Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with arrest

How to avoid police charges?

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:53:07 -0800

After being apprehended but before being charged by the police, how do you maximize your chances of being let off with a warning? I was apprehended recently for theft under $5,000 in Ontario, involving items worth a bit over $200. The police were tied up so I was released from the store. The police called later on and I'll be meeting with them in a few days.

I'm 19 (so an adult now) with no priors and very cooperative. I spoke to duty counsel and then a lawyer afterward, and they said that if charged, I would likely be eligible for diversion. I don't mind completing diversion, since I realize I need to take responsibility for my actions; however, any sort of criminal record would be devastating for a number of reasons. Now, the loss prevention officer told me that for people like me, the police often just give a verbal warning. The loss prevention officer even went so far as to change the wording on my notice of apprehension, crossing out the "will" in "A Criminal Summons will be obtained by the Police on that charge after your release" to "may." On the other hand, I've heard that for cases involving hundreds of dollars, officers always charge. I'm still holding out hope that if I behave in all the right ways, the officer might let me off without charges (and thus no record).

My main concern is of how to talk to the police officer. I want to express remorse for my actions and demonstrate that it won't happen again. But would it be a bad idea to admit guilt in case the police decide to charge? I should add that the loss prevention officers saw me conceal some merchandise and attempt to leave the store with it, so I don't know if I have much of a chance at pleading not guilty. I'm just worried that telling the police officer too much could really hurt my options should he decide to charge me.

What do you think is the best way to go about this? Is the dollar value of the items too high to hope for a warning? If there is a possibility of leniency, then how can I maximize this possibility in my interactions with the officer? YANAL, etc. but any advice would be greatly appreciated. Throwaway e-mail at anon0602@gmail.com.

They got the robbers. Now what?

kristymcj — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:27:13 -0800

They got the guys who robbed us. They were arrested but have posted bond and are awaiting trial (I guess). What happens now on my end? They stole a phone and used it (sheesh!). The detective ran all the names called against his records and a few popped up as having records. He checked those names against pawn shop records and found one who pawned our stuff. We have video of them selling out stuff at the pawn shop. One's our next-door neighbor's (with whom we're friendly) son. They kicked him out of the house.
The detective said it's impossible to get a search warrant this far (three weeks) after a crime cause the stuff's usually gone, but that he's gonna go by my neighbor's place tomorrow and ask his parents if he can look around the place for our stuff.

But I'm not an axe murderer anymore

Anonymous — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:11:45 -0800

I've heard that it's hard to enter the USA from the UK if you have a criminal record. I was sectioned in 2007 (for being a danger to myself, rather than the more serious condition of being a danger to others) so technically have been arrested. Will this bar me from ever going?

How are pre-op transsexuals divided in short-term holding areas after incarceration?

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:17:23 -0800

Where are pre-op transsexuals placed in short-term holding tanks when they are arrested? The men's area, or the women's? I would definitely prefer an answer from actual police enforcement officials, but if you happen to know, I've wondered this forever. I used to live in a shady neighborhood and there was a well-known transsexual person of the evening that got arrested at least six times in front of my building. My understanding from the local convenience store clerk was that she was pre-op, but had breast implants and obviously hormone treatments.

In smaller areas, I would imagine there is a sort of "hold-all" cell area where people get put to sober up, get picked up by their parents, that sort of thing. But I live in a larger town where you are definitely divided in the holding tank areas by gender.

So, cops/transsexual workers/whomever: When a pre-op person gets arrested (prostitute or not, but I'm especially interested in the prostitute side of things, considering there may be violence in the holding tank), where does that person get assigned? The women's holding tank, or the men's? Is a strip-search done beforehand? I pray to god I'm not offending anyone by asking this, it genuinely is a question that has plagued me with curiosity for years.

I would assume that if you are transgender and busted on a larger charge and convicted, therefore serving time, you'd be assigned to whichever prison you belong to based on the genitals that you still retain at the time. Please feel free to clarify this better for me, too. I have seen various documentaries on gender reassignment surgery in prison and know that is an option/possibility; I am more concerned with where people go in the 24-hour holding tank areas for short-term offenses.

A Woman In Danger?

johngoren — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:59:40 -0800

My friend, who hasn't lived in Texas for decades, was dismayed to learn that there was a longstanding warrant for her arrest in Texas for a traffic violation she could not have committed. The warrant's for not paying a fine. (She thinks someone stole her driver's license and identity.) She's refusing to pay the fine on the grounds that it is absurd and would cost too much to fight in court. She wants to know if it's safe for her to drive in other states, or whether she runs the risk of being arrested in states like Minnesota or New York. Do police look up this kind of information on a routine stop for speeding?

It's a Federal Rap, No, it's a State Rap

Xurando — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:01:51 -0800

Book Research Filter: How is jurisdiction determined when someone is arrested on Federal and State charges at the same time? For example, if federal and state police raid a local drug dealer together and the suspect is arrested on federal drug charges but a local officer is assaulted in the process. Which case has priority?, Is it the one arraigned first, or does federal always have priority in terms of trials, which sentence is served first, custody etc. Also sometimes in white collar crime cases when someone is charged with federal violations they are also charged with breaking state laws at the same time. Which charge trumps the other?

Drug arrest and release- what's next?

zoey08 — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:28:06 -0800

My female friend's car was pulled over yesterday, and marijuana was found. They released her with some conditions. She is getting a lawyer, but we are wondering if what occurred is common, and where she should go from here. She was pulled over for speeding in a Texas town, and the cop smelled the notorious smell of the green. They of course searched the car, and found a small amount. She was arrested, handcuffed, etc. She then informed them that it was her whole family's car, and the person who was driving it last must have put it in the car. She said she had no idea that it was there. After many tears and all that, they believed her, and released her. They told her that within a week, she must confess, bring the guilty party in to confess, or bring them the name of/ information on a dealer. Either way she has to go into the station. She told her father, and they are going to speak to a lawyer ASAP. She is justifiably scared, as she is off to grad school in the fall for the next three years and a drug conviction would obviously hurt her very bright future. My feeling is that if they released her, they are not that interested in ruining her life or anything. Has anyone heard of this occurring? They will talk to the lawyer about the legality of his actions and all that. Should she just give what little information about a dealer she can find (she really can't give them much at all)? Have any idea about what she should expect when she goes in? Anything vital to ask the lawyer? Anyone have some other advice? She is just really frightened right now and a little lost.

Treated Like a Criminal for Being in Public After Drinking

a_green_man — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:41:17 -0800

Advice about "Drunk in Public" charges and how to handle my complaints of excessive force and (possible)restriction of my civil rights. Early Saturday Morning(~2:30am), I was arrested for being 'drunk in public'. Earlier I had drank 5 or 6 beers at a local pub for some friends wedding anniversary starting 7 hours previously with food in between(2-piece fish & chips). I was at the local mini-mart/7/11 when I accidently bumped against a lady who took offense. I apologized, but she acted like I had really accosted her and I went outside basically saying "whatever(I don't want to deal with you, goodbye)". She called the police(btw, my brief impression of her was that she was a bitter, slightly crazy, older lady, but not homeless).

When the police arrived, I was eating crisps outside the store. I cooperated with them by giving all of my information. AS SOON AS I asked if I was "being detained"(a standard question recommended by civil-liberty organizations), and with no further words, I was forcefully handcuffed and put into the police car.

After I was driven 30-some miles south to San Jose I was asked by the 'receiving officer' at the main jail to sign a document. I proceeded to read it and was then told to "sign it, don't read it". I kept reading and said, "I need to read it and understand before I sign". He said, "Just sign it!" and PUT HIS HAND OVER the text. I proceeded to try and write that I had NOT read and understood this document. Once I started this, he gave his buddies the "signal" and I was put in forceable wrist locks by two guards and then put in ankle and wrist cuffs locked to a plastic chair for 7 1/2 hours. The document was probably a standard form and relatively innocuous, but I did not recieve a copy and still do not know what it said. He wrote "refused" or "refused to sign" for all the further questions on the "pre-booking" sheet I was given after I was shackled.

Both of my wrists and one finger are sprained pretty badly and I have a limited abililty to work for the next week or so since I use my hands so much for my livelihood.

They not only sprained both of my wrists and a finger, but they deprived me of two reasonable requests(rights?): Asking whether I am free to go, and the necessity of reading a contract before I sign it. More-so, they PUNISHED me for exercising these "rights".

I am always cooperative and respectful with police. I was neither rude nor threatening to anyone in the course of the night.

I have had my primary-care physician(my chiropractor) document the damage. Pictures are useless as the damage is internal and not terribly visible; slight swelling and some redness.

I'm hoping to find a lawyer who will take me on as a charity case as I have no money. I will also be making complaints with the Office of the Independent Police Auditor in San Jose, and the Palo Alto PD(which doesn't seem to have an citizen oversight organization).

What else should I know? Is this lawsuit worthy? What should I know about initiating complaint processes against the officers?

Can you join the force if you have a record?

fugitivefromchaingang — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:42:51 -0800

Does having a minor arrest record automatically disqualify one from joining the police force? If, say, I have been arrested and fined once for being drunk and disorderly, is this sufficient for the police to reject me as a candidate, if I wanted to become a cop? I imagine this might vary on a state by state basis; let's say the state is Connecticut. If you don't know about CT, but do know about another place, please tell me what you do know, anyway. If this all seems terribly hypothetical to you, that's because I'm writing a story, not actually thinking of becoming a cop.

Thanks.

What does expungement do and what doesn't it do?

Skwirl — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:57:04 -0800

What does expungement do and what doesn't it do? I am currently most likely eligible for having an adult peaceful protest arrest (misdemeanor) expunged in the state of Oregon. This would greatly help when I have to move to a new apartment. On the other hand, my public defender never filed a constitutional argument before my jury trial and when I briefly discussed it with him over a year ago, he encouraged me to find another lawyer and do so immediately, because I was almost due to be eligible for expungement anyway.

Well, life happened and I never followed up on it, but I'm wondering: Does expungement preclude getting a conviction overturned? Expungement clearly opens a lot of doors, but does it close any? Is it possible that my lawyer was just wary because of the difficulty of finding a pro-bono lawyer to aid in my case once the urgency was abated by expungement?

This thread raises a lot of questions about when to report and when not to report an expunged conviction. If I get it expunged, when will I have to report it and how will I know? (Employers? Grad school app? Visiting another country? Immigrating to another country? Rental applications?) Is there a set of circumstances where I would report an expunged arrest but not report an overturned conviction? How does an expungement factor in the unlikely event that I'm in trouble with the law again?

And yes, I understand You Are Not My Lawyer and This Is Not Legal Advice.

Sherrif's Business card on door?

rainbaby — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:43:50 -0800

What could a buisiness card from a Sheriff's Deputy left on your front door mean? I called but had to leave a message and am freaking out. I know it could mean anything, but what are some likely cause of summons, etc? Wost case scenarios?

I swear she's innocent!

Felicity Rilke — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:57:42 -0800

How do you clear your name of criminal charges after identity theft? And how could these charges have been incurred? My friend and I were down in Tennessee this weekend from Toronto. She was pulled over for speeding on the freeway and was told she was going fast enough to be automatically ticketed. Fine enough.

The patrol officer took her license back to the car where he sat for a very long time. He asked her to get out of the car, and this is where things took a strange turn.

Her driver's license showed up with a warrant for her arrest in Ontario -- drug trafficking. My friend has never been arrested for anything, never bought drugs, never even had a speeding ticket until that day. The cop was on the phone with the police in Toronto and asking her about things which happened when she was a child (1991) or living in BC (2001). The police in Toronto finally mentioned that my friend's wallet was stolen last October, and eventually we were allowed to leave after two hours standing separated on the I75 (though not until the car was sniffed by a dog and then searched since drugs were apparently detected -- it was a rental car). We managed to get home without further incidence.

So how does she get rid of this warrant for her arrest? And how does she protect herself from further problems? When her wallet was stolen, she did everything you are supposed to do (got new identification, contacted the credit companies and bank, reported the theft to the police, etc.) but there is still someone out there using her identity to commit crimes.

And how did she end up with a warrant for arrest for drug trafficking? Credit card or bank fraud we can understand, but drug trafficking? How does someone go about doing that? Why wouldn't the Toronto police just show up on her door?

Can someone fly internationally with a bench warrant?

geengi — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 07:46:07 -0800

I wish to take a business trip to Japan next week and I wish to take my new girlfriend. She tells me shes afraid to go because she has a bench warrant out for her. if I take her to the airport will they check this and arrest her? I am a 40 ish white male. I met a girl and we began dating 2 months ago. I have a business trip to Japan in apx 2 weeks and would like to take her for the experience of a diffrent culture. She told me the other day she wont go becasue she has a bench warrant from a prev boyfriend that accused her of theft by deception or something. She failed to appear as she was never served.

I told her as soon as I/we get back I will help get her an attorney and address this matter. however I simply do not have the time to do this right now.

My question is very simple. IF WE GO TO THE AIRPORT TO CHECK IN WILL THIS WARRANT COME UP. AND IF SO, WILL THEY ARREST HER ON THE SPOT. ALSO, IS IT MORE LIKELY TO COME UP ON DEPARTUREOR RE ARRIVAL?

Look, no one is trying to run away here. I will get her an attorney when I return. Can anyone please tell me if she can fly with this bench warrant??

Also, how about flying domestic flights, or amtrak? Any insight as in to how all this works is sought!

Quasi-urgent legal question about a recent arrest of a friend.

Lockeownzj00 — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 16:04:53 -0800

Quasi-urgent legal question about a recent arrest of a friend. A few things she needs to know.

First, details.

In a brand new car, her and her friends were driving around somewhere (we live in New Jersey), and made an illegal left turn of some sorts. A cop pulled them over and said the car 'smelled like marijuana (impossible because they couldn't even smoke cigarettes in the car--but anyway),' and searched them. They found 'some' on her, but that 'some' was quite literally a few stems and maybe a fraction of a leaf of a bud. They arrested her with not only possession but intent to sell.

Clearly, this is ridiculous. But she has no money for a lawyer, and we're not exactly sure how the court dates going down.

First, she's wondering whether or not she can clear the 'intent' charge since there's no feasible way it could be conceived as such.

Second, she's wondering if there is a drug test of any kind around the date.

Third, she's wondering what the ramifications of this are. There's most likely going to be some form of punishment (I've had friends who got luckier than they could ever hope to have been, but that's not really the case all the time, obviously), but any idea of what kind?

She'd plead guilty of 'possession,' even though it was a small amount, so what would this lead to? Probation? Is there any way to avoid this?

I'm not completely inept, but pragmatically speaking, I'm a court-noob. Her date's soon, and the only way I thought of answering these questions was with Ask Mefi. So forgive me if the questions are odd or rushed.

What's the Miranda warning called in countries where Miranda never happened -- or is it called anything at all?

croutonsupafreak — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 22:36:56 -0800

The Miranda warning is well known in the US. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...". But are there equivalent warnings that people in other countries hear when they are arrested? What are they called? How are they worded? I ask because I'm watching a 15-year-old Canadian TV show on DVD, and when someone was arrested a few minutes ago he got read his rights, which were pretty similar to the Miranda rights. Is this just television, or does this reflect reality?

Are all mugshots in the public domain?

thewittyname — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 18:46:15 -0800

Does everyone who gets arrested have a mugshot taken of them, and must all mugshots be released to the public? Are there any restrictions on their use? It seems to be "common knowledge" that mugshots are public records (that's what Wikipedia says) but can anyone give me some more detail on the laws that might govern this sort of thing? Are there restrictions on obtaining or using mugshots that don't apply to police reports, or vice versa?

[Yes, this is partially related to DeLay's pending arrest, but I've wondered about the specifics behind this stuff for a while now]

Law & Order: SVU vs. real life

croutonsupafreak — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 19:58:55 -0800

Is it true that we can't be arrested in our own homes in the United States? "Your honor, you know we cannot arrest you in your own home," Elliot Stabler said on Law and Order: SVU tonight.

I know it's dangerous to believe anything said on television, but I wonder where this statement came from. Is this true in the US? Perhaps just in New York? Can anyone explain why Stabler may have said this, other than artistic license?

Tenant Arrest Warrant

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 10:10:37 -0800

I'm a landlord and yesterday the violent crimes unit came by with a felony arrest warrant for one of my tenants, who wasn't home. They left me their card and asked me to call them when she was at home so they could come get her. My trouble is, I left a note on her door asking her to call the cops, which apparently she got, and apparently she did, though I haven't seen her at home any time recently. Have I just obstructed justice by trying to be fair to my (in my estimation) good tenant?

One Phone Call

kahboom — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 07:45:30 -0800

"I want my phonecall!" In movies and on TV shows, the protagonist/antagonist always asks his jailers for his "one phonecall" to a lawyer. Do you really only get one phonecall? Do regular people really have a lawyer's number on them? How's this all work? (I'm not in trouble, promise)

How does house arrest work?

Zed_Lopez — Fri, 16 Jul 2004 14:43:58 -0800

How does house arrest work? (more inside) Martha Stewart's sentencing includes five months of 'home confinement.'

How is that handled in the U.S.? How much does it vary from state to state? Is she literally forbidden from setting foot from the house? Is it, then, reserved for people rich enough to comfortably have everything delivered? Or are certain reasonable errands permitted, and how is that defined?