Yale Daily News

So the News published her name, photo and date of birth (ditto other publications) weeks ago, but NOW she's gonna be anonymous? Are you kidding me? Is the standard for anonymity now that the source can spell "anonymity?"

P.S. Why did she plead guilty if she's not guilty? Did someone ask her?

What an utter b.s. article. She may not have been able to afford an atty to help her fight the charge. It is UNRELATED to her position at Yale unless there's a morals clause in her contract (oops, most employees don't have contracts ...)

#1 is sadly misinformed about the state of the criminal justice system. Plenty of people plead guilty when they're not--public defenders are overworked, and cases like this, that pit the defendant's credibility against that of a police officer are objectively hard to fight, even if you don't have three other cases scheduled that day. The justice system even has a special guilty plea for when you really want to maintain that you didn't do anything wrong--the Alford plea. THAT'S how often people plead "guilty" to crimes that they maintain they didn't commit. Don't think that innocent people don't plead guilty. It happens far too often.

Jane--your life is still open. You can do more than you think you can.

whoever wrote this article is clearly trying to paint a picture of helplessness, and somehow managed to do a terrible job of it.

Yale does not and should not knowingly hire and retain felons for obvious reasons.

Karen: I rather doubt "Jane's" was a felony offense.

this article is disgusting journalism - the story is nice and all, but there's no effort made to ensure that her story is accurate.

thumbs-down to the usually reliable ydn.

It's "myriad possibilities" not "myriad of.." Geesh.

what are you suggesting? verify her story? that's the whole point! you can't verify a he said/she said between a women arrested as prostitute, and a cop. so you tell the story, and as a critical reader you come away from the story with an understanding of the ambiguity of the prostitution arrests, and the difficulty of making this act a crime ...

nice story, keep up the good work, ydn

I think alot of Yale women behave in ways similar to prostitutes, but recieve no money for it. Why should this woman who prostitutes herself to survive, be arrested for her behavior ? This is very unfair, and it shows how unjust the nation's laws are.

Here's a few thoughts.

1. Most women in Fair Haven are not prostitutes. Yet you say: "Jane could not escape the fate of so many other women in her neighborhood: being arrested for selling her body." I live in Fair Haven and everyone supports these arrests, and no one thinks that "so many other women" are prostitutes. Maybe 20 or so women and another 4-5 men are prostitutes here.
2. Were you trying to get Jane fired? Seems pretty evil to let her boss know she plead guilty to a felony. Do you plan to take care of her kids? The boss offered no useful context for your story. Is there an ethics class for YDN reporters?
3. Fair Haven is not some god awful neighborhood but your article makes it seem that way. She is an admitted felon with a pretty odd story (why'd she get in a stranger's car at night). Yet she gets to be your lone expert on a neighborhood where about 20% of city residents lives.
4. Since we have one gas station here, she was walking on Chapel Street, a mostly industrial strip with businesses on one side and houses on the other where there has been prostitution (reduced by the NHPD sweeps). This is a good location for illicit activity because people from East Haven and downtown can quickly get into and out of our neighborhood.

It IS "myriad of possibilities" or "myriad possibilities." In situation 1, it means a "variety of" possibilities. In situation 2, it means a great number of possibilities.

I strongly disagree with joe (#9),Yale woman are very classy. There is no place on the internet for such callous ,mean statements. Yale will probably terminate her employ,just a little sticky issue of handling the food and handling private parts at the wee wee hours of nite.
Hey maybe some crooked bicycle dealer can have her sign off on the stolen bikes and various bike seats,tires etc. that the homies bring in the sell

Innocent until proven guilty

If she is capable of the academic work, Yale should offer her a full scholarship

Why the hell would you tell her boss that she got arrested? Nice work. This is also a terribly written article.

to # 14

um..innocent until PLEADED guilty

@JustAThought: Honey, she pled out. You don't get to be presumed innocent forever.

Ewwwww

A prostitute handling our food.

I want to puke right now

"Yale epidemiologist Mark Kinzly said ... The city government needs to provide more rehabilitative services to female drug users if they are to get themselves off the streets."

Why dosen't Yale pay their employees' enough so they don't have to go whoring on the side?

Also where does this non-tax paying professor get off telling New Haven what to pay for, What about the state and the feds?

“I hated it in that area. Oh, I hate Fair Haven,” Jane said. “That’s the lowest place you can live.”

Jane...I am sorry you felt that way about Fair Haven. I am sorry you missed out on the vibrant and strong community. I am sorry you missed the sunsets along the Quinnipiac River. I am sorry you will miss out on the new walking loop around the River. I am sorry you just didn't get the fact that you never stepped far enough outside your own door to realize that Fair Haven is probably the best area to live in New Haven.

Fair Haven is NOT to blame for what happened to you. I'm sorry but YOU chose to get into the car with a stranger. I guess you are lucky that it was the police and not a sick twisted human who could have hurt or killed you.

Good luck in Westville.

N.H.P.D. has no credibility whatsoever. This was a sting, clear and simple. The City and State hit me with 13 bogus criminal charges and 69 years prison in 2002. I never admitted anything. Why should I? I was completely and totally innocent of any crime committed in CT. I refused the ridiculous plea-bargain and their stupid Alford doctrine.

The City and State lost big-time. I walked out with two misdemeanor convictions achieved thru tricks of jurisprudence, after beating 9 (nine) felony counts. The State and the Court demanded, and got, their "pound of flesh," illegally and unlawfully.

Fast Forward: my civil tort claim against City and State for $20M was docketed with the Supreme Court of the U.S. on Sept. 18, case #08-6378. New Haven is lawless city in a lawless state. Google my name for more info, advanced search (-doris,-dorris,-doris's,-williams). Or go to http://www.africanindependent.com/LAW_doriss_case1 and 2.

Did any of you ever read "Jude the Obscure"? Now you can read "Jane the Obscure." Have a nice day.

Bill Doriss
Yale Reject,
Class of '66
Cape Cod, MA

Well maybe the dining hall wasn't paying her enough!

Do you think women get into this profession because they love the job? Give me a break!

What happened to Police discretion, this woman doesn't sound like a threat to society. She does sound like she was used to make quota for the officer's convenience.

A friend of mine is a retired Narcotics cop. He told me that a lot of BS arrests had to be made to just "make marks" in the book. Statics are paid attention to for getting Federal Tax Dollars into departments based on arrests for certain crimes.

Some poor guy can legitimately stop, ask for directions, get nailed for trying to pick up a prostitute, get his car confiscated, lose his job, house, family, and the sum total of his life so an officer can make quota.

This story stinks. Police should be very careful arresting people, it can end and ruin lives.

This isn't a personal advertisement section Mr. Doriss. You have the other on line papers and blogs you constantly fill to carrry on your personal agenda.

A real hooker with a heart of gold story!

Hey Mr. Monkey-Mouth Blogmaster wannabe, class of 73, who are you to judge? Now it's my turn to judge you, your city AND your university. Hint: It's not a pretty picture! Go soak your head.

If The Janes stay out of Fair Haven we would not get a bad name and we are good people who have lived there all their lives so good bye Jane and make Westville get the bad name and you work for Yale

If Jane had just kept on walking and declined the ride, she wouldn't have ended up in this mess. It's a very simple lesson taught to each person as a youth...never get in a car with a stranger! It never, ever works out...

Response # 26 certainly sums up your legal troubles nicely Mr. Doriss. But back on the topic, does Yale even check it's employee and student population for criminal records after admissions or hiring? And is there an actual policy in place if a record is discovered?

I'm glad to hear from Mr.Doriss, some readers are actually listening and providing pretty good input.it helps.
A lot of arrests are from "go no where foot patrol cops" who will concoct the wildest of charges ,using every bit of their imaginations to further a dead end career. By the time the Courts find out about the phony reports the cop has asked for and probably received his promotion (due to the big capers)
..and then see F.Mac Buckley,and find out just how sympathetic a red faced and embarrassed courtroom can be..
hooray for Hollywood -#25
and as Chef used to say #28 ,never get out of the boat either.
And finally #29 brings up good points
Hey Jaime277 ! some applicants and residing residents are put under a high powered microscope, some applicants/hires come out of no-where
I think the ones under the radar are relatives of State Reps,Police,City Admistration and exemptions are made.
If you ask a Cop if the buddy has a record just what do you think the answer will be ?

give me a BREAK!!!!! you live in fair haven, you decided to pollute the area with selling your behind infront of our children, and typical trash talk, now YOU SAY IT AN AWEFUL PLACE TO LIVE IN. shame on this article being published. go find more important news, that makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arresting johns: worth the while. It can perhaps lower the demand of a social ill.

Arresting prostitutes: worthless. Regardless of whether Jane is or is not a prostitute (who cares!), arresting prostittues is not in the least going to lower prostitution rates. They aren't out there because they love it. How about the city spend the money on drug rehab instead of cops with big egos ...

Where is the Yale Law School in this? Are there any clinics available to assist those charged with minor crimes? How about an employment law clinic to help those who are disproportionately affected by discrimination based on criminal arrests and/or convictions? Is the old saying true that one only goes to Yale Law School if one does not wish to practice? This lady may need help if Yale attempts to fire her based on the arrest/guilty plea. It's not a work-related offense. How about helping her too?

Umm, does anyone else think this story is total crap? Maybe she's not a prostitute all the time, but what does a woman think she's doing who gets in a car with a guy who offers her money to go "hang out" with his friends?

seriously

While Martine Powers may not be in line for a Pulitzer Prize with this piece, it appears she may have a bright future ahead of her in journalism. This story was topical, community-oriented and chockablock full of "human interest."

Here's my point: The City has a new chief of police. The City also has a serious problem with young black men apparently having unfettered access to guns, and a willingness to use them with or without the slightest provocation. This is no time to be politically correct, or shy, about addressing THIS "quality of life" issue in the great city of New Haven,... or Hartford for that matter.

So what is the new chief's response? He steps up so-called "prostitution stings" in Fairhaven! Mug shots of alleged prostitutes and johns are posted prominently in the newspapers. This is a silly red herring and a waste of overstrained departmental resources. In a city I might add which is incapable of responding quickly and adequately to run-of-the-mill 911 calls. (See my two civilian review complaints, filed July, 2003. That's you Reggie Thomas.)

Just as the War on Drugs has proved to be nothing more than an enhanced Employment Act for law enforcement, court personnel and corrections--and has accomplished nothing more than the needless breakup of families and other disruptions to the community--so the War on the Solicitation for Sex will not make the perceived problem disappear. It goes underground, onto the net, or to another part of town as someone pointed out above.

I have posted elsewhere that Chief Lewis is getting off to a bad start, that he will become a short-timer and the latest casualty in a line of ineffective chiefs of police. This will happen at the end of 18 months when it becomes clear that crime in the city has not been reduced--in spite of fudged and/or doctored numbers showing "overall" crime to have been reduced. Thank you very much, preserve-and-protect-breath.

And specifically, solicitation arrests will be sharply higher, which the P.D. will tout, implying that "quality of life" issues have indeed been addressed. Meanwhile, everyone will know, if not anecdotally then thru the news, that gun-related crime and other crimes of violence will have increased, making the city more dangerous than ever. With the overall economy tanking, this is even more likely than before.

Mark Pawlina, my neighbor, was no fool in turning down the thankless chief's job. The fact is, Chief Lewis was crammed down DeStef's throat by PERF when Pawlina, the first choice--and a good one--bowed out. Unfortunately, N.H is not Pomona, and N.H. has a well-entrenched "police culture" of ineptitude and malfeasance, to put it mildly. Have you not done enough damage to the image of N.H., Louie Cavaliere, in your looong tenure as union pres? This is compounded by a New Haven judicial district which is completely out of control and a state which runs roughshod over "constitutional" and due-process rights willy-nilly AND with impunity,... which is to say "without accountability."

In a state which is not short on "laws," some of you may not be familiar with:

Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-155:

“Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence: Class D felony. (a) A person is guilty of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence if, believing that an official proceeding is pending, or about to be instituted, he: (1) Alters, destroys, conceals or removes any record, document or thing with purpose to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding; or (2) makes, presents or uses any record, document or thing knowing it to be false and with purpose to mislead a public servant who is or may be engaged in such official proceeding.”

Officers of the law and state officials are not immune from the above statute. But who will hold them accountable if not you the citizens? Gov. Rell?!?

Erickson and simone, above, make valid points which I myself had not thought of. This is my maiden voyage at YDN, and hopefully not my last.