your Honor.
♪ ♪
- Uh--
♪ ♪
Hello?
- One minute, Mr. Harris.
- I--I don't even know why he would do that.
So defendant's bond is revoked in this matter.
- Now it's the defendant who looks confused.
- So defendant is to turn himself in
to the Washington County Jail by 6:00 p.m. today.
Failure to turn himself in will result
in a bench warrant with no bond.
- Oh, my God.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Your Honor.
Mr. Harris, I'll be giving you a call.
- OK.
- Harris turned himself in that day
and served two days in the county jail.
Three weeks later, he had a new lawyer
and another hearing where Judge Simpson confirmed
that at the time of his last traffic stop,
Harris was, in fact,
driving with a suspended license.
He was released on a no-fee personal bond
and has yet to enter a plea.
The case is pending.
Harris did finally file the necessary paperwork
and his driver's license suspension has been lifted.
Next, we're in Greensboro, North Carolina
for a sentencing hearing.
♪ ♪
21-year-old Amanda Sperduti has been found guilty
of felony death by motor vehicle
and driving while intoxicated.
♪ ♪
A year earlier, police say Sperduti
was driving drunk on a winding road
when she swerved, struck a sign,
and crashed into a tree.
Also inside the vehicle, 23-year-old Scott Bedwell,
18-year-old Sascha Hoffman,
and 18-year-old Taylor McCaskill.
All three died in the crash.
Sperduti was rushed to a hospital
with non-life-threatening injuries
and made a full recovery.
Investigators later determined that Sperduti was driving
around 90 miles an hour in a 45-mile an hour zone.
The tests confirmed her blood alcohol level
was 0.20 at the time of the crash,
more than double the legal limit.
After being released from the hospital,
Sperduti turned herself in to police
and was released on $100,000 bond.
If found guilty at a trial,
she was facing a possible life sentence.
Instead, Sperduti took a deal from the state
and agreed to enter what's called an Alford plea,
where a defendant acknowledges
that there's most likely enough evidence against them
for a conviction without admitting guilt
to the charge.
♪ ♪
Today, Sperduti appears in court
before an emotional gallery to enter her plea.
But first, family members of the victims come forward
to deliver statements to the court,
starting with Sandra Rumley,
Taylor McCaskill's grandmother.
- My life has been changed forever.
And, Lord, I know you can't possibly need Taylor
as much as her mother and I do.
[somber music]
- Next is Walter Bedwell, Scott Bedwell's father,
who speaks directly to Sperduti.
- You can still talk to your mother.
You can cry with your mother.
Eventually, you'll laugh with your mother.
[shakily] I can't, though.
I want to hug my boy.
- Finally, it's Sascha's Hoffman's mother,
Sonya Hardy, whose words seem
to touch a nerve with the defendant.
- We had the typical mother and daughter issues.
And like all teenagers and their parents,
we would quarrel over simple things.
And I would give anything to argue with her again.
- When she's finished, Sperduti takes the stand
and delivers an emotional apology.
- [crying] I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
I'm just so sorry.
I suffer from it every day of my life.
I'm so--I'm so messed up.
I suffer from this every single day of my life.
I will for the rest of my life.
- The judge sentenced Sperduti
to seven to 12 years in a state prison.
After serving almost eight years,
she was released on parole.
[dramatic music]
- Next, we go to Houston, Texas for a bond hearing.
♪ ♪
25-year-old Xavier Robinson has been charged with assault.
♪ ♪
Two months earlier, according to court records,
Robinson got into an argument with his girlfriend,
who is also the mother of his baby daughter.
Things became physical
and when police arrived, Robinson was arrested
and is being held on $75,000 bond.
Robinson had been free on bond for another assault charge
from 2022 involving the same alleged victim.
His latest arrest violates that bond.
Today, he appears before Judge David Fleischer
to discuss his bond status.
Robinson's represented by attorney Nathaniel Munier,
who's asking that his client be sentenced to probation
despite Robinson having missed multiple court appearances.
- Let's go through your stuff, Mr. Robinson.
- Yes, sir.
- This case has been open since 2022.
You failed to appear October 4th, '22,
April of '23, October of '23.
Again, in October, you failed to appear.
We had to revoke and raise your bond.
So a total of one,
two,
three, four,
five times you absconded.
And now, the only reason we have you is because
you picked up a felony violation of a bond condition.
And you want me to accept a probation on you?
In what alternate reality do you live in, Mr. Robinson,
that you actually think that
you're going to be able to successfully complete this?
Tell me, why on Earth would we take this probation?
- How on Earth could you take care of a daughter
when you can't even take care of yourself?
♪ ♪
You're in jail, man.
How on--who's taking care of that daughter?
- Really? Really?
I'm not convinced, Mr. Robinson,
because I don't think that you're going to make it.
- Yes, sir.
- Why are we going to waste our time when,
if history is any indication, you're going to get out there,
and you're going to do absolutely sh--nothing?
♪ ♪
What you have to remember is that
this life is but one that you have.
This journey can be a wonderful journey
where you get to hang out with friends,
friends, family, get to go on vacations.
Or it can be a rotten,
miserable toilet of an experience
where you're in and out of jail, prison,
scraping to get by.
- Despite the judge's seeming lack of confidence,
he gives Robinson another chance.
- Against my better judgment,
I will give you a chance,
because everybody deserves at least one chance.
But I'm going to tell you now, you muck with me,
I'm going to light you up.
♪ ♪
I'm putting an ankle monitor
so I know where you are at all times.
And I'm going to tell you now, you muck this thing up,
you're looking at an entire year.
And I will do it in a heartbeat to protect the public
so that you finally get
real in business in the criminal justice system.
You understand, Mr. Robinson?
- Yes, sir. I do.
- Now, no drugs, no alcohol, no weapons,
no contact with the complainant witness in this case.
And I'm going to test you like crazy, just so you know.
If you want this, I'm going to make you work for it.
And if you so much as step off it wrong,
there's going to be H-E- double hockey sticks to pay.
Do you understand?
♪ ♪
Are you sure you want to do this?
♪ ♪
- Really, there's not much of one.
We could plea-- - Yes, sir.
- You do this well, you won't end up with a conviction.
You don't do this well,
I'm going to put you over my knee and I'm going to spank you
like a little child with a ton of jail time.
Do you understand?
- Yes, sir.
♪ ♪
- For his latest assault charge,
Robinson was sentenced to 60 days in jail,
but was freed that day after being given credit
for 63 days' time served.
For violating his bond and for his original assault case,
he was sentenced to two years' probation.
If he successfully completes the probation,
Robinson will not end up with a conviction on his record.
- Next, we head to Concord, New Hampshire
for a bond hearing.
♪ ♪
81-year-old David Lidstone has been charged
with violating a court-ordered injunction.
[rustic upbeat music]
Two weeks earlier, Lidstone, known locally as River Dave,
was arrested for living on someone else's property.
Lidstone says he's lived in this home
off the Merrimack River, which he built himself
and equipped with solar panels,
for over 26 years.
- He says he grows his own food
and spends most of his days walking the land
and tending to his pet chickens.
Lidstone also claimed he had a verbal agreement
with the previous owner that he could live on the property.
But the current owner,
who wants Lidstone off the property, contacted police.
A judge ordered him to vacate the premises.
When Lidstone refused, he was taken into custody.
[dramatic music]
Today, he appears from the county jail
before Judge Andrew Schulman
to hear if he'll be released on bond.
The judge explains that
Lidstone can leave the jail any time he wants
as long as he does not return to the property.
- He holds the keys to the jailhouse in his hands.
He can open the door and leave at any time.
All he needs to do
is agree to abide by the court's prior orders.
- But Lidstone doesn't seem interested in negotiating.
- A week later, at a follow-up hearing,
the landowner's attorney, Lisa Snow Wade,
lays out her client's position.
- How far is he supposed to go
in order to turn his woodlot into a habitable lot
for somebody else who's there trespassing?
- Judge Schulman maintains a sympathetic but firm stance.
I can't go build a house on your property, trespass,
and then say I get to stay there for the rest of my life.
I mean, that doesn't work.
- When the judge finishes, Lidstone does not hold back.
[rustic somber music]
- Later that day,
Lidstone's cabin caught fire and burned to the ground
while it was being dismantled by the property owner.
He was released from jail the next day.
And when his story hit the local news outlets,
several people came forward and donated almost $200,000
to help River Dave build a new home.
He eventually moved to Maine,
where he built himself a new cabin.
His case is now closed.
- Next, we head to Taylor, Michigan
for a settlement conference.
♪ ♪
30-year-old Kevin Kowalcik
has been charged with domestic violence.
Kowalcik, who's free on a $10,000 bond,
has pled not guilty
and appears today with his attorney
before Judge Victoria Shackelford
to make a request.
- Good morning, Your Honor.
James Gizicki on behalf of Mr. Kowalcik,
who's present on Zoom.
Your Honor, he's requesting a new attorney.
- You have a jury trial set for two weeks.
Mr. Gizicki has been representing you.
Why is it you're seeking a new attorney?
- Your Honor, because he's not doing
what I ask him to do for me.
I have concerns about this.
You know, I got voicemails that come through my phone
of people calling my phone,
threatening me they're going to kill me.
- Sir, I can't hear all of that, though, right now.
Those sound like things that you could present at trial,
if they're appropriate.
An attorney would know better than I at this point.
- I no longer want him.
- Sir, if you pay for your lawyer,
you can go through as many as you want.
But if you don't like--I mean, I'm not going to just continue
appointing different attorneys
because you don't like what they have to say.
♪ ♪
How are you going to get another attorney?
- I've been trying to contact free legal aid,
and they said that they will represent me.
I just need-- I forgot.
What did she say, babe?
- Kowalcik's girlfriend, who's not the alleged victim
in his domestic violence case, is also on the call.
- What did she say, babe?
- Did you hear my girlfriend, by any chance?
- All right. I don't know what she said.
So, listen...
- Who are you talking--
no, Mr. Kowalcik, you need to chill.
Calm down.
♪ ♪
- I'm calm. I'm calm, ma'am.
If you want, you can take the tether off my leg
and you could send me 14 months in prison.
$100.
- I have no further to speak, Your Honor.
- $200.
Mr. Kowalcik, you are held in direct contempt of court.
You owe this court $200 fine.
You want to keep going?
You're not going to talk over me in this courtroom.
- But don't I have the right to speak?
- Sir, no, you have the right to remain silent.
- OK, OK, OK.
- And if I were you, I would exercise it.
- OK. I'm sorry, ma'am. I apologize.
- After the judge holds Kowalcik in contempt of court,
things appear to settle down.
- Do you want a one-week adjournment
so that you can try and retain an attorney?
- I don't know how to do nothing, ma'am.
♪ ♪
- Well, sir, you listen to me.
- And I thought the conference was--
- You will listen to me!
Listen to me!
- Right. - You're indicating now that
you want to go to legal aid, and you want
to get the advice of a legal aid attorney
to see if they'll represent you on this matter.
And you have a right to do so.
So I will give you a one-week adjournment
so that you can retain counsel.
This is set for a jury trial--
in--in a week-- in a week and a few days.
- Ma'am, I don't even care.
I'm just going to go with it with the flow.
- No, [indistinct]. I'll see you in one week.
- I'll represent-- can I represent myself?
- We'll readdress this in one week.
You're to be back here next Wednesday at 9:00 a.m.
and you can give me an update
on your legal aid attorney at that time.
And the matter is adjourned until that day.
- Kowalcik's next hearing was canceled
and his trial's been postponed.
He's yet to retain a new attorney
and remains free on bond,
but still must pay his $200 fine for contempt of court.
[dramatic music]
That's it for this edition of "Court Cam."
I'm Dan Abrams. Thanks for watching.