Speedy Trial

Rutland, Vermont uses the grand jury procedure instead of the preliminary hearing method. The differences between the two procedures is that a grand jury is a group of people that are selected and sworn in by a court who listens to evidence, and decides if someone should be charged with a crime. However, the preliminary hearing is where the prosecutor presents evidence to the judge in an attempt to show that there is probable cause that a person committed a crime and then makes the same type of determination as the grand jury makes.


Fig2. Source:http://www.jewelinfo4u.com/images/Gallery/Dog-Necklaces.jpg

Police officer Michael Wootton was accused of animal cruelty after shooting his neighbor’s dog. He claims that his neighbor’s 80 pound dog attacked his 20 pound dog. After failing the attempt to separate the fighting dogs Wootton went inside his house, grabbed his hand gun, and shot his neighbor’s dog to death. Lawyers took two hours to pick a jury. No challenges for cause or peremptory challenges were mentioned from the press. However, the defense would probably want a jury who could care less about the cruelty done to animals and the prosecuters would prefer animal lovers who are unconditionally against the abuse of animals.


Fig3. Source:http://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/media/detailed/vi_b_323.jpg

Latonia Congress is the aunt of the deceased sixteen year old Shatavia Alford whom was stabbed to death. Latonia Congress is being charged with second-degree murder. The direct evidence in the case was a photograph of the murder weapon which was an ordinary kitchen knife in which the accused had repeatedly stabbed the niece with due to an over-heated argument about laundry. A photograph of the knife taken by forensics had to be used instead of the actual murder weapon due to it mysteriously disappearing. In the court room forensics reported that unprovoked deadly force was used on the murder victim which was part one of the circumstantial evidence, and the second part to the circumstantial evidence was a recording of the 911 call that was placed after the murder had taken place. This evidence convinced the judge that Latonia Congress is guilty of second-degree murder and that she had acted irrationally and that this act taken upon her niece was neither in her nature nor character but none the less she is guilty and sentenced.

§ 7553b. Right to speedy trial if bail is denied

In Vermont one has the right to a speedy trial if their bail has been denied, except in instance of cases involving the punishment of the death penalty or a life sentence. If a person is held without bail prior to their trial then that persons trial should be set to arise for a period of no more than sixty days after bail has been denied. If the trial is not set to open within the sixty days and that delay does not contribute to the defense, then the court has to immediately set a bail and hearing and set bail for the defendant.

In Nevada you the right to a speedy trial under the sixth amendment in the constitution which requires the defendant’s trial be held within an amount of time; however this right can be waived if you ask for additional time to prepare for your defense. You have the right to a trial within sixty days after you being charged with a crime, unless you have postponed your trial by filling an application with the court.

The difference between these two states is the fact that in Vermont you can have a speedy trial if your bail has been denied, whereas in Nevada you can have a speedy trial sixty days within being charged with a crime.

RESOURCES

Mercer, Ryan (2009, October,16). Vt. woman arrested in death of 16 year old. Burlington Press, Retrieved November 6,2009, from http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091016/NEWS02/91016009/Vt.-woman-arrested-in-death-of-16-year-old


Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure. Retrieved November 07, 2009, from The Vermont Statutes Online Web site: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/sections.cfm?Title=13&Chapter=229

WARRANTS, SEARCHES, SEIZURES,& RIGHTS

Fig.1 source:http://blog.kir.com/archives/exclusionary%20rule.gif

In the case of Bradley Harrison, the evidence was taken even though it was found during an unreasonable search. Mr. Harrison was caught driving from Toronto to Vancouver with more than 77 pounds of cocaine in his rental car. The police officer pulled him over because he was missing his front license plate. From there the officer proceeded to search his vehicle and found the narcotics. The judge stated that the officer’s conduct was brazen and flagrant to Mr. Harrison’s rights but yet they sentenced him to 5 years in prison. In the US the evidence would have been thrown out because of the 4th amendment which is bans unlawful search and seizure. The US is the only country that suppresses physical evidence due to police misconduct.
Breyer’s statement was “the exclusion of evidence is a deterrent to police misconduct”. I agree with this because it is deterrent. You can find something on someone such as drugs or illegal weapons; but if you have not found it without reasonable cause of searching, it is not able to be used as evidence in a court case. I however do not agree with the exclusionary rule. The exclusionary rule prevents those who need to go to prison from going to prison. If you get pulled over and an officer finds drugs in your car but didn’t have reasonable cause to search your car, you get off free. Why is that? Taking in that one person for drugs can save a lot more people later. It may be an amendment to ban unreasonable search and seizure, but wrong is wrong and those people should pay for their wrongs.






Fig.2 source:http://troydooly.com/wp-content/themes/visionary/images/stop-children-porn.jpg

Eric Achenbach and his wife lived on a property in Brattleboro. Eric didn't have any postings on his property with the "intention to exclude" such as fences or barriers. He also did not have any "no tresspassing" signs posted on his property. In the back of his home, Eric had a platform for a wooden tent built in the woods. One day two deer hunters found Achenbach's hidden child pornography under some loose boards of the platform. Three days later, one of the deer hunters called the police. The police didn't have a search warrant when they obtained the child porn as evidence. Brattleboro District Court Judge Katherine Hayes , claimed that the police didn't need a search warrant because Eric didn't have any postings to exclude the public from his property. She also states that the police did not violate Eric's constitutional rights. The evidence in this case was allowed and the officers didn't obtain a search warrant before hand because they didn't feel the neccessity of a search warrant. I believe that this case in a Plain View warrantless search. In consideration of the property not having postings to exclude tresspassers from the land, makes the evidence in plain view and accessible for anyone to find.



Fig.3 source:http://www.dominickrusso.com/images/miranda_rights_card.jpg

The purpose of the Miranda Warning or the Miranda Rule is to warn suspects or crimnials during their arrest that they hace the right to remain silent and that anything they say can and will be used against them in the court of law.The Miranda Warning protects the 14th and 15th amendment. The picture above explains how the Miranda Warning works. However there are still some ways that police can obtain statements from the accused. Below are some examples in which police have obtained illegal statements from accused.

1. "A suspect can be questioned in the field without a Miranda warning if the information the police seek is needed to protect public safety” (Siegel, 2009). This would happen if a weapon is involved with the situation.
2."An attorney's request to see the defendant does not affect the validity of the defendant's waiver of the right to counsel”(Siegel, 2009). If you are in jail and you attorney asks to speak to you your responses are no longer under the Miranda Law.
3.If you are in jail and you tell the officers that you "might" want an attorney they still have the right to question you. If a lawyer comes to defend you and you did not give consent, no matter what you said before your lawyer came will be used against you in the court of law.

RESOURCES


Smallherr,S.(2009) Court Says Child Porn Seizure is Legal. . Retrieved October 11, 2009. We Are Vermont. Web site: http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090916/NEWS02/909160324/1003/NEWS02

Siegel, L.J. (2009). Introduction to criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Lason, A. (2000, March). Miranda rights. Retrieved from http://www.expertlaw.com/library/criminal/miranda_rights.html

VERMONT'S POLICE DEPARTMENTS 411

1) The Vermont law enforcement was primarily county, based prior to the establishment of a Department of Public Safety. Each county had an elected sheriff who was responsible for enforcing all laws to towns in the county that did not have their own police departments. Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Patrol, provided statewide law enforcement services. Members were responsible for patrolling the state’s roadways on motorcycles and enforcing motor vehicle laws.
The movement of a Department of Public Safety in the state of Vermont began in 1935 through a special committee that was formed to study the possibility of a statewide police system. After continuous studies were performed by the committee, results were positive and support from the community began to expand. The first bill was introduced to establish a Department of Public Safety in the 1937 Legislature. However, it was later concluded that it was not the correct decision to be made. It was assumed that the defeat of this original proposal was a result of lobbying by the sheriffs who perceived a loss of power.

2) In earlier days when the Vermont State Police Department was formed, most departments used motorcycles to patrol. The motorcycles weren’t powerful and fast like those we see today, but were more like bicycles with a motor. In this day and age, Vermont police use different types of cars and motorcycles to better secure the area. With the vehicles used now, an officer could cover more ground, therefore making up time when having to get to a location that is far away from where the officer is at. Going back to the earlier days, not many people had cars that could go fast like cars do nowadays, so a high speed chase wouldn’t be a problem that an officer from that time would encounter. The problem he would encounter would be when getting a call of an emergency from a distant location. If someone was calling to where they felt they were being robbed, a cop from the present would make it there faster than an officer in the earlier days, therefore being able to stop the crime quicker. Also another problem that an officer would encounter is transporting criminals. Cops have cars with a guard between the driver seat and the backseat where the criminal is held. This guard protects the officer from a violent attack from the criminal. Many good things have come with the purchasing of police vehicles but the downside to it is that cars do need repairs. But in the state of Vermont, many police departments have garages that are equipped with lifts and tools to repair cars, or have a mechanic come in and fix. This is good because an officer won’t have to wait on his car to be fixed at a shop and he can check on it every day.

The above is an example of the history of the police department in Vermont. The story below is another example of the history of the police department in Vermont , if the above did not depict enough info.

It was only seven years ago when a man named Anthony Barreto-Neto started to work for Hardwick Municipal Police Department in Northern Vermont. After a short time working for HMPD a few town officials were doing a research on Anthony and found out that on a website Anthony Barreto-Neto was a transsexual. Once this information was found out town officials presumed his inability to due his job as a police officer. Once the word got out about Barreto-Neto he was harassed at work. It got to the point were it became so cruel and unlawful that Barreto-Neto terminated himself from his job. That was when the Town of Hardwick settled a claim.

According to Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (2001) “The settlement included a monetary payment to Barreto-Neto and a requirement that the town adopt a formal policy of nondiscrimination against transgender persons and train its employees on transgender issues. Importantly, the Attorney General’s ruling established for the first time in Vermont that transgender persons are protected under the State’s anti-discrimination laws”

Even though 2001 was not that long ago I think that many officers like Barreto-Neto were abused emotionally and physically, and they did not have the courage to step to the plate because they were afraid. Times still have not change since then but since the formal policy of nondiscrimination against transgender persons was adopted we feel that if a person was transgender they would encounter some of the problems that Anthony had, but they won’t be as extreme as they were in 2001. For this simple reason is why America is trying to establish laws for transgender and for others like them so they can feel protected and safe from others who feel different.

BURLINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

MISSION:

“The police of Burlington Police Department are committed to policing with the citizens of Burlington to achieve a safe, healthy and self reliant community.”

VALUES:

INTEGRITY - We adhere to the highest ethical standards, assuring the community that their public trust is well founded.

SERVICE - We provide the highest level of service and protection to all people in a competent, courteous manner, tempered with compassion and understanding.

RESPECT - We treat all persons with dignity and respect by promoting equality and fairness both inside and outside the Department.

CREATIVITY - We engage in problem-solving as our primary strategy, involving the community in identification of the problems, the best solutions and their implementation.

Burlington Police Department addresses a community challenge, revising training. Every police officer must establish training standards by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council in order to maintain certification. The core values of the training unit are loyalty, honor, respect, team work, attention to detail, adaptability, courage, leadership, and professionalism. These values help the officers to do what is legally and morally right and to develop mental, moral and physical strength in order to handle situations in a just manner. They believe that by developing a challenging and empowering environment that promotes discipline, respect, team work, and fitness will enable them to create a well trained Vermont police officer. They described fitness as being a term that reflects the mind and the body. Their mission is to sharpen the intellect while conditioning the body for health.

Burlington Police work to prevent the abuse of drugs and alcohol and to prevent family violence. From their website: www.bpdvt.org/ you will be able to find many sources about safety tips, a survival guide for off campus living students, robbery safety information, identity theft information, etc. They make it easy for people who are reaching out for help to get the proper assistance that they need.

STATISTICS IN VERMONT:

The number of agencies for law enforcement in Vermont is 49, the number of personnel is 786, and the number per resident is 126. The number of sworn personnel is 616 and the number per 100,000 residents is 99. The number of agencies for sheriff’s offices is 14, the number of personnel is 187, and the number per 100,000 residents is 30. The number for sworn personal is 132 and the number of sworn personnel per 100,000 residents is 21. The number of fulltime employees for Vermont’s state law enforcement is 545, and the number per 100,000 residents is 88. The sworn employee’s number is 325 and the number of sworn employees per 100,000 residents is 52. I do not feel that Vermont has an adequate number of sworn officers. Vermont’s non-sworn officers have little power in the ability to arrest a citizen where as the few sworn cops may be providing service to a serious situation. There are numerous non-sworn officers but few sworn officers to support the criminal activities that occur on a daily basis. The number of sworn officers are sometimes proficient in the their efforts to uphold the law, yet those numbers aren’t always enough to produce the necessary protection for the state of Vermont.

RESOURCES

Hardwick Logo. [Online Image] Available http://www.nek4u.net/, September 26, 2009

Attorney General William H.Sorrell [Online image] Avaiable http://www.atg.state.vt.us/, September 26, 2009

Highway Patrol [Online Image] Available http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/

History of the Police Department (2009).Retrieved September 25, 2009, from Vermont State Police: Department of Public Safety Web site: http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/history.htm

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. (2009) Barreto-Neto v. Town of Hardwick Police Department. Retroeved September 24, 2009, from GLAD Web site: http://www.glad.org/work/cases/barreto-neto-v-town-of-hardwick-police-department/