I'm supposed to graduate later this year with my BS in Criminal Justice. This wasn't the way I wanted to get into they system.
I'm a fellow Coloradan in the exact same situation. Since beginning on this path of study, I've become MUCH more aware of my rights in regard to the interpretation of the BOR via SCOTUS precedent, and I'd be much more comfortable going through a situation such as yours with my knowledge of the criminal justice process that I now have.
That being said, I don't think either of us should be suprised that you were arrested. I think you SHOULD have been able to just call the Sheriff's department from home, tell them you'll be in first thing int he morning, and that would be that. Of course, I also think liquor stores should be able to be open 24/7, machine guns should be for sale at the hardware store, and our prison system should be revamped completely. This is to say, how it
should be in my opinion or yours, is not how it is, and we have to deal with it while we make efforts to change the status quo.
While I was waiting for him to do this, another ADA came in and I asked her why people who were showing up to reschedule were being arrested and she looked at me like I had just kicked her cat. “Why wouldn’t we arrest them?” was her reply. I wasn’t about to argue with someone who thinks that this type of action is logical. Since she believes in the people’s right to a fair trial (), she mentioned in a very sarcastic tone that “I can’t believe this person wants to have a jury trial for a speeding ticket! What do I do?” The ADA who was dealing with me told her to just dismiss it and that it isn’t worth the trouble. Her response was “Are you kidding”? She actually made a trial date instead of dismissing it.
This on the other hand is just plain silly, and that woman that you dealt with REALLY would have irked me. I'm not sure how long she's had that job, but she needs to realize that a successful Sheriff's department is a cluster*&^*, and whenever possible, they need to incorporate a whole lot of expedition. That's how it is in any court across America, and they're not going to be sitting around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for someone to break a law somewhere in their jurisdiction so they can have something to do. No how, no way.
I also have little to no tolerance for police officers who err on the side of taking away rights, confiscation, and searching a non-moving traffic violater's home just because they can, especially with a situation like this, which is as distant as possible from being a improvisation-necessary emergency. All I'm saying is that they have no reason to have screwed up and should err on the side of getting it right and keeping their rear-ends covered in the process. Granted, the officer's CRS handbook wouldn't have answered this procedural questionf or them, and it sounds like it took hours, if not days, for the other folks to figure out what should have been done, even though they had every resource possible back at the department building. Personally, I would have handled it differently, but that's just due to my views. It sounds like having the one empathetic cop there really made things easier for you. I'd say that was a stroke of good luck for you.
I fully support your decision to contact the media about this. Your civil liberties were poked a bit, but not necessarily molested. That bothers me a bit, but what really gets me is what I quoted above. My personal opinion is that most traffic violaters aren't an immediate and dangerous threat to society. We don't need to, and shouldn't be jailing them, wasting their time and wasting tax dollars when deputies could be out doing something more important, something which actually aids the community in some demonstrable way. I have a feeling that the general public would agree, especially given the recent "pork" and frivelous government spending focused upon in the media.
Regardless of what people think of your incident, or how brief (even rude) they are about it, I think the vast majority of us appreciate you sharing this with us. It's always good to hear about a pro-RKBA officer out there erring on the side of respecting our rights. It would also be naive of me to say that I'll never have a court date during the worst week of my life and have it overshadowed. I refuse to make absolutist statements, even when my actions are the sole factor, simply because I've made mistakes before, and I've repeated those mistakes as well.
I'm very glad to hear this won't be tarnishing your record. Take care.
