can police reports from a criminal case that the DA dismissed be used against me in s

[screwedchic]

I was cited for forgery I. I did not commit crime and the DA dismissed the case. I have filed a small claimes suit to get either my vehicle, which the police seized and released to the"victim", or my money back for the car in which I have paid. Can the police reports be used against me in small claims court? How can I make them give my car back?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I was cited for forgery I. I did not commit crime and the DA dismissed the case. I have filed a small claimes suit to get either my vehicle, which the police seized and released to the"victim", or my money back for the car in which I have paid. Can the police reports be used against me in small claims court? How can I make them give my car back?

I believe this may have been answered in another thread. To begin, you might consider pressuring the DA to charge the "victim" for filing a false claim. If the DA gives you a difficult time you may want to do a little elbow twisting and let the DA know that you -- the real victim -- might not stand quiet and go over his head since the DA brought charges against the wrong person and now won't prosecute the person who put all this in motion in the first instance! Bad publicity is never a good thing, especially during election time.

Next, the police reports can be used as evidence in small claims court. In fact, I'd bring everything in including the false citation. You may ask for costs to reimburse you for the damages caused by the false citation and ask for punitive damages. Whether the small claims court has actual power to grant punitive damages is uncertain but let us just say that one can be more "creative" in small claims in order to dispense justice in a righteous and just manner. You may ultimately have to deal with enforcement issues -- you'll want to send a notice to pay to the defendants if you win within 30 days and demand payment within a short period of time. If they don't pay then you will have to deal with "execution" -- finding the defendants' money and levying upon it BUT there may be special rules in dealing with a vehicle such as placing a lien upon it.

In addition, you may want to file a police report because technically the car IS stolen. There is no question the car is yours as you have title. If the defendants claim they don't have the car or don't know where it is or have access, then technically it is stolen and you should insist on a report being filed.