My first thread, and first attempt....

[Snitty]

This is my first thread here on SuiJuris.net. I have been looking over the forums for about a year now and I really appreciate all the input that the great members share.

I figure this small success story would be a way to make my introduction. I am a young man living in western New York. I've always had a strong passion for standing up for Justice. Last year I had a small incident where I was mistreated by a couple of state officers. To give a short explaination of the story: It was Mardi Gras weekend, 2005. I was designated driver for a friend who wanted to go to a company party out of town. I ended up getting pulled over by a state car. I asked for probable cause and the officer claimed I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, which was a blatant poor excuse. I was asked to exit the vehicle. I was handcuffed, baffled out of my mind, and they started questioning me about drugs and searching the car. I was then accused of unlicensed operation and put in their car. They eventually found drugs on my friend, of which I had no previous knowledge. Because I was driving, they charged me also with felony posession and was given a $15,000 bail. I was strip searched at the jailhouse, and was later released with my 'associated' posession charge dropped. I was cited with seatbelt and unlicensed operation (misdemeanor) tickets.

I showed up on my arraignment date only to find and empty court. Nobody was there except an officer upstairs in an office. He told me that I would be notified of changes. The next thing I heard was 17 months later, just last month.
I got a letter saying that they have accepted my 'not guilty' plea. I was never given arraignment in the first place, there was no plea. I was given a trial date, which was less than a week after I received the letter. I quickly came up with my plan, which was to write a motion for dismissal.
Since I knew my friend's attorney was handling his case by trying to argue that the search was not lawful in the first place, I thought it would be beneficial to not mention my friend's case in my document. If I could keep from mentioning it, I figured the court may not see the significance in pushing for convicting me for not wearing a seatbelt. If they could convict me for the seatbelt violation, they would show that they had a reason to stop me in the first place.
In my motion, I purposely left out material information and do not argue an innocent/guilty matter. I purposely left out the violations against me that deal with the drug charge in any way, for reasons just mentioned. I made my motion for the court to dismiss the charges using the manner of arrest and neglect of the court in my favor.

This is my first real attempt at defending myself in court. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare it, but I threw some ideas together and took a shot at what I figured was reasonable. I mailed it to the court as soon as I could. The rest of the story will follow the motion.

Xxxxx X Xxxxx, Pro Se
100 N. 100th Street
Xxxxx, New York [00100]

Xxxxx Village Court
1 West Washington Street
Xxxxx, NY 00000

Plaintiff(s) People of the State of New York
vs.
Defendant Xxxxx X Xxxxx
Case No:123456
Ticket No: LT000000
LT000001

NOTICE OF MOTION FOR DISMISSAL

I, the Affiant and the Defendant of Case Number 123456, Xxxxx X Xxxxx, in Good Faith submit this MOTION for the Honorable Court to dismiss the charges related to this case on grounds of various violations of Rights guaranteed to me as stated in the United States Constitution.


MOTION #1:
I, the Defendant, respectfully move this Court to dismiss charges for Violation of 4th Amendment Rights as I was wrongfully detained.

MOTION #2:
I, the Defendant, respectfully move this Court to dismiss charges for Lack of Due Process as all members of the Court were absent at a scheduled hearing.

MOTION #3:
I, the Defendant, respectfully move this Court to dismiss charges for Violation of 6th Amendment Rights as an unreasonable delay has passed in procession of this case.


MEMORANDUM TO SUPPORT MOTION FOR DISMISSAL

Facts:

In Support of MOTION #1:
On March 12, 2005, I was pulled over by two officers of the New York State Police Department in Xxxxx, New York. During the stop, I was asked by one of the officers to step out of the vehicle. I complied with his request and at that point I unbuckled my seatbelt. Once I was outside of the vehicle, the officer began looking, without apparent probable cause, inside the car and questioning me about its contents. My hands were then bound behind my back in handcuffs and the officer(s) began to search my person. I was then closed into the back seat of the Police car to sit with my hands painfully bound behind my back. I was left alone in the back seat while the officers continued to search the rest of the car that I had been driving. Not until the officers returned to me in the car did either of them check the status of my driver's license to falsely charge me with an alleged Aggrevated Unlicensed Operation. My record at the Department of Motor Vehicles clearly shows that my driver's license was valid at that time. I was then taken to the Ellicottville Police Station, secured by my wrist to a wall, and was eventually released hours later and given citations which this Court is refering to as LT000000 and LT000001. The manner, force, and duration of detention were undeniably unreasonable. This results in a violation of Rights which are guaranteed to me in the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

In Support of MOTION #2:
On the appearance date of the above named citations, I appeared to attend my arraignment hearing for the charges. I appeared before and on the scheduled time at the Xxxxx Village Court, at 1 West Washington Street, Xxxxx, New York. I waited several minutes in the main hallway of the building until I could locate the only voice I could hear. I went up the stairs and found an officer of the Court. That officer told me that there were no court hearings on that day because a necessary member of the Court was out of town for that week. I was then told that I would soon be notified of changes in the procession of the case. I was never notified, by any means, of my arraignment hearing being rescheduled. All members of the Court were absent for my scheduled hearing, putting the Court in default. This results in a violation of Procedural Due Process.

In Support of MOTION #3:
I was cited for the alleged charges in March of 2005. The single and only court date of which I have been informed was in April of 2005. The only documentats I have received in this entire case have been the two original pink copies of the appearance citations (received on March 12, 2005) and a letter notifying me of a trial date of August 22, 2006 (letter dated July 11, 2006, copy attached). The delay of this case is clearly unreasonable and unjustifiable. This delay results in a violation of my Right to a Speedy Trial as guaranteed to me in the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution.


The mentioned violations have caused me physical pain, costed me time away from work, costed me nearly sixty miles worth of gasoline, and among many others, violated my liberty. I humbly ask the Court to consider these losses in making the decision to grant dismissal of the charge(s) of this NOTICE OF MOTION.

I submit this NOTICE OF MOTION to the Xxxxx Village Court and attest to the best of my knowledge and recollection that all of the above information is the Truth, under penalty of purgery. I do not waive and of my Constitutional, Natural or Commonlaw Rights in this case or any case. All Rights are to be reserved, exercised and honored under protection of Law without prejudice. I request that a copy of this NOTICE be filed with the Court Clerk as well as with the Honorary Justice and the prosecutor if necessary.

Due to insufficient time given to prepare this NOTICE OF MOTION and insufficient time from the time of service to the time of scheduled trial date, I will accept Adjournment and/or Continuance for this particular hearing via telephone if the Court should wish for more time to review this NOTICE.


Respectfully,



Xxxxx X Xxxxx
Defendant
All Rights Reserved
Motion for Dismissal, Case No: 123456

I appeared at the court on the trial date. The place is just a small immitation courtroom made from an office. I sat at waited in a hallway for my name to be called. I went into the room, there was the Judge at a desk, clerk with a notepad, and the DA stirring his coffee. There was no officer for material witness. I was asked to be seated. The conversation between the Judge and I went something like:

Judge: Where is your attorney?
Me: Your Honor: I am here in the matter of Xxxxx X Xxxxx in my proper person. I have a registered receipt saying that you received my notice, have you read it?
Judge: I read it briefly just before this hearing. Are you representing yourself?
Me: Anything I have to say is in the document you have in your hand. I have nothing further to say.
DA: What are the charges of this case?
Judge: (looking through papers) AUO and seatbelt
DA: I don't do traffic, who is supposed to be handling this?
Judge: (to DA) Please read this, how do you want to handle it? It appears we haven't done our jobs.
DA: I... I can't respond to this now. I have too many cases going on.
Me: Your Honor?
Judge: Mr Xxxxx, you must understand that we just recieved your notice today. I'm going to have to adjourn this case for a later date.

more....

[Snitty]

...And so a date was set. During that time, I was assuming that the correct prosecutor would be assigned and that he/she would review the case and see that it was important to push the seatbelt issue for a good conviction in the semi-related drug charge. When I showed up again, I was expecting to see a much better organized court than the place I saw before. I figured they were just used to the average ticket-payer to come in and plea down to an expensive parking ticket. However, I thought that they would at least prepare for a trial if the occasion arose.
I sat in the hallway, waiting to be called. Two cases before me seemed to go by quickly, both were 'routine' plea deals. Then my name was called. I had to smile when I heard the clerk say "Oh boy... that's that guy who...." and she stopped as I interrupted by walking in the room, nodding my head toward her. The Judge smiled at me and told me to take a seat. This time, the DA wasn't there at all. So it was the Judge, a court clerk, and me... no prosecutor, no material witness. The hearing went as follows:

Judge: Refresh me. What were the charges here?
Clerk: This is the one who sent the motion on the AUO and seatbelt.
Judge: Where is your attorney? Don't you have one?
Me: Pro Se, your Honor
Judge: Ok then. Well, Mr. Xxxxx, I'm sorry this has drawn on so long. I'm dismissing both charges. Thank you for being cooperative.
Me: Thank you your Honor, have a nice evening.

I exchanged thankful handshakes with both of them and went on my way.

For my first attempt, that is what I have to share with you. I was actually hoping that it would have gone a bit deeper than that. I really wanted to test what could be done, but it turned out to be a lot more simple than I could have imagined. Thank you all for your input in the past.

Criticism is welcome. I'm not quite a veteran here, so let me know if and what should have been done differently

[Ice]

You did just fine.

Keep researching and storing information for possible future use.

It's amazing how some situations can be handled so simply, ain't it?

Good job.

Looking forward to more success stories.

Ice

[charlesa6]

Well done, snitty and keep it going.

[clarkee]

Originally Posted by Snitty

...And so a date was set. During that time, I was assuming that the correct prosecutor would be assigned and that he/she would review the case and see that it was important to push the seatbelt issue for a good conviction in the semi-related drug charge. When I showed up again, I was expecting to see a much better organized court than the place I saw before. I figured they were just used to the average ticket-payer to come in and plea down to an expensive parking ticket. However, I thought that they would at least prepare for a trial if the occasion arose.
I sat in the hallway, waiting to be called. Two cases before me seemed to go by quickly, both were 'routine' plea deals. Then my name was called. I had to smile when I heard the clerk say "Oh boy... that's that guy who...." and she stopped as I interrupted by walking in the room, nodding my head toward her. The Judge smiled at me and told me to take a seat. This time, the DA wasn't there at all. So it was the Judge, a court clerk, and me... no prosecutor, no material witness. The hearing went as follows:

Judge: Refresh me. What were the charges here?
Clerk: This is the one who sent the motion on the AUO and seatbelt.
Judge: Where is your attorney? Don't you have one?
Me: Pro Se, your Honor
Judge: Ok then. Well, Mr. Xxxxx, I'm sorry this has drawn on so long. I'm dismissing both charges. Thank you for being cooperative.
Me: Thank you your Honor, have a nice evening.

I exchanged thankful handshakes with both of them and went on my way.

For my first attempt, that is what I have to share with you. I was actually hoping that it wouldn't have gone a bit deeper than that. I really wanted to test what could be done, but it turned out to be a lot more simple than I could have imagined. Thank you all for your input in the past.

Criticism is welcome. I'm not quite a veteran here, so let me know if and what should have been done differently

That's what I like to hear Snitty. I believe in being honest and cordial when I'm treated with the same respect. You seem to have a judge that was up front with you and awarded you with what right and moral. This is what I love to hear. If I truly am in the wrong than don't try to side step it just make sure you are treated fairly. I think most of the time the courts
will think you will not pursue the case due to intimidation or inconvenience. Of course, they win on default. The worse that can happen is you lose your case but at least you stood up and answered the call. I ADMIRE you for that and keep up the excellent work

[David Merrill]

I am presuming you got your bond for $15K back in your pocket?

At first glance it looks like the system is designed around you paying half of that bond money to an attorney who would basically complicate matters into costing you three times that bond. But you are obviously too smart for that plan.


Regards,

David Merrill.

[Codee]

Good Job.

I will warn you that the comments of pain probably did not help much.

The right to speedy trial and fouth amendment though was spot on.

[Snitty]

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the feedback.

Originally Posted by Ice

Keep researching and storing information for possible future use.

It's amazing how some situations can be handled so simply, ain't it?

I certainly intend on keeping up with as much as I can. And yes, when everyone I know advises me to just let it go, and others say I'll get laughed at, it turns out more simple than they could imagine.

Originally Posted by David Merrill

I am presuming you got your bond for $15K back in your pocket?

Actually, after the officers talked to the DA the second time, and mentioned that I was respectul and compliant, and that they came to understand that I have forever been drug and alcohol free, the DA told them to drop the charge and let me go. I was pretty fortunate there, I don't know anyone who could have helped me with such a ridiculous bail.

Originally Posted by Codee

I will warn you that the comments of pain probably did not help much.

Thank you for the heads up. I added that in there to express a dramatic factor in the manner of treatment from the officers. I was hoping to tip off the DA that I had a possible personal reason to persue a cause of action against whoever condoned the violations against me.

Again, thanks guys for the feedback.