Two weeks from today I will appear before Nelson K.E. Lee, a King County Superior Court Judge appointed in February 2020 by Jay Inslee, Governor of the State of Washington. Governor Inslee has openly expressed his extreme dislike for President Trump. I am, of course, a Trump supporter, if for no other reason that I view the MAGA movement, that has grown up around the former president, as the only political force sufficiently large and powerful enough to defeat our nation’s WOKE “American” socialists who have infested the Democrat Party, our nation’s legacy media, the Washington, D.C. establishment, our institutions of higher learning, our teacher’s unions, and much of corporate America to say nothing of our judicial system and armed forces. Judge Lee appears to have caught the governor’s attention because of his private-practice experience in immigration law.
In 2017 the State of Washington, King County, and the City of Seattle that is contained within the boundaries of King County have refused to cooperate with federal authorities in the round-up of illegal residents on American soil. It would be interesting to know to what extent the judge’s opinions about illegal immigration and the provision of sanctuary to illegal residents has changed during the corrupt reign of Alejandro Mayorkas and Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. Although it is clear that Judge Lee was raised in a Korean household, it is not clear whether he was born in the United States or Korea. Le Chat Mistral claims that he was born in Seoul, the capitol of the Republic of South Korea, but I can find no further evidence. No matter, there is a good chance — more than 70 percent — that he is a Christian, so I will present my argument before his court from a Christian perspective — the predominant religious philosophy of my homeland.
Though not well-versed in the terminology of law, I have taken a serious interest in the nature of law on repeated occasions and divide justice into two categories: that of the Old and New Testaments. Justice under the New Testament is predicated on contrition, atonement, and forgiveness. If someone has wronged another and can be made to understand that he was wrongful, then the wrongful person can perform an act of good to clean his record and atone. In effect, minus one plus positive one equals zero and the slate is wiped clean. Under the Old Testament to which the Jewish and Muslim faiths more closely subscribe, justice is obtained by matching one wrong with another. The algebra in this instance is minus one equals minus one. Although both of the above outcomes are just, the net outcome in the second instance is minus two, and in the first instance it is zero. It is for this reason that I prefer the justice of the New Testament over the Old — this said, under the New Testament the cooperation of the wrongful party is required.
In a plea deal arranged between the prosecution and defense attorneys, both employed by the State, my assailant was asked by the State why he admits to the crime with which he has been convicted. In addition to a typed statement supplied for him by his public defender he added his own words. The statement reads as follows. The italics indicate the words written in the Defendant’s own hand.
On 1/3/2022, in King County, WA, I intentionally made unwanted physical contact with Mr. Stegemann when I hit him, and this conduct was offensive to Mr. Stegemann.
Although there is a clear admission of guilt, there is no evidence of contrition, sorrow or even apology. The incident occurred on December 30, 2021 — one day before the New Year’s holiday.
The crime with which the Defendant was charged was 2nd Degree Assault (a criminal felony), the crime to which the Defendant is admitting guilt and for which he has been convicted is 4th Degree Assault (a criminal gross misdemeanor). There is no undoing the conviction — what I perceive to be a slap in the face to my community and me. Should I turn the other cheek?
Although I had been promised somewhat early in the two-and-one-half year proceedings — consisting mostly of pronouncements of continuance and roll-overs — that I would be presented with the deal before it was agreed before, and signed by a judge, I was simply informed of the deal after it was agreed and signed.
I had encouraged the Prosecution to seek a jury trial, for the simple reasons that I wished the Defendant to understand that his own peers disapprove of his speech and actions, and that I and the State were not out to get him! Also, I wanted more people to become aware not only of the incident, but also the law and jurisprudence surrounding the criminal nature of what occurred. It is my firm conviction that people seek social justice, because the current justice system has failed them. If everyone were better informed about the law, there would surely be fewer law breakers. Unfortunately, I concur with those who promote social justice; I only object to their solution.
Not only do most people not understand the law, but they dislike it and actively seek to avoid it. It were as if, they do not believe in the primary role of the state, and its importance in the maintenance of social order, the American free-market system, and the principle of the consent of the governed. Like our fraudulent monetary system our justice system has been enshrouded behind a veil of mystery. As our youth are no longer taught what it means to be American, such matters have been driven — either purposefully or unconsciously — from their daily social discourse. It is for this reason that I reject plea deals in general.
In addition to the fact that our judicial system has been weaponized by the political establishment, it should be pointed out that plea deals account for over 90 percent of all criminal convictions in the United States today. Our courts no longer serve the people, they serve themselves and those who control their members.
In the end, I would have been content with a conviction of 3rd Degree Assault, for the simple reason that what started out as a racially motivated, stupid prank on the part of my assailant finished with my incurring a fractured fibula, crutches, and a subsequent hernia repair. My assailant suffered no physical damage of his own. In other words, it is possible that my assailant did not foresee the physical damage that resulted, even though he was clearly ready for a physical response. I was completely taken by surprise.
The entire incident was captured in both video and audio recordings. Not only this, but there was an eye-witness who was clearly willing to testify before a jury of the Defendant’s peers.
The hearing that will take place in two weeks is the sentencing hearing during which it is expected that the presiding judge will determine what punishment my assailant will receive, if any. The State has proposed:
A suspended sentence of 364 days behind bars.
24 months unsupervised probation.
A no contact order with the victim or the establishment in which the crime was committed.
Payment for out-of-pocket medical expenses pertaining to injuries incurred due to the incident.
The State’s recommendations are ludicrous. A suspended sentence is suspended — no matter the stated length of time. And, for what purpose is the 24-month unsupervised probation when the Defendant has already been allowed to run free for more than two years, has been convicted in the interim of driving without a license, and reneged on payment for the corresponding traffic violation.
The no-contact order is not only useless, but perverse in light of my assailant’s clear racial prejudice. Since the attack, I have acquired the equivalent of four merit belts (white, blue, yellow, and green) in karate and am preparing for brown. The store owner has sold his shop out of fear of future incident and the ever-deteriorating neighborhood in which he had maintained his shop for several decades. Furthermore, my assailant appears racially to be of West African descent, and I of Central or West European descent. As such, racial incongruity would be the first distinguishing characteristic that my assailant would use to identify me in a crowd. In other words, the no-contact order can only aggravate the clear racial prejudice that my assailant demonstrated toward me before I was attacked, and that is vividly apparent in a very long list of previous encounters with his fellow city residents as recorded in police records collected by the City of Seattle. Finally, there are no out-of-pocket medical expenses for which I have any record that have not been covered by my insurance!
In addition to the above my assailant was once before charged with 2nd Degree Assault and the City of Seattle failed to prosecute him. When I asked why, I was told that it was not part of the public record and effectively told to mind my own business . . . !
Now, it took six months before my assailant was arrested by the Seattle Police Department and charged with 2nd Degree Assault before the King County District Court. In stark contrast, it took less than two weeks for him to be released on bail that was reduced by the King County Superior Court at his arraignment. To the astonishment of even many in law enforcement an additional twenty-one and a half months was required before the Defendant agreed to the aforesaid plea deal or be faced with trial and a conviction more commensurate with his true crime. He agreed during the week leading up to Easter Sunday.
The proceedings have been a three stage attenuation of my assailant’s crime.
At the arraignment hearing in June of 2022 his bail was cut by one-third. Had I not appeared at the arraignment hearing and pleaded for my assailant’s continued incarceration, I dare say that the bail would have been dropped altogether.
Although my assailant was charged with a felony in the second degree, he has been convicted of a non-felony in the fourth degree.
The recommended punishment by the State speaks for itself.
Although Judge Lee cannot modify the conviction, he does have the authority to modify the proposed conditions of sentencing. At the hearing I will have the opportunity to help guide the judge in his decision.
I will be asking for six months in jail, or two months in jail, an apology, and restitution of USD 2,670 to pay for my black belt in karate so that I might continue to walk on the streets of Seattle and in my own neighborhood a free man without fear of future damage to my person from a similar such incident. I prefer the second alternative for several reasons that I will not go into here.
Important is that under State law restitution comprises the cost of counseling received to render a victim whole after a violent crime. It does not state medical counseling per se, and my own medical insurance company will not cover the cost of my karate training — what has been far superior to any medical counseling that I could ever receive. For, not only has the karate training taught me how to avoid future conflict, but how to deal with it effectively when I am unable to avoid it. My confidence has been fully restored, and only requires maintenance.
My first error — if you can call it such — in the ordeal was that I called my assailant out for his rude behavior when he pushed his way past me with neither warning, nor apology. The prank came later after a tirade of racial epithets in another aisle of the shop and a brief silence after my assailant stepped in line behind me before knocking a store item out of my hand while we were both silently facing the cash register in front of us. My second error was not being physically prepared for what followed. Although I have since corrected my second error; it is likely that my “first error” would be repeated under similar circumstances.
When I reported the incident on January 3, 2022, I was told that the Seattle Police Department would get back to me, if any further action would be taken. I waited and waited. Whereupon I requested a copy of the intake officer’s report from the Seattle Records’ Office. Having found it inaccurate I sent in another — this time written by me. Sill no reply. So, I started calling around so as to learn how to extract from the Seattle Police Department a response that was something more than mere silence. One of my calls was to the King Count Prosecutor’s Office who told me that the case, if it were even taken up, would result in a simple misdemeanor.
In the end I am grateful to the detective at the Homicide and Assault Unit of the Seattle Police Department who agreed to take up the case with the caveat that I should be patient, because matters of guns and knives take priority, and the department is short-staffed.
Well I have been both patient and persistent. What will come of it? Your guess is as good as mine. Certainly, I have performed my utmost to protect my community and evade even more calls for social justice. The graffiti and broken glass from Seattle’s 2020 “Summer of Love” lingers until this day, if, indeed, it has not been made afresh several times since then.
In liberty,
Roddy A. Stegemann, First Hill, Seattle. 98104
Author of Mount Cambitas - The Story of Real Money