nicoletrhall
New Member
I study criminal law but only 4 about 1 1/2yrs now at a community college. I just recently went to the 2nd court date w my bf(boyfriend) for his cases(2) & the public defender we had this time (different then at the arraignment) was so F@#ING STUPID!!!! I would have been better representing him!! And he is not good in publicly speaking or in knowing much legal terms,etc. Can I represent him as pro-se counsel? I know I probably cant but Im way more competent to do so than that public pretender we had who accomplished nothing & didnt listen 2 a thing we said!!! Are we still aloud to get our own attorney at this point mayb at request or r we stuck w the PD? Its alot 2 listen 4 the whole story, but plz read it if u think u can help us bcuz we could really, really use it. And it may b confusing & if so plz ask me questions I will answer them!! thank u & Here is the full deal:
bf background:
he does have a big criminal history including illegal weapons charge & has done consecutive yrs prison time,although he hasnt had any convictions since 1996,was released from prison last in 1999,released from parole not even a yr later. He has been arrested 4 times since,two for driving wo license & registration,and ticketed twice for the same thing in the past 4 yrs, but charges have been dropped everytime.
1st case acquired in late may/early june 2006:
He was ticketed for driving wo a license & registration for the 5th time now...luckily wo being arrested. car was impounded. was required to go to misdeameanor arraignment on or b4 the assigned date on the ticket.
2nd case acquired in middle of june 2006:
boyfriend & bro had stopped & parked in a park & ride due 2 bros car overheating(bf wasnt driving this time) around noon time, driving past the cops in the bestbuy lot in front of park & ride. bf got out of car & called me from cel 2 tell me theyd b alittle while cuz the car. cops pulled up to the already parked car at an angle as to block them in,one cop walked up 2 my boyfriend & took the phone from his hand & hung up on me. He then asked my bf for weapons in which he gave them his switchblade which was placed on top of the car,they then proceeded 2 run their names. The other officer was accusing bro of
the stereo sitting in his car (he was going to install that day) of being hot & threating 2 run its #s,etc...which he never did nor did they run the plates of the car(which wasnt even registered at the time).Then they asked bro if hed ever been arrested & seeing as he was just released from san quentin 4 months prior for the millionth time, he said yes. The officer then came back and called him a liar,said he had no record,even seemed unconvinced after bro showed his parole discharge card!(like hed lie & say he had a record if he didnt!) They didnt even notice the knife until they went 2 give it back...the cop opened it & said "uh-oh", he then arrested him for a pc653k, & bro was left 2 go with them saying "we'll get u next time".since his full bail for this wobbler charge was only $250, he was able 2 bail himself out 12 hrs later.And he got a court date for it.
Thing about this arrest:
For 1: this was the same cop who two yrs prior saw my bf driving w an informant of theirs and even though my bf had already parked the car & was walking away from it, when they stopped him (out & away from the vehicle) they asked 4 license & registration, in which he had neither, & car was impounded, he was arrested, & jailed for 2 1/2 days.needless 2 say since there wsa no real probable cause or reason 2 ask for car info,charges were dropped.This officer has stopped him once b4 in a very aburpt way in our condo parking lot, pulling him out of the vehicle & frisking him while not making the driver get out or show n e proof of n e thing, & again having no real reason 4 the contact besides the ticket given 2 the driver 4 tinted windows.
For 2: there was no real reason 4 the last contact besides the cop knew who bf was or the piece of sh#t car they were in.They said they were checking up on everyone who sat in their car in the park & ride, but really it was noon & several people were sitting/sleeping/whatever in their cars (I assume 4 lunch break or likewise), but no 1 else was stopped by them.
For 3: the overall deameanor of the officers shown by their unnessecary comments & accusations b4 the arrest were completely rude & out of line
for 4: the officer put no reason in his report for the stop, in fact he had said that it was a mutual contact visit, but I wouldnt consider blocking a car in & walking up to someone whos doing nothing illegal or suspicous, & taking the phone out of
there hand & hanging it up, part of a mutual contact. the officer also said my bf was in the car, but he was not, he was sitting on the curb next to the parked car with the passager door open but facing away from the car & in an open area where he was clearly visible.
About the switchblade:
This knife was one we had thought to b legal due 2 the unusual shortness of the blade. I had heard that a blade of 1.9 inches is legal if a switchblade, so long as it is not 2 inches. Whether it wsa 1.9 or 2 inches long, we do not know 4 sure. This was also a knife purchased at the kobeys swapmeet which has a policy that clearly states how the sale of weapons is not permitted without notifying the swapmeet & obtaining thier special permission to do so to verify that the sale of all the weapons is legal. I was told that that was no exception as a citizen has the responsibility 2 know the laws in their area,which we do, but if this was 2 inches+, doesnt the swapmeet need 2 exercise this responsibility as well? Of course we have no record of the sale being from the swapmeet, but seeing as the seller we bought it from is there every weekend, it wouldnt b hard 2 show the same knife being sold there, but how could we prove this or would it even matter?
first appearance in court/misademeanor arraignment:
When going 2 court 4 the arrest, we decided 2 take care of the other case at the same time since we were already there & we could go on or b4 date specified 4 it.
The PD then told us that the DA was offering a deal for the driving charges of driving with an unknown sus. license-which was a $400 fine instead of $1200 so we were game....especially considering the basic fact is hes guilty in that matter & seeing as they were offering this kind deal after 4 times of the same thing (making it pretty obvious he knew his license was suspended...we were stoked!then he said bf would have to do 3 yrs probation 4 the knife & they wouldnt drop it bcuz he has previous weapon charges from over 10 ago yrs. we told him the deal with being stopped wo cause & the police report being wrong & he went 2 talk 2 prosecuter 2 c what he could do. He then told us that the thing was bf had 2 enter 1 plea for the 2 cases & if we wanted to pursue it, bf needed 2 enter a "not guilty" plea which would b 4 both cases as they were being combined. But it would b stupid 2 plea no guilt on drivng wo license & When I asked y they were combined & if we could do them seperate he said no & that it just makes it easier but assured us that it would b ok bcuz he would file a motion 2 suppress for the 2nd case(switchblade),& if it was denied, we could change the plea for the other case & still take the original deal offered to us. So bf did the plea & we got a future date.weird thing that I noticed was that even though we were told cases were combined, when brought in front of the judge, it was talked of & identified still as 2 seperate cases.
what pre-disposition minutes from 1st court date said(pink paper thats suppose 2 xplain what happened in court but doesnt really):
1st case/driving charges:
We were given 2 court papers; 1 for each case #. The first 1 for the driving charges stated the 2 charges and on the same line was 2 boxes; 1 as confirm & 1 as vacate.The vacate box was marked.It said case called for arraignment,the "defendant advised of & waives right to seperate...attorney..." had a line struck across the whole sentence,& it had the box stating "defendant waives reading of complaint" & on the same line "on complaint" box was also checked with no specified line given in the field for it. The only other thing it said was hearing set with the "readiness/DWT" checked with the future court date on it.
2nd case/switchblade charge:
charges were stated w neither "confirm" or "vacate" box marked.nothing was marked in the "case called for" fields. It did have the boxes "amendment to","adding", & "other" all marked & the words"ct3 vc12500(a)(misd)" written next 2 other. It also had "defendant pleads nt guity..." marked as well as the box on the same line saying "on ammended (with the "ed" crossed out & "ment" written above it).also in the "hearing" field "set" was circled(other opt was "continued on motion of"),"defense" was marked,& there was a date for readiness/DWT, as well as his bail info. I had assumed that this basically stated what the PD said; the other charges were vacated or nullified, & the charge of VC12500 was added to it bcuz that was the offer we had been given?
Please continue 2 read next post 4 rest of story......thank u!!.....
bf background:
he does have a big criminal history including illegal weapons charge & has done consecutive yrs prison time,although he hasnt had any convictions since 1996,was released from prison last in 1999,released from parole not even a yr later. He has been arrested 4 times since,two for driving wo license & registration,and ticketed twice for the same thing in the past 4 yrs, but charges have been dropped everytime.
1st case acquired in late may/early june 2006:
He was ticketed for driving wo a license & registration for the 5th time now...luckily wo being arrested. car was impounded. was required to go to misdeameanor arraignment on or b4 the assigned date on the ticket.
2nd case acquired in middle of june 2006:
boyfriend & bro had stopped & parked in a park & ride due 2 bros car overheating(bf wasnt driving this time) around noon time, driving past the cops in the bestbuy lot in front of park & ride. bf got out of car & called me from cel 2 tell me theyd b alittle while cuz the car. cops pulled up to the already parked car at an angle as to block them in,one cop walked up 2 my boyfriend & took the phone from his hand & hung up on me. He then asked my bf for weapons in which he gave them his switchblade which was placed on top of the car,they then proceeded 2 run their names. The other officer was accusing bro of
the stereo sitting in his car (he was going to install that day) of being hot & threating 2 run its #s,etc...which he never did nor did they run the plates of the car(which wasnt even registered at the time).Then they asked bro if hed ever been arrested & seeing as he was just released from san quentin 4 months prior for the millionth time, he said yes. The officer then came back and called him a liar,said he had no record,even seemed unconvinced after bro showed his parole discharge card!(like hed lie & say he had a record if he didnt!) They didnt even notice the knife until they went 2 give it back...the cop opened it & said "uh-oh", he then arrested him for a pc653k, & bro was left 2 go with them saying "we'll get u next time".since his full bail for this wobbler charge was only $250, he was able 2 bail himself out 12 hrs later.And he got a court date for it.
Thing about this arrest:
For 1: this was the same cop who two yrs prior saw my bf driving w an informant of theirs and even though my bf had already parked the car & was walking away from it, when they stopped him (out & away from the vehicle) they asked 4 license & registration, in which he had neither, & car was impounded, he was arrested, & jailed for 2 1/2 days.needless 2 say since there wsa no real probable cause or reason 2 ask for car info,charges were dropped.This officer has stopped him once b4 in a very aburpt way in our condo parking lot, pulling him out of the vehicle & frisking him while not making the driver get out or show n e proof of n e thing, & again having no real reason 4 the contact besides the ticket given 2 the driver 4 tinted windows.
For 2: there was no real reason 4 the last contact besides the cop knew who bf was or the piece of sh#t car they were in.They said they were checking up on everyone who sat in their car in the park & ride, but really it was noon & several people were sitting/sleeping/whatever in their cars (I assume 4 lunch break or likewise), but no 1 else was stopped by them.
For 3: the overall deameanor of the officers shown by their unnessecary comments & accusations b4 the arrest were completely rude & out of line
for 4: the officer put no reason in his report for the stop, in fact he had said that it was a mutual contact visit, but I wouldnt consider blocking a car in & walking up to someone whos doing nothing illegal or suspicous, & taking the phone out of
there hand & hanging it up, part of a mutual contact. the officer also said my bf was in the car, but he was not, he was sitting on the curb next to the parked car with the passager door open but facing away from the car & in an open area where he was clearly visible.
About the switchblade:
This knife was one we had thought to b legal due 2 the unusual shortness of the blade. I had heard that a blade of 1.9 inches is legal if a switchblade, so long as it is not 2 inches. Whether it wsa 1.9 or 2 inches long, we do not know 4 sure. This was also a knife purchased at the kobeys swapmeet which has a policy that clearly states how the sale of weapons is not permitted without notifying the swapmeet & obtaining thier special permission to do so to verify that the sale of all the weapons is legal. I was told that that was no exception as a citizen has the responsibility 2 know the laws in their area,which we do, but if this was 2 inches+, doesnt the swapmeet need 2 exercise this responsibility as well? Of course we have no record of the sale being from the swapmeet, but seeing as the seller we bought it from is there every weekend, it wouldnt b hard 2 show the same knife being sold there, but how could we prove this or would it even matter?
first appearance in court/misademeanor arraignment:
When going 2 court 4 the arrest, we decided 2 take care of the other case at the same time since we were already there & we could go on or b4 date specified 4 it.
The PD then told us that the DA was offering a deal for the driving charges of driving with an unknown sus. license-which was a $400 fine instead of $1200 so we were game....especially considering the basic fact is hes guilty in that matter & seeing as they were offering this kind deal after 4 times of the same thing (making it pretty obvious he knew his license was suspended...we were stoked!then he said bf would have to do 3 yrs probation 4 the knife & they wouldnt drop it bcuz he has previous weapon charges from over 10 ago yrs. we told him the deal with being stopped wo cause & the police report being wrong & he went 2 talk 2 prosecuter 2 c what he could do. He then told us that the thing was bf had 2 enter 1 plea for the 2 cases & if we wanted to pursue it, bf needed 2 enter a "not guilty" plea which would b 4 both cases as they were being combined. But it would b stupid 2 plea no guilt on drivng wo license & When I asked y they were combined & if we could do them seperate he said no & that it just makes it easier but assured us that it would b ok bcuz he would file a motion 2 suppress for the 2nd case(switchblade),& if it was denied, we could change the plea for the other case & still take the original deal offered to us. So bf did the plea & we got a future date.weird thing that I noticed was that even though we were told cases were combined, when brought in front of the judge, it was talked of & identified still as 2 seperate cases.
what pre-disposition minutes from 1st court date said(pink paper thats suppose 2 xplain what happened in court but doesnt really):
1st case/driving charges:
We were given 2 court papers; 1 for each case #. The first 1 for the driving charges stated the 2 charges and on the same line was 2 boxes; 1 as confirm & 1 as vacate.The vacate box was marked.It said case called for arraignment,the "defendant advised of & waives right to seperate...attorney..." had a line struck across the whole sentence,& it had the box stating "defendant waives reading of complaint" & on the same line "on complaint" box was also checked with no specified line given in the field for it. The only other thing it said was hearing set with the "readiness/DWT" checked with the future court date on it.
2nd case/switchblade charge:
charges were stated w neither "confirm" or "vacate" box marked.nothing was marked in the "case called for" fields. It did have the boxes "amendment to","adding", & "other" all marked & the words"ct3 vc12500(a)(misd)" written next 2 other. It also had "defendant pleads nt guity..." marked as well as the box on the same line saying "on ammended (with the "ed" crossed out & "ment" written above it).also in the "hearing" field "set" was circled(other opt was "continued on motion of"),"defense" was marked,& there was a date for readiness/DWT, as well as his bail info. I had assumed that this basically stated what the PD said; the other charges were vacated or nullified, & the charge of VC12500 was added to it bcuz that was the offer we had been given?
Please continue 2 read next post 4 rest of story......thank u!!.....
