My Son Was Given A Criminal Summons For Possesion Of Drug Paraphanelia. They Arrested Him And He Spent 2 Nights In Jail. The Day He Was To Appear In Court, They Released Him And Said That The Charges Had Been Dropped. After Calling The D.a. He Said That He Should Have Gotten A Civil Charge Not Criminal With Jail Time. Can We Sue For False Arrest?
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Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication False Arrest
- Thread Starter UPROCK48
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CdwJava
Moderator
Anyone can sue anyone for anything. Whether you can win is another thing.
It may well be that the matter was not so blatant or obvious as the DA may have implied. The other issue would be how much the damages are worth. Two days in custody are not likely to result in huge damage awards unless the arrest was blatantly unreasonable, and that would be very unlikely.
Consult local counsel for an opinion on the strength of any suit.
- Carl
It may well be that the matter was not so blatant or obvious as the DA may have implied. The other issue would be how much the damages are worth. Two days in custody are not likely to result in huge damage awards unless the arrest was blatantly unreasonable, and that would be very unlikely.
Consult local counsel for an opinion on the strength of any suit.
- Carl
CdwJava
Moderator
No surprise that he said his civil rights were violated ... however, is he willing to take the case on contingency? Or, is he demanding payment up front? If he wants payment up front, the case may not be as strong as he is letting you think.
Keep in mind that a lot of these cases start with a claim to the agency involved, and the plaintiff hopes for an out of court settlement - usually an offer for less than the agency thinks it will cost to fight the case ... in my experience these sums are between $5,000 and $10,000. However, if the city denies the claim, then you will be in a position of paying the attorney for his time, for depositions, for court appearances, and for a lot of effort that might not result in a payoff in the end.
But, the devil is in the details. And since in my state we don't have such civil citations, I can't quite fathom how possession of drug paraphernalia is NOT a crime. If this was a blatant, egregious, and unreasonable act on someone's part, then chances are they will pay the initial claim. if not, you're in fro a long drawn out deal that could cost you a great deal of money.
So, have you and your son discussed his drug use? Perhaps a couple of days in jail will actually have been to his benefit - maybe he'll think twice about being around dope again. Had it been my son, I'd tell him to chalk it up to a life lesson and wouldn't be putting out a penny for his claim/suit. But, that's me.
- Carl
Keep in mind that a lot of these cases start with a claim to the agency involved, and the plaintiff hopes for an out of court settlement - usually an offer for less than the agency thinks it will cost to fight the case ... in my experience these sums are between $5,000 and $10,000. However, if the city denies the claim, then you will be in a position of paying the attorney for his time, for depositions, for court appearances, and for a lot of effort that might not result in a payoff in the end.
But, the devil is in the details. And since in my state we don't have such civil citations, I can't quite fathom how possession of drug paraphernalia is NOT a crime. If this was a blatant, egregious, and unreasonable act on someone's part, then chances are they will pay the initial claim. if not, you're in fro a long drawn out deal that could cost you a great deal of money.
So, have you and your son discussed his drug use? Perhaps a couple of days in jail will actually have been to his benefit - maybe he'll think twice about being around dope again. Had it been my son, I'd tell him to chalk it up to a life lesson and wouldn't be putting out a penny for his claim/suit. But, that's me.
- Carl
Thanks for your response, however it goes deeper than teaching my son a lesson. No doubt he was wrong, but the Police department in our small town have very big heads. I am not the first to have an issue, but probably the first to speak out. These so-called cops go way over the top and get away with way too much. It's pretty sad when we told this story to the Chief of Police his only response was to "get an attorney".
CdwJava
Moderator
Bad response on the Chief's part. But, at least in my experience, unless the error was unreasonable and egregious it isn't going to go very far in court. If you are implying that someone put him in jail knowing full well that they should not have, then I would have to agree. If, however, the issue is one of discretion - the DA feels it deserved a civil citation, but the elements still justified a custodial arrest under a separate section of the law - then your efforts will likely be for naught.
Typically the standard will be based on what a reasonable officer would have done, or what he should have known. An error made in good faith is not going to be as damaging as one made intentionally. If this one is a valid error, I suspect this is one of those that will result in the city writing a check for a few dollars to make the matter go away. Most people do not have the resources to take these matters to court and pursue them for a few years, so most do not get very far unless the offenses are egregious enough to support a large settlement in the end.
I would want to see the police report and the code sections - AND listen to the attorney's spin - before I made a decision to fork out what could be tens of thousands of dollars.
Again, my state does not have these civil sections for such offenses so how they are handled is perplexing to me.
- Carl
Typically the standard will be based on what a reasonable officer would have done, or what he should have known. An error made in good faith is not going to be as damaging as one made intentionally. If this one is a valid error, I suspect this is one of those that will result in the city writing a check for a few dollars to make the matter go away. Most people do not have the resources to take these matters to court and pursue them for a few years, so most do not get very far unless the offenses are egregious enough to support a large settlement in the end.
I would want to see the police report and the code sections - AND listen to the attorney's spin - before I made a decision to fork out what could be tens of thousands of dollars.
Again, my state does not have these civil sections for such offenses so how they are handled is perplexing to me.
- Carl
i'm not looking to retire on this, I just want justification as to why the charge suddenly changed and my son was released. It would be nice to get re-imbursed for my wife, son, and myself for missing a day of work and perhaps the towing fee of his car when they arrested him. (which incidentally stopped him 3 doors away from our house snd still towed obviously they get a cut).There is no doubt what they found in his car was wrong and he is paying for it...believe me. I would be happy to see this cops name smeared in the local paper for screwing up just like they had no problem putting my sons in for "screwing" up.
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