Pulled over in California...Do I have a "Slam Dunk" case? Please HELP!
I am a medical marijuana patient that resides in the Bay Area California and I was pulled over a few nights ago with a buddy of mine at around 8:00 PM. Happens to be that this buddy of mine just got probation about a week ago (in which I had completely forgot about). I had a small amount of personal cannabis on me (about 1.5 to 2 grams to be exact) well put away in the back sleeve of my passenger seat.
As I was pulled over, the officer asked for my Drivers License, Registration & Proof of Insurance (I have everything legit), so I proceeded to provide all information. I asked the officer why he pulled me over and he stated that he pulled me over because the light over my license plate was too dim. Then the officer asked if any of us where on probation, and my buddy immedietley stated he was just got on probation. The officer stated, "you know I have the right for search and seizure, right?" and my buddy responded "Yes, of my personal property, you do."
The officer then asks me to get out of the car with my hands where he can see them and walk backwards slowly. He tells my buddy to put his hands on the dashboard. By then, they have about 4 police cars including the K-9 unit. As the officer began to search me, he asked "how much Marijuana have you smoked tonight?" I told him I hadnâ??t smoked any. The officer stated, "You wanna play games with me? We can play games. I can smell it all over you". He then tells me, "Did you know that by having your buddy who is on probation with you, I have the right to search your property without your consent?" I told him "no." He said, "well now you know" and proceeded to search my vehicle.
By this point they had my buddy sitting on the side of the curb next to me. As the officer searched my vehicle, he pulled out the 1.5 grams of cannabis from the back sleeve of the passenger seat in my car. He approached us with a huge smile and laid the cannabis on the trunk of his car. He asked us "Whoâ??s going to claim this? And donâ??t mess with me cause I donâ??t give a fuck, Iâ??ll take you both in." I proceeded to tell him that it was mine and that I was a cannabis medical patient and my medical cards were in my wallet. He stated "yeah, and I have Glaucoma too". He then continues to search my vehicle, including my trunk.
As he comes back after he didnâ??t find anything else, he tells my buddy to get up and proceeds to do a sobriety test on him by placing both fingers on his neck to check his pulse, not to mention he checked his pupils. Then he asks my buddy to turn around. My buddy did just that and he told him "you are under arrest for driving under the influence of marijuana". My buddy responds by saying, "I wasnâ??t driving, what are you talking about?". The officer looks at him and says "Oh my bad, I thought you were driving, but you do know you violated the law by smoking marijuana right?". My buddy simply nodded and was told to sit back by the curb.
The officer making the arrest, proceeded to ask one of his fellow officers on what he should do about me having a medical card, the fellow officer responded that he should contact the saergent by phone. The officer did just that. A few minutes later, one of the officers asked, "so what did he say?" and the proceeded to huddle up and speak where I could not hear them. Then began questioning me about what county did I get my card in and what city? I told them I got my card in Santa Cruz, CA. At this point, the officer asked my buddy how he was getting home, and my buddy responded that he was riding with me back home. The officer then told him that I was going in and they were towing my car. The officer helped me up from the curbed while I was handcuffed and put me in the back of his vehicle. He told me he was going to investigate as to whether the cards were fake because there were alot of fake cards going around.
So off to the police station I go. While being transported to the station I asked the officer what I was being charged with and he responded "Driving under the influence of Marijuana". I asked him that if he beleived I was under the influence while driving, why did he not do a sobriety test on me. He stated that is what he intended on doing back at the station if I did not have a problem with submitting to a test. (He began trying to preach to me about how I should obey Federal Laws and how federal laws are the mother laws of our nation and how he wishes the state and federal laws can come to some sort of conclusion on Marijuana).
So we arrive at the station and I'm put in a holding cell for about 30 mins. Keep in mind I had never been arrested before in MY ENTIRE LIFE! He finally pulls me out and takes me down for fingerprinting and they take a mugshot of me. After that, he walks me back into the holding cell for another good 15 mins. he then pulls me out once again and proceeds to do a number of sobriety tests (about 4 of them to be exact). One of which I thought was ridiculous. He told me to close my eyes and slightly tilt my head back for 2 minutes. After all tests were completed he puts me back in the cell.
After another 5 mins, he tells me that at this point he was only charging me with the follwoing violations:
Quote:
VC 23222 (b) (b) Except as authorized by law, every person who possesses, while driving a motor vehicle upon a highway or on lands, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 23220, not more than one avoirdupois ounce of marijuana, other than concentrated cannabis as defined by Section 11006.5 of the Health and Safety Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the person has been previously convicted three or more times of an offense described in this subdivision during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of commission of the violation to be charged, the previous convictions shall also be charged in the accusatory pleading and, if found to be true by the jury upon a jury trial or by the court upon a court trial or if admitted by the person, Sections 1000.1 and 1000.2 of the Penal Code are applicable to the person, and the court shall divert and refer the person for education, treatment, or rehabilitation, without a court hearing or determination or the concurrence of the district attorney, to an appropriate community program which will accept the person. If the person is so diverted and referred, the person is not subject to the fine specified in this subdivision. In any case in which a person is arrested for a violation of this subdivision and does not demand to be taken before a magistrate, the person shall be released by the arresting officer upon presentation of satisfactory evidence of identity and giving his or her written promise to appear in court, as provided in Section 40500, and shall not be subjected to booking.
and he also cited me for having the license plate light supposedly too dim. He told me that if he knew I was sober back at where he stopped me, he would've let me go (not sure if he was trying tu rubb this in).
Now, I had to pay $55.00 to the Police Dept for a "release of veihcle" form. Plus an Additional $284.00 to the towing company for towing, storage and processing fees.
I feel this could have all be avoided if he would've have simply cited me and let me go on my way. I feel I was taken to the station for no reason whatsoever. And to top it off, they took away my meds. Also keep in mind, I was never read my rights.
So my questions are:
1. Will my case get dropped when I provide all sufficent evidence of my medical cards and the physicains recommendation to the judge? (I am very confident it will)
2. Can I sue the police department to recovery all the money i've spent in recovering my vehicle, the time I will lose from work by going to court, for false arrest or anything else the police officer may have done wrong?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Pulled over in California...Do I have a "Slam Dunk" case? Please HELP!
Depending on the judge you get, when you show the evidence to him he should through the case out but as far as recovering money you had to piss away because of a dirty cop, I doubt it. Unless maybe you hire an expensive attorney. It sucks but this is what this country has become. And they will pick any trumped up reason to pull you over and run you through the grinder.Sorry man. This is why we need more good people setting on juries.
Pulled over in California...Do I have a "Slam Dunk" case? Please HELP!
I don't know that good people sitting on juries would have a thing in the word to do with your case. In fact, they wouldn't. A case like this wouldn't be heard by a jury anyway.
In answer to your questions:
1. Probably. In fact, almost certainly.
2. No way. Well, you could try, but you'd be laughed out of court. And you'd spend far more money hiring an attorney and pursuing that lawsuit than you'd lost to begin with.
No matter how you look at it, whether you're a legal user or not, you're at a disadvantage when you drive and have weed in the car or smell like you use it or are under the influence. And you're fighting an uphill battle against cops under those circumstances. I wish more people would realize this. A huge percentage of threads in this forum have to do with busts involving weed and cars. One-hundred percent of those problems are completely preventable, too.
Pulled over in California...Do I have a "Slam Dunk" case? Please HELP!
Quote:
Originally Posted by birdgirl73
A huge percentage of threads in this forum have to do with busts involving weed and cars. One-hundred percent of those problems are completely preventable, too.
Agreed. Do your smoking outside of your car people! Then pop in a piece of mint chewing gum, wash your hands, or at least put your smoke covered jacket in the truck if you must drive (if you're very stoned, and then you have no business driving anyway). I know it is a hassle, but trust me, eventually you are going to get pulled for some bullshit reason, and then you're going to be wishing you had just taken some simple steps to avoid the situation the guy above is in.
Plus it makes the marijuana community look bad to non-users when they hear all the time about people getting caught driving and smoking. They don't understand that many people can drive quite well while stoned. And to be honest, quite a few people cannot drive well stoned. So just be careful to set a good example so we can show that our 420 community is responsible and try to make headway in our battle to legalize.
I'm not saying the officer was not being an ass. But you've got to look at it from his perspective. He has been taught by every training officer and superior he's ever met to treat marijuana offenses involving cars the same way he treats alcohol related offenses in cars... potential DUI. He's not evil, he is just an ignorant person enforcing ignorant laws.
