Quote: (09-17-2011 06:51 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:
As someone who's worked in the criminal justice system, my opinion is you cannot be involved with the law and win. Just the fact a cop is looking at your ID means you are at risk.
My experience is different. I've been involved with the law in three different countries. I've sued the police in Russia on several occasions - and won all but one of those cases. Little experience here in US except winning two small court cases plus appeals and having dismissed every traffic ticket I've got, but so far it looks similar.
So from my experience I can say that it is possible for an ordinary, non-lawyer citizen to get involved with the law and not lose. The keys are to know the law, remain calm, keep your mouth shut, and let the papers speak where they make the most effect. Most people seriously underestimate the power of pen and paper, and it may be a career killer.
Also from my experience it looks like most cops don't really know the law, they are used to rely on intimidation and are scared to run into an ordinary citizen who is not afraid to jump into the legal hassles, and is an asshole enough to spend his free time and money just to ruin the cop's career and life permanently. Nobody's perfect, and every cop who has been on duty long enough has a pile of skeletons in his closet to hide - and since they're usually not good at that (see above), it usually doesn't take a lot of effort to uncover.
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Fantasies about fairness and being proved right are unbelievably misguided.
Kind of. Nobody is going to do your work for you, and spend their time to prove you're innocent. This only happens on TV. However if you do your homework and if you know the law, your chances are good. The system is not going to help you, but it is not biased against you.
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The idea that cops will come to domestic violence call and you can count on any kind of objective hearing is wildly optimistic.
It depends. In Russia we have a rough saying, "don't stir old shit and it won't stink". When talking to authorities it may be useful to give them a justified impression that you're exactly this kind of shit which is going to stink.