Arrests Don't Always Mean Convictions - Part 2

Sometimes you have to keep fighting. If you lose at trial, you take your case to the court of appeals. If that court doesn't get it - then you take your arguments to the state's highest court.  As this story points out, sometimes you have to keep shouting until someone will listen.

Why?

Because if the cops have failed to do their job - within the rules established by the authors of the Constitution - then your arrest will not stand and you should go free.

Granted, this takes time, effort - and (all too often - a lot of) money. But, if your not guilty - you want to be vindicated - right?

When?

I think most people would agree - the sooner the better.

One way to ensure an earlier success than this poor young lady is to hire an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney to look into your case for you. He or she should bring an extensive knowledge of what the government can and cannot do - and then review everything that happened to you through that lens; analyzing the police investigation, your arrest and even the prosecutor's handling of your case.

If it can be determined that something improper happened - like a bad stop or search , if your property was illegally seized or if your Constitutional rights were violated, your lawyer should seek to get the court to dismiss your case or ask the government to reduce the charges against you.

Sometimes that will happen before the case goes to trial - and other times it comes later --- but if you have the facts on your side - then law should follow. Hopefully that will happen sooner - rather than later.

Arrests Don't Always Mean Convictions

Although riddled with language and concepts that only a lawyer (and/or his mother) could love, this recent opinion from the Minnesota Court of Appeals demonstrates that when the government falls down on the job (and fails to respect your constitutional rights) then - even though you've been arrested and charged - you should not --- and cannot --- be convicted.   

Remember, just because you've been stopped by the police and arrested --- your case does not end there. You have rights. and if the government failed respect them - ie., operate within the confines of the United State's Constitution - then your case should be dismissed.

Never accept defeat. If you have been arrested, you owe it to yourself to speak to an experienced Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorney about your case.  He or she can analyze the government's tactics and schemes and see if they've done their duty properly. If the police have failed to act in such a manner, you owe it to yourself, and to your fellow citizens, to ensure that they don't get away with it.

As a former prosecutor, I understand that if the government is going to hold others accountable - first, they need to account for themselves. Here, the court said the police went too far. Agree or not with the outcome, reasonable people should respect that the greater good was served in this case.

If you have a second today - thank your forefathers for the foresight to provide us with protections against those who've been sworn to protect us - long live the 4th Amendment!