false arrest

[brian360wa]

Hi I was falsely arrested and convicted you a class c felony. I can prove I was not the man involved in the crime and was arrested only because I was drunk in the area where the incident occurred. I was offered a deal of 1 year of alcohol treatment instead of the felony. I turned down the deal because I wanted to sue due to the time I spent in jail. I didn't believe they could convict me of the crime at a jury trial but they did. My public defender went above and beyond to not defend me at the trial and help the prosecutor and kept me in the dark about how she planned to defend me at trial. I was arrested for this incident around 2 in a haft years ago. And at this point my I have lost my appeal and have petitioned the higher court to review the appeals courts decision. Next step would be federal court. My question is if there is a time limit on when I can file a lawsuit. Ya and I don't have money at this time to hire a lawyer to file one. Is this something I can do on my own now and hire a lawyer later. How much would this cost to hire a lawyer to do. Because if there is a time limit I most likely need to file one soon as possible

 

[CdwJava]

Hi I was falsely arrested and convicted you a class c felony.

What do you mean you were "falsely arrested and convicted"? Did the complaining party or officer make everything up out of whole cloth? You were minding your own business and suddenly someone made all of this up about you and then at trial you could not convince a jury that it was all lies?

I can prove I was not the man involved in the crime and was arrested only because I was drunk in the area where the incident occurred.

Why didn't you present this proof at your trial???

And at this point my I have lost my appeal and have petitioned the higher court to review the appeals courts decision.

Clearly you shall have to wait.

Next step would be federal court.

For what? Your conviction will make it difficult to successfully sue in federal court. But, if you have many thousands of dollars, it's your money to spend how you wish.

My question is if there is a time limit on when I can file a lawsuit.

Yes. Since I assume this is a 1983 claim, I believe these are attached to the state SOLs for similar litigation which from what I read appears to be 3 years in Washington state. You would best be served by speaking with an attorney who specializes in such matters as to the cost, time frame, and viability of your claim. You may have no valid claim here.

Ya and I don't have money at this time to hire a lawyer to file one. Is this something I can do on my own now and hire a lawyer later.

You can TRY ... but, you will be held to the same standard as an attorney and you can guarantee that your opponent will have one or more attorneys on their side.

How much would this cost to hire a lawyer to do. Because if there is a time limit I most likely need to file one soon as possible

The cost might vary, but, an initial retainer in excess of $20,000 would probably not be outside the ballpark unless your case is so heinous and clearly a winner that an attorney would take it on contingency. Given the fact that you have not yet been able to prevail even on appeal, I doubt that is the case.

 

[army judge]

I can only add this to CdwJava's excellent commentary:

Federal appellate review isn't guaranteed.
In most cases, a federal court will simply affirm the trial court's finding.
Insofar as lower level misdemeanors are concerned, federal appellate review is rarely done.

 

[Betty3]

How can you prove you were not the person involved in the crime?

Since you said you can prove it, was the proof not brought up at the trial?

 

[brian360wa]

I had been drinking near a busy foot ferry and bus transfer station near a 7-11 for few hours listening to music was homeless at the time. An incident happened at the bus stop transfer bus stop around a five min walk from were I was at. I was arrested because I matched the very plain description of the suspect, was drinking beer by the 7-11. About 30 minutes after the police were called by the bus dispatch I was arrested. None of the 3 witnesses that testified at my trial were in the area at the time of my arrest. Around 5 months later 30 pounds lighter I was convicted of the crime. Why didn't I present any proof in my defense? My public defender put the burden on the prosecution so no evidence on my behalf was presented in my defense, so basically she let the prosecutor run the show. She said if I testified and said the wrong things I mite face more jail time. Me never having been in this kind of situation, I was taken advantage of, most time I had been in jail was 7 days for a DUI years back. All I got from the trial was a very carefully worded transcript for the appeals court to deny. Maybe I should have fired my lawyer I hear that a lot but knowing what I know about my case I didn't think It would be possible to lose. One of the witnesses,the driver who called dispatch who called cops knows me I rode the bus very often and all the drivers knew me. She knows I was not the man involved and knows who was she was up close to the man and had told him to leave the area before calling dispatch. She was not able to explain this in trial I won't explain further but she didn't point me out. I was offered one year of outpatient treatment for alcohol abuse to avoid a trial most likely. Why would they give me a class c felony and 100,000 bail and then give me treatment. They know they messed up, but when the prosecutor offered me this deal in a meeting a month before trial. I had told them that I rode the bus often I that I would be recognized, so maybe I messed up. Ya I don't wanna say what I was convicted of on here. But when I was arrested I was charged with a misdemeanor, my bail was 2,000. The prosecutor is the one who raised it up to a felony class c and 100,000 bail and a very heinous charge. Ya but I don't have 20,000, all I would need is the bus driver and maybe a lie detector test. But I know nothing about lawsuits or what kinda of lawyers I should be talking to, litigation? I think my window of the time frame I would need to do these thing is getting closer also. Thank you for your input and responding to my post.

 

[brian360wa]

"My question is if there is a time limit on when I can file a lawsuit.
Yes. Since I assume this is a 1983 claim, I believe these are attached to the state SOLs for similar litigation which from what I read appears to be 3 years in Washington state. You would best be served by speaking with an attorney who specializes in such matters as to the cost, time frame, and viability of your claim. You may have no valid claim here".

 

[brian360wa]

If the time limit to file a lawsuit is 3 years, when does this time limit start? From the day of my arrest, or the day of my conviction? Or my case is still in the appeals process, I lost my appeal but I am petitioning the higher court asking them to send my case back to the appeals court for review. I am exhausting all resources available to me which I have read that is what I'm supposed to do In cases like this. So does the 3 years start after my appeal is finalized, if I lose my petition to the supreme court?Or does the 3 years start after the personal restraint petition in federal court is denied or accepted. I got a letter from the supreme court saying if my petition is not accepted I would have 2 years to file the personal restraint petition in federal court.

 

[CdwJava]

These questions are why you really need an attorney experienced in appellate and federal matters. A lot depends on the specific nature of your suit and the allegations. It sounds like you are claiming that you had ineffective counsel at your original trial. I'm not sure how that possibly equates to a federal court action, but, that's for you to argue.

In short, this is not a do-it-yourself affair. If you cannot wade through the simplest of matters such as deadlines, then how on Earth will you be able to comply with the myriad of court rules and laws that attorneys spend years of law school and experience trying to understand?