Legal Research

Put Yourself In The Jurors’ Box

Let’s say you’re a juror in a criminal trial. The perp got caught with a gun after running from the cops. Open-and-shut case, right?

Not so fast.

Listen as the defense lawyer reads a comment that the arresting officer, Vaughan Ettienne, posted on his Facebook page a couple of weeks before the trial:

“Vaughan is watching ‘Training Day’ [a movie about a rogue narcotics officer] to brush up on proper police procedure.”

Next he reads comments Ettienne posted on a video titled “Cop Slugs Handcuffed Suspect” (I’m not going to give you the link because the site is definitely Not Safe For Work):

“That’s a no no. Once the cuffs go on GAME OVER. If he wanted to tune him up some he shoulda delayed cuffing him. Besides if you wanna get someone inside a car when they’re cuffed, put your hand on their sternum and softly jab it so that they double over while your partner ducks their head so it doesnt smack the car. Some one is ALWAYS video taping the police so don’t give em anything to sue you over. And if you WERE gonna hit a cuffed suspect at least get your moneys worth cause now he’s gonna get disciplined for a f***** a** love tap!”

If I’m in the jury, I’m starting to wonder if I can trust this cop. I have reasonable doubt. And that’s what happened — the defendant was acquitted of the weapons charge. He was convicted of a misdemeanor for resisting arrest.

Moral of the story? Same one I posted 3 months ago:

(a) Never speak ill of others.

(b) If for some reason you cannot control yourself with regard to (a), do not put your rant on your MySpace/Facebook/LinkedIn/whatever page.

(c) Ditto compromising pictures of yourself with captions such as "drunken pirate".

(d) If for some reason you cannot control yourself with regard to (a), (b), or (c) above, please ensure that only people you trust can see it.

P.S. - The defense attorney, Adrian Lesher of the Legal Aid Society, is one smart cookie.

Full post as published by Jenkins Webblits on March 11, 2009 (boomark / email).