California Assemblywoman Pleads “No Contest” to Shoplifting

Via the SacBeeAssemblywoman Mary Hayashi pleads no contest to misdemeanor shoplifting charge

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley, pleaded no contest this afternoon in San Francisco Superior Court to a misdemeanor shoplifting charge.

After the plea, Hayashi declined comment, but her attorney, Doug Rappaport, said she had a brain tumor that affected her judgment the day of the shoplifting.

[…]

Hayashi was arrested in October on after leaving a San Francisco Neiman Marcus store without paying for a blouse, a skirt and a pair of leather pants worth a total of nearly $2,500. She has pleaded not guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Her spokesman has said that she intended to purchase the items, but became distracted by her cell phone and walked out of the store without paying.

According to the piece, the tumor is treatable, which is certainly good to know* but I must say, if her condition is such that it impairs her ability to shop, she should resign her position in the State Assembly (something which she has reportedly refused to do).  She is, however, about to be term-limited out of office, making the issues ultimately moot, I suppose.

Still, I must confess:  I find the defense to be a bit dubious.

*I have had two close friends (in their thirties) die of brain tumors, so I am especially sympathetic.

FILED UNDER: US Politics,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Rory T says:

    New title for article: California Democrat Assembly member becomes own God. Liberals are so accustomed to redistributing wealth that it is natural they should feel so entitled. After-all, ‘Thou shall not steal and thou shall not covet they neighbor’s goods’ are religious commandments. Therefore, progressives must ‘steal and covet’ to maintain ‘separation of church and state’. Practice makes perfect. LOL. I rest my case. Peace.

  2. OzarkHillbilly says:

    Steven, this story is total BS.

    Hayashi was arrested in October on after leaving a San Francisco Neiman Marcus store without paying for a blouse, a skirt and a pair of leather pants worth a total of nearly $2,500.

    There is no such thing as a “blouse, a skirt and a pair of leather pants worth a total of nearly $2,500”. I’ll bet this actually came from the Onion.

  3. OzarkHillbilly says:

    *I have had two close friends (in their thirties) die of brain tumors, so I am especially sympathetic.

    My little sis survived one, tho it left her living on disability (age 32). She recently had a stroke tho she never smoked and is only 48. (her husband died of colon cancer when he was 40)(if it weren’t for bad luck she’d have no luck at all.)

    But she can always find a reason to smile. The glass is always half full. I think that is why I hate her. (sarcasm)

  4. Gold Star for Robot Boy says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: No, I’ll bet Neiman Marcus can help you find those three items for that amount of coin.

  5. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Gold Star for Robot Boy: I am sure they could, but it is manifestly impossible for them to actually be worth $2500. Who ever said rich people are smart, was really stupid.

  6. michael reynolds says:

    Neiman’s will figure out how to charge you $2500 for two pairs of socks and a three-pack of tightie whities.

  7. John Burgess says:

    @michael reynolds: Only the ones woven of unborn alpaca hair by the hands of Mother Theresa. Their other things are far more affordable.

    Perhaps you’re thinking of Hammacher Schlemmer?

  8. Just nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: Clearly, you’ve never shopped at Neiman Marcus.

  9. Just nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: You’re forgetting the conspicuous consumption factor–the value of the purchase in conspicuous consumption is the inverse of price to utility. The less value the products have relative to the price charged, the higher the value as conspicuous consumption.

    @michael reynolds: You clearly understand as you picked a combination that has high value in conspicuous consumption. Have you lived in the Bay Area for a long time?

  10. Peterh says:

    There is no such thing as a “blouse, a skirt and a pair of leather pants worth a total of nearly $2,500″.

    How far back into those Ozarks do you really live……. Just joining the pile on…..but, really…..

  11. OzarkHillbilly says:

    Anybody who would spend $2500 on a blouse, a skirt and a pair of leather pants deserves to be separated from their money.

    @Peterh:

    Far enough to know stupidity when I see it.

  12. Miscreant says:

    Had a close friend die of a malignant brain tumor in his early twenties. He was on the road to great things.

    One day he was smiling, cracking jokes in the hospital- the next day he was gone.

    Pretty shameful to be using this an excuse if it’s untrue.