In the past, some states had allowed the prosecution to introduce a certified affidavit indicating the results of forensic analysis into evidence without calling the technician to testify.  This meant that the defendant could not question the technician about the process by which the analysis was conducted or the accuracy of the results.  Now, defendants who have been notified that the state intends to introduce forensic analysis may then notify the State of his/her desire to confront the witness.  The Court also made clear that althought the state must produce the witnesses for trial, it may also impose procedural rules concerning the testimony.  As such, it is likely that the states will adopt rules that require the defendant to make the election to require testimony within reasonable time frames or lose the right.

Today’s Topic:  Can the police search my vehicle if they pull me over?

If you have been pulled over for a minor traffic violation, ordinarily the police may not search your vehicle for other contraband even if you are arrested for the ticket. The important question to ask when determining if the officer may search a vehicle is whether the original citation encounter has ended.  If the citation encounter has ended the police typically have no right to search your vehicle.  Once the citation has been issued the police officer must have probable cause to search your vehicle.

Probable Cause

Probable cause is usually defined as a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.  That means that given the facts and circumstances available to the police officer at the time, a reasonable person would be satisfied that a crime had been committed.

If the police officer has probable cause to believe that a crime other than the traffic citation has occurred, then that police officer may generally search the vehicle.  However, police officers may not search vehicles simply because the occupants were arrested or cited for a traffic violation.  The search must bear some relationship to the citation given.

It is also important to note that the police may search a vehicle if they are given permission.  As such, it is important for individuals who are pulled over to understand that they may politely refuse an officer’s request to search a vehicle and do not have to give the officer a reason for that refusal.

In the ruling, the Court did not completely prohibit warrantless searches of vehicles.  It did, however, give law enforcement a clearer test to determine whether a particular search will be proper.  After the ruling  an officer may search a vehicle without a warrant “when an arrestee is within reaching distance of the vehicle or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.”  The test the Court established now prevents the police from searching a vehicle after the defendant has been safely taken into custody and there is no risk of danger to the officer, but does allow a search for evidence of the particular crime the defendant is being arrested for.  As such, the days of a routine traffic stop leading to a full-scale search of a vehicle when no other criminal activity is found may now be over.

Today’s Topic: When Should I See a Lawyer?

If you are arrested for a crime, particularly a serious one, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible. A lawyer will have a better sense of what you should and should not say to law enforcement officers in order to avoid being misinterpreted or misunderstood. The lawyer also can advise you, your family, and/or friends on the bond process.

If the court determines that you cannot afford an attorney and you are charged with an offense that could result in a jail or prison sentence, you will more than likely be appointed an attorney to represent you.  If you are unable to pay for an attorney, it is your responsibility to ask for an appointed lawyer.

If you can afford an attorney, it is important that you engage a lawyer as soon as possible.  A lawyer who has more time will be better able to conduct an investigation on your behalf.  As time goes by witnesses often forget crucial details or disappear.  That is why it is very important that any person who is accused of a crime find a competent legal representation.

Today’s topic: What is an Arrest?

An arrest is a type of detention. When you have been arrested, you are not free to leave the scene. There are other types of detentions for shorter periods that are not considered arrests. For example you can be held for questioning for a short time if a police officer or other person believes you may be involved in a crime. Shop owners can also detain you for a reasonable amount of time if they suspect you of stealing. A person who is arrested or detained is only required to show identification and answer basic questions about their identity and address.

September 12, 2008

These are my experiences in the Alabama legal system since my initial charge of indecent acts (UCMJ Article 132) in August of 1998. I returned to Pelham, AL in September of 1999 after serving a year and 13 days in Norfolk Naval Brig in Norfolk, VA. I had little understanding as to how much my life had just changed. I moved back in with my parents in the home I lived in before my legal situation changed. I found a job at  a local restaurant, made new friends and found a girlfriend and sought only to live a normal life. I had made my mistakes in the past, served my time for them, and moved on. Clean slate, right?



Some time around November of that year, I was shown in no uncertain terms. How much of my life had changed. A detective from the Pelham Police Department arrived at my parents’ house to pick me up and explain to me that I could no longer live at that address, because it was within 1,000 feet (just barely as it turns out; my parents’ home is about 973 feet or so away) from a daycare center. The detective also took this opportunity to inform me that regardless of the relatively lesser nature of my charge, all sex offenders in AL are under the same blanket.



This was the first time I was forced to up root and attempt to make a life elsewhere, but it wasn’t the last. From there, we searched around to find a place to live for me, and the first one that turned up was a Motel in Homewood. We purchased the room for two weeks (my parents took care of the bill, as they’ve continued to do numerous times when situations would put me out of an established residence), and I went job hunting the day after I registered the address.



A little over a week later, I returned from the only job I could acquire in the area (a door-to-door salesperson job, selling meat and fish. I didn’t have a car or a license at the time, so my options for employment were very limited.) to find that my key no longer worked in the lock. I went down to the office, figuring that there was just something wrong with the key. Little did I know that Homewood Police had been there, passing my picture around while I was at work. I was told that I could no longer stay at that Motel. I had to leave the next morning.



My parents and I were at our wits end with regards to where to move me. Finally, we settled on the only option available; relocate out-of-state, to New York. We had discovered that my options were more open in my state of origin, with a better chance to live a normal life. I moved to New York in January of 2000. I found out that due to the nonviolent and non-predatory nature of my charge, it wasn’t necessary for me to register my address, nor was it required for the neighborhood to know where I lived.



Unrelated legal issues and personal matters pressured my return to AL. I had also acted on misinformation in  my move back to my parents home. I was under the impression that due to the fact that New York didn’t require me to register, the word had passed on.  There was more involved with it, like the lawsuit I knew in effect regarding out-of-state offenders and community notification. In any case, I moved back here in July or August of 2001. It was quickly discovered by the authorities that I had returned, because I was arrested in early December of that year for Failure to Register as well as Residing within 1,000 feet of  a daycare.



During the three years of court appearances that followed, I had to move several times due to lack of financial stability, as well as my physical condition  hindering my employment opportunities still further. I had been in an accident in New York in September of 2000, resulting  in three herniated discs, two in my neck, one in my lower back, two pinched nerves, and constant pain.



Depression was also a constant companion during this time, and I entertained a myriad of negative thoughts regarding not only  myself, but my loved ones as well.



Two things happened that stabilized me a bit; I actually found a house in Bessemer that I could afford and the court case finally got dealt down to three years of probation. I registered my new address and went to Columbiana the first of the month to start my probation.



I had no clue that things were about to go sour in a hurry.



I first met my probation officer in the middle of a small group of probationers. We gathered in her office, and she laid down the rules for us first-timers. Then she asked who the sex offenders were. I was the only one to raise my hand. She gave the others a few more words of instruction, then dismissed them. When they were gone, she turned to me — and turned on me. The stern-yet-amicable look on her face turned into malice and hostility in an instant.



She stated plainly that she didn’t like me; I was unredeemable; I belonged in prison; and that she was going to do “everything in my power to  violate you.” I was stunned. I told this to my parents, but in reality I didn’t think there was anything I could do about it but stay out of her cross hairs until my probation was transferred to Bessemer.



For some reason, my probation was never transferred. I had to see her the whole time I lived in that little house on Fairfax Avenue, And suddenly, when I’m told the transfer is about to go through, lo and behold, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department stops by my house, one day and tells me I have to move because I am residing within 2000 feet of not one, not two, but three unmarked day cares! After  living there for nearly a year!



Please forgive the sarcasm. Even  after all this time some of the anger still  bleeds through. I’ll try to stick with the facts, but I can’t promise there won’t be emotion.



I did what I was supposed to do, though. I called my PO and let her know the situation. She told me to call her every day with my living quarters until I had something permanent. I finally found an apartment in Homewood, registered it, gave my PO the info, and settled in. I thought it was all settled now.



June 28, 2005,  I was in my apartment watching TV, when I heard a knock on the door. I stopped just shy of opening it, and asked  who it was. I couldn’t make out the reply, which  didn’t surprise me, since I sometimes have difficulty making out sounds. I opened the door, thinking that this may be a case of wrong apartment. Imagine my surprise and terror when I was suddenly grabbed by the throat and thrown to the ground. My first thought was “I’m being robbed again.”  I had previously been robbed by gun point in my home in South Bessemer, one reason  That is why I wasn’t that upset when I had to move from there. That thought dried up when I felt the handcuffs being applied.



I was told that the arrest was at the request of my PO and that’s all. The apartment manager comes up and promptly tells me that I’m evicted and not to come back. I was taken down to Homewood PD where I waited for my parents to bond me out. The next day, I called my PO. She says that I need to come to her office first thing in the morning. I expected the worst when  I walked into her office. Sure enough, she was waiting with her supervisor. In his hands were a pair of cuffs.



“I told you I’d violate you” she said, almost smugly. “ Can you admit now that you need help?”



I spent  four months in Shelby County Jail . An attorney got me out, but even then I had to plead guilty to something.



I’ve long since started referring to myself as untouchable. After all, it’s easier to condemn something and cast it away  than to embrace someone and help them up.



It’s easy to forget that I’m supposed to have rights. It doesn’t matter that I served my time for my initial charge.  The only thing that people see when they look at my record, no matter how much time has passed, is that red “S” on it.



I have actually been tempted to take the sex offender identification card that Jefferson County makes us carry and wear it around my neck on a chain, just to save time. Of  course, with Alabama now marking our Driver’s Licenses and license plates,  I imagine it won’t be long before our very clothing has a scarlet letter embossed upon it.



At this moment, I am in Jefferson County Jail, for the charge of failing to register, That I was forced into such a predicament, like so many of us in similar circumstances have been, doesn’t matter to those in charge. Mike Hale, and others like him, would like nothing more than to make 809 Richard Arrington  Jr. Boulevard North our permanent address. He’s perfectly satisfied with housing us in jail. He even stated in a newspaper article that he has no sympathy and that he’s “not going to help get a sex offender a place to live.”



It’s gotten so that I can’t open a blog site like Myspace to express my opinions on issues like faith or music or friendships without it being cancelled, not because I’ve broken some online rule, or because I’ve done something illegal, but because I’m a registered sex offender and I may be up to something sinister! Talk about being convicted without evidence!



Please don’t misunderstand me. I appreciate why the laws and safeguards are there in the first place. There is real danger out there, and it should be protected against, as well as punished when it is found.



My problem is when the laws overcompensate, in order to “err on the side of caution.” An error is still made no matter how well-meaning, and people’s rights are trod upon because of it.”



JR
Jefferson County Jail
September 12, 2008

To find out more  about the lawsuit, read the Birmingham News story here.

The Birmingham News also published an editorial on the subject which appeared here.

I had a wonderful time at the College and I am looking forward to the trials that are currently scheduled for the summer and fall so that I can put these new strategies into action.  You can learn more about the college on the web at www.ncdc.net I have to give a special thanks to my Section E class mates, who were invaluable to my growth along the way.