Saturday, July 3, 2010

Atty Jennings Letter to Eita, suggesting Emily might desire to be locked up for 180 more days!

Hello Eita,

At this point in time I do not feel fully prepared to go forward with
the court hearing this Thursday, for a number of reasons, but
primarily because I currently am unsure just what Emily wants to do.
Additionally, the case has become so complicated, with so many
participants, that it likely will take at least 2-3 hours to fully
present. I still need to talk with Dr Watson, and if we do intend to
use him as a witness (as you would like) then the Attorney General's
Office likely also will want to talk to him before the hearing. For
hearings of this length, the court requires us to specially set them
for a Wednesday afternoon, or before a Judge in a downtown courtroom.
And your request for a Lithuanian interpreter further complicates
things, as it's difficult for get interpreters for less prominent
languages out to WSH, but the court clerks are looking into it.
(Though Emily seemed puzzled by your request.)

Bottom line right now is that we are going to postpone this hearing
for a least two weeks, maybe more. I do think that you and I should
meet again, probably a few more times before the hearing. But I am
not available today (Tuesday, June 29, 2010) as I am involved in a
jury trial that began yesterday in downtown Tacoma, and looks like it
may last into tomorrow (Wednesday). I could probably meet Thursday or
Friday afternoon, if one of those would work with you.

Finally, I spent quite a bit of time talking to Emily about this last
night. She is quite comfortable postponing the hearing, and in fact
she seemed relieved. At one point she told me that in fact she would
prefer to stay at WSH for another 180 days, but at other times also
that going home would be okay, though more tentatively. Please
understand that in this matter Emily is my client, and ultimately I
have to take my directions from her. At this point I am still trying
to understand just how she wants this situation resolved. And quite
honestly, after our meeting with her together, I am concerned that you
are trying to direct this process, rather than allowing her to, and I
am not certain that she agrees entirely with your plan or your
approach. This is something we need to discuss more fully before any
hearing as well.

So, please let me know your availability to meet Thursday or Friday
afternoon. On this occasion, I would welcome input from any
companions you would like to bring along with you.

Regards! ~Chris Jennings

Christopher Jennings, Supervising Attorney
Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel
Mental Health Advocacy Unit at Western State Hospital
9601 Steilacoom Blvd SW, Bldg 25
Lakewood WA 98498-7213
Office: 253-756-2310 Direct: 253-761-3316
Fax: 253-584-5803 Cell: 253-232-9560
Email: cjennin@co.pierce.wa.us

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Mother Fights to Prove Daughter Innocent! Please Email the Governor

E-MAIL Washington State Governor Gregoir :

http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/

Tell her that Emily’s Darguzhytes, arrest and court case in 2001 in Clark County was a gross travesty of Justice and the case should be reopened.

Emily continues to suffer from that treatment and the criminal record she does not deserve. She was dismissed from a volunteer CPR instructor position after a background check, she has been barred from visiting Canada where she went often to visit her aunt, and the charge of kidnapping which were reduced to a forced plea bargain of unlawful imprisonment is being used as support in the petition to further imprison her at the hospital. She has Court on July 1, 2010.

Call the CEO of Western State Hospital today Jess Jamieson 253-756-2525 and tell him to have Emily’s treatment team withdraw their petition to keep Emily another 180 days.

By Eita Darguzhene (Mother of Emanuele Darguzhyte) email: Eitaleta@gmail.com

Our family; my husband, our 13year old daughter Raminta, our 10 year old daughter Emanuele ( nickname Emily), and myself, Eita Darguzhene, immigrated to the USA as Refugees from Lithuania in the former USSR on October 25, 1991. We endured decades of communistic regime and persecution from the KGB and State atheism. In 1996 we became American Citizens and we expected to find in America, the land of the free; democracy, justice, peace, truth, protection of human rights and respite from unruly totalitarian regime of USSR.

Below is the tragic story of our daughter Emily, who, due to a false arrest at age 19, has endured gross human rights violation including being unjustly institutionalized, restrained and forced drug with extremely debilitating, mind altering drugs at Western State Mental Hospital (WSH) in Washington, imprisoned in a local jail, and her rights of due process of law trampled in America. Her case needs to be retried with due process of Law.

In addition, presently, that false conviction and the “mentally ill” label has been used unjustly to once again institutionalize Emily at Western State Hospital and force drug her. She has been there for almost 300 days and they are petitioning to confine her an additional 180 days. Today, we need your Help to Free Emily!!!

1) to free Emily, 28, from her present forced confinement and drugging at Western State Hospital;

Call the CEO of Western State Hospital today Jess Jamison 253-756-2525 and tell him to have Emily’s treatment team withdraw their petition to keep Emily another 180 days. She has Court on July 1, 2010. Read her story below

2) to have Emily’s court case from 2001 reopened,

EMAIL Governor Gregoire http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/ and tell her that Emily’s Darguzhytes, arrest and court case in 2001 in the Clark County was a gross travesty of Justice and the case should be reopened.

That case involved a false arrest, charge, cover up and unjust conviction by the criminal justice and hospital authorities.

Emanuele seems to speak good English, however she has limited English proficiency, and we speak only Lithuanian in our home. The services of a certified interpreter has never been ordered, even once, during any part of the legal proceedings or forced treatment Emily has been force to endure during this entire horrendous nightmare.

You have read about the details of her present intolerable condition on MindFreedom.org website and now here are the details of her false charge and conviction of “illegal imprisonment in 2001."

WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY!!! Please call and email now!

Coming to America: A Nightmare Story for a Young Lithuanian Woman

by Cindi Fisher

Court Guard Acted Impulsively and Refused to Communicate with Eye Witness Parent

In 2001, Emily’s mother and father accompanied her to court for a minor probation violation, of which neither her parents or Emily had understood. While at court, waiting for her hearing, Emily was accused of attempting to kidnap an 8 year old girl from the restroom in the courthouse. The following is a brief description of what actually happened:

During the court recess Eita left the courtroom and stood in the hallway directly outside the courtroom, hoping to speak to Emily’s lawyer to understand the violation; meanwhile Emily went to use the restroom. Eita was standing in the hallway in direct site of the restroom door, not more than 15 feet away. A few minutes later, Eita watched Emily exit the bathroom holding a young girl by her waist, facing outward, and set her down on the floor in front of two women, one of whom, seemed to be the mother. After Emily set her down, Eita and Emily were both shocked when one of the women started screaming “what are your doing with my child?” Emily had no idea why the woman was screaming, (having only the pure intention of helping the little girl open the door, as the little girl had requested of Emily,). Emily didn’t respond to the mother’s screaming and walked back down the hall, past Eita, into the courtroom, and sat back down beside her dad. Eita joined them, with Emily seated between them. Within a few minutes Emily was summoned from her courtroom seat between her parents, by courthouse guards, who then forcefully removed her from the courtroom; her parents immediately followed, shocked and confused; no explanation was given to them whatsoever and the guards refused to listen or communicate in any way with them. Before they were allowed to see or talk to Emily or the guards, the guards handcuffed, booked and unlawfully imprisoned Emily in the Clark County Jail with the charge of kidnapping. We know that the details of the kidnapping would never hold up in court. According to the court record, Emily picked up the 8 year old girl carrying her under the armpits, allegedly fondling her breast; then the girl supposedly began kicking and screaming,; Emily managed to continue holding her by the armpits, yet covered her mouth with one hand and made the girl reach out and open the door. Meanwhile, directly outside the door, the mother and grandmother were waiting and apparently although hearing the so called screaming, did nothing, but according to their testimony to the guard, screamed at Emily "what are you doing?when she exited the door "with their girl". This is the part where Emily had no idea why they screamed at her and just went and sat down in the courtroom between her parents. The headliner local newspaper article the next day either purposely distorted or was given false information; the article said Emily allegedly attempted to kidnap the child from the bathroom, fondled her breast, silenced her screaming, but when she was confronted by the women outside the court she immediately released the child and tried to “mingle in a courtroom audience where the court guards found her…Nowhere in the story did it mention that she was there WITH HER PARENTS for a COURT HEARING and that her mother was an eye witness; no reporter ever attempted to interview the parents before writing the article and no interpreter was ever ordered or present. Another important fact was that one of the women who made the charges was scheduled for a felony jury trial that day on April 24,2001.


Impulsive Arrest Followed by Extreme Cover up Measures

Thus within a matter of minutes this vibrant, young 19 year old woman went from being accompanied by her parents in the U.S. courtroom of Justice to being isolated, fingerprinted, booked on a kidnapping felony charge, and locked up as an inmate in the Clark County Jail. Her cry of innocence and her parents plea of her innocence fell on deaf ears. To add insult to injury, at the arraignment the next day, Emily, frightened, confused, and shocked, was brought to court, with hands and feet shackled wearing an orange jumpsuit, designating "especially dangerous" , and was ordered to be evaluated for competency to stand trial… no interpreter was present and the parents were not allowed any input. And from that moment, the trail of unjust and unfair proceedings continued to build exponentially. Emily was certainly competent to stand trial and should have been given bail, and at the very least a court ordered interpreter should have been present; there was no prior history of a serious criminal record; there were an eye witness that seriously placed doubt on the validity of the charge and she had been at court with her parents.

It is the writer’s opinion that once the authorities realized the seriousness of their error, that could easily be proven in court, a plan was needed to avoid bringing their impulsive, illegal actions to light. Pronouncing Emily incompetent to stand trial and failure to secure the services of an interpreter set the stage for extreme and harmful cover up measures to be taken.

Normally, from the time a judge request the first competency evaluation until the point where a 90 day restoration to competency is ordered, there is usually a time lapse ranging from 2 months minimum up to 4 months and it is not rare for as much as 6 months to lapse.

In Emily’s case

1) this process was rushed through, in LESS THAN TWENY FOURS HOURS,

up to and INCLUDING a court order signed by the judge for a

2) NINETY DAY FORCED MEDICATED DRUG TREATMENT

(The usual 14 day non-medicated evaluation and the additional “up to”14 day forced medicated treatment were completely omitted --”

3) WITHIN 24 hours of her “kangaroo” court arraignment, where she was denied bail, Emily was transported to WSH --it is the authors opinion that there surely were others in jail with equally or more serious charges still awaiting evaluation and transport orders.

4) at Western State Hospital, in LESS THAN 24 hours, Emily was “evaluated as gravely disabled and a danger to others, based on the charges that were not proven;” the report requesting competency restoration for “up to 90 day confinement with permission to force medicate” was written and faxed to the court; the court received the report; signed and faxed the order back to the hospital; and the 90 day forced treatment with mind altering neuroleptic drugs began--All this IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS)

No interpreter; no bail; no input sought or allowed from pleading eyewitness parent……

Why was Emily’s case given such top priority rush???

Emily maintained she was innocent throughout the 3 months of being subjected to horrific human rights violations, and being forced over and over again to repeat the crime she had been charged with but had not committed, and the possible sentence. She continually begged to be given a polygraph test. When she was returned to jail, 90 days later, she and her parents immediately instructed their second hired attorney to request a jury trial. Emily's first attorney refused to seek a jury trial and brought her to court to plead guilty to a plea bargain; but she refused. Her parents hired a second attorney, who was instructed to seek a jury trial to prove her innocence. Both of her attorneys violated her legal rights by informing her that if she did not accept a plea bargain to a lesser charge of unlawful imprisonment, she would be returned to Western State hospital for further “treatment.” When her trial date was eventually set, it was at almost 90 days from the time she was returned to jail “competent to stand trial.” Finally, after being kept in jail 75 days without bail, after her forced 90 day psychiatric drugging and hospital confinement, with what felt like no hope of release, she was brought into a private courtroom where no other people were present except her parents and she agreed to plea bargain to unlawful imprisonment .


E-MAIL Washington State Governor Gregoir : hhttp://www.governor.wa.gov/contract/

Tell her that Emily’s Darguzhytes, arrest and court case in 2001 in Clark County was a gross travesty of Justice and the case should be reopened. *

E-mail: eitaleta@gmail.com