wrongly accused and identified

SnailS1904

SnailS1904

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
Messages
277
Location
San Diego, CA
my friends were down at this bridge just walkn around and a jogger comes running by and assumes they were doing graffiti on the pillers...
she calls the cops.
on their way up from the bridge the cops stop them and arrest them and then has the witness identify them.
they get taken downtown to the jail for 24 hours and interrogated.
they has no paint on their hands and no cans were found, yet they still have to go to court for the situation.
could they really get convicted for this hearsay with no real evidence?
 
Was there any admission of guilt during the interrogation? If not, then there is only the jogger's word that she saw them committing vandalism, and apparently this is a lie. So the three possible scenarios are:

1. Your friends and their lawyers--having not admitted guilt--convince the DA that the jogger only saw your friends presence at the bridge and in fact did not see them commit vandalism and hopefully this is enough to get the case dismissed.

2. The DA offers your friends a "deal," i.e., they plead guilty to a lesser charge (likely a violation/infraction--for example, loitering--that will not affect their future employment/education opportunities) for something they haven't done.

3. The case will go to trial where their lawyers will have the opportunity to examine the jogger and question her veracity.
 
There is absolutely no way in hell, I would let my client take a plea to a damn thing.

Eyewitness testimony almost always must be substantiated by some sort of independent evidence. Paint on their hands or the like:
 
Following up (I accedentially posted)

I suppose I could call the cops on the neighbor that drives too fast through the subdivision and swear out a complaint he threatened to kill me or he sexually exposed himself to me. Bullshit!!!

People are notorious for calling the cops on groups of juveniles, just because they are afraid of them.

I would be willing to bet my fee on the fact that this so-called eyewitness will even show up in court.

Fight the power!
 
Which ever option they choose isn't going to be cheap.

I find it odd that a jogger would randomly make these accusations with absolutely no reason to do so.

Like if I saw a mcdonalds wrapper in the street I wouldn't just assume the closest person threw it there...unless they happened to be eating the sandwich with no wrapper in sight.

Something just doesn't add up here...are you sure your friends are telling you the whole story? Was the paint still wet? We need more info here.
 
^^And that, my friend is the very attitude that the accused and their lawyers have to battle every single time we have a jury trial.

I could tell you so many stories about this stuff your head would spin.

I will just leave this matter with two last thoughts;

1. People like this witness are frightened of groups of kids

2. The next time someone is falsely accused of something, it could just as possibly be you.
 
no I know for a fact it was not them. I really appriciate your guys input. It's exactly what I was thinking also. Hopefully the DA just drops it because they already had to pay enough just to post bail.
 
I find it hard to believe that these charges would stick without some other form of evidence.
 
do you think my friends would have a chance to have a civil suite against the PD or the witness for defamation of character and false arrest? or at least get a restitution for laywer fees ect. ect.
 
SnailS1904 said:
do you think my friends would have a chance to have a civil suite against the PD or the witness for defamation of character and false arrest? or at least get a restitution for laywer fees ect. ect.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the samething myself. I would first file a complaint with the PD for false imprisonment. If there is a finding that the cops violated your civil rights, you will have a pretty good civil action.

Consult a lawyer that does not practice in your area. Most lawyers do not want to piss off the cops in their jurisdiction. Best do it rather quickly because the time allowed within which you can file an action may be very limited.
 
SnailS1904 said:
do you think my friends would have a chance to have a civil suite against the PD or the witness for defamation of character and false arrest? or at least get a restitution for laywer fees ect. ect.
Click to expand...


Open a legal dictionary and look up the words "hearsay" and "defamation" and you will understand why neither apply here.
 
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