Ask Freerollin` about 10 years in Law Enforcement

[Freerollin`]

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The article expressly said that one of the C&B elements possessed by the executive branch of government is the power to decide which laws passed by the legislature will be enforced.

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Right. So the president, the head of the executive branch - essentially the executive branch itself - can say, oh, well, we won't be enforcing drug laws anymore. Check your sources.

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Obviously this is theoretical, but in practice, doesn't a PO exercise that power almost continuously. For example, you may choose to let a speeder off with a warning, even though he, strictly speaking, broke the law. Why can't you exercise the same power over a drug offender. Isn't it true that you may choose not to charge someone with a crime if they give you information about another crime? Counldn't that be considered the same thing?

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A speeding ticket is not a crime. It is a summary offense. Drug trafficking is a crime. The two are different. I think it is fair to draw the line as to where discretion ends there.

[Freerollin`]

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1) Whats the story behind your avatar? I find it to be something I would not expect you to have as your avatar.

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It's a video from YouTube. Fights happen.

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2) My friend who I work with is an arab-american. He is a professional type and very nice guy. He was telling me earlier how he got pulled over the other day for speeding. The first thing the officer asks him is if he has any "weapons, hand grenades or weapons of mass distruction" in his possession. My friend politely answered no sir. He got his ticket and left. All of us at work are angered by this obvious racial harrassment. Do you find that innappropriate also?

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Of course it is inappropriate. To the other poster who responded, put yourself in that position and see if you think it's funny. It's not something to "lighten up" about.

[Quinn Warren]

I just want to add a couple of things about common traffic procedures. I think a lot of these issues are relative to your location. I live in the midwest and have friends that get out of traffic tickets often due to "who they know" on the beat. I have also been ticketed for 2 mph over and 4 mph over. I actually went to jail because I didn't pay on the 2 mph over.

[mattw]

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A speeding ticket is not a crime. It is a summary offense. Drug trafficking is a crime. The two are different. I think it is fair to draw the line as to where discretion ends there.



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possesion of a small amount of weed is a civil offense, what ever that means, per my link somewthere above. a summary offense vs civil offense. sounds like the same to me and im to tired to google to figure out the diff.

so you might have been talked out of a speeding ticket but bust the dude for a joint. hmm. sounds like a double standard.

[Freerollin`]

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A speeding ticket is not a crime. It is a summary offense. Drug trafficking is a crime. The two are different. I think it is fair to draw the line as to where discretion ends there.



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possesion of a small amount of weed is a civil offense, what ever that means, per my link somewthere above. a summary offense vs civil offense. sounds like the same to me and im to tired to google to figure out the diff.

so you might have been talked out of a speeding ticket but bust the dude for a joint. hmm. sounds like a double standard.

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Dude, STFU. I don't know where you got the idea that I live or work in NY, but everything you've said to me has assumed that. The laws aren't the same around the country. They vary from state to state, and in the vast majority of states, possession of ANY weed is a crime.

[Freerollin`]

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I just want to add a couple of things about common traffic procedures. I think a lot of these issues are relative to your location. I live in the midwest and have friends that get out of traffic tickets often due to "who they know" on the beat. I have also been ticketed for 2 mph over and 4 mph over. I actually went to jail because I didn't pay on the 2 mph over.

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Actually, it was pretty naive of me not to emphasize the bolded portion of this when we started the talk about traffic laws.

[Knockwurst]

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This is a load of crap. 60-75%? You realize that by your estimate, 3-4 out of every 10 cops is not a good cop? That's absolutely absurd.

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Yes, I think 3 out of 10 cops would color the testimony of how a search went down if they found drugs on a suspect and were concerned about the legality of the search.

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Given the large amount of support for police in general, your argument is crap.

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Obviously you haven't spent time with the same communities that I have. In a lot of the communities I worked in there is not a lot of support for the police that is why conviction rates on jury trial cases are said to be about 40-50% in the Bronx, less if its a drug case with similar stats in Brooklyn.

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You also seem to assume that by saying good cop, I mean smiley faced, tip your hat to everyone and light a lady's cigarette for them. Yes, some cops are jaded as a result of their experiences in the criminal justice system. That doesn't mean that they're testilying.

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By a good cop, I mean one who works hard, has integrity, tells the truth on the witness stand. Like I said, dropsie testimony is all too familiar to me.

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Finally, the vast majority of cops have no respect for defense attorneys and little more for prosecutors. Ultimately, they feel like the only ones they can trust are their fellow brothers and sisters in blue.

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This is stupid as well. I've never had a cop act disrespectfully towards me, so implying that the vast majority have no/little respect towards prosecutors is simply wrong.

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Maybe where you come from. We are prepped on how not to let cops come into your office and disrepect you by calling you counsler and so on. Personally I could care less if they called me counsler, but a lot of ADAs thought it was a sign of disrespect. I was a mid-level ADA. I believe the more senior you got, the better cops you got. Many of the homicide detectives were nice, hard working and had integrity. I cannot say the same for many of the narcotics officers I have worked with.

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60-75% are in category 5. There are a lot of temptations for cops, and yes even the bad ones put their bacon on the line every day and you can't take that away from them.

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This is sanctimonious bull [censored]. Don't call them bad cops then say, well, gotta respect them putting their asses on the line.

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I don't know what sanctimonious has to do with it. I didn't say I respect them (the bad cops), I said I respect the fact that even the bad ones put their lives on the line every day. Again, I don't know what sanctimonious has to do with it.


Just a guess but this:

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I worked 7 years as a prosecutor in NYC D.A.'s Office and am now in private practice.

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leads me to think that you're full of crap. There is no way that you'd last that long believing what you did. Did you put cops on the stand knowing that there was a good chance they were lying?

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I never put a cop on the stand that I knew was lying, but I had my suspicions aroused on more than a few occassions.

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By the way, no one calls it the New York City DA. It's most commonly called the Manhattan DA, or New York County DA. And I don't even live or work there. You knew that though.

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Uh, okay. I didn't work at a NYC DA's Office for 7 years between 1996 and 2004. Whatever you say sherlock.

BTW, the reason I referred to the office as a NYC office is because I would prefer not to specify which of the 5 NYC offices it is as I still have a working relationship with many of my former colleagues and am friends with many as well.

Like I said, my experience may have been different than yours, but claiming that 98% of cops are good cops is wrong from my experience.

And by a good cop I mean one who works hard, has integrity, honesty and respect for the community (s)he serves and tells truth 100% of the time.

[mattw]

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Dude, STFU. I don't know where you got the idea that I live or work in NY, but everything you've said to me has assumed that. The laws aren't the same around the country. They vary from state to state, and in the vast majority of states, possession of ANY weed is a crime.


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not quite the civil response i expected from a former outstanding PO and atty. apparently i hit a nerve. perhaps i have a point.

ive read and responded to alot of posts today so maybe i have your location confused.

[Freerollin`]

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not quite the civil response i expected from a former outstanding PO and atty.

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I was polite in my former responses to you. I do not have to tolerate troll-like nonsense where you keep bringing up the same inapplicable point.

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apparently i hit a nerve. perhaps i have a point.

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No, you don't. I draw the line between civil offenses and crimes. Where I work, possession of any weed is a crime (as it is in most of the country).

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ive read and responded to alot of posts today so maybe i have your location confused.

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Then why are you accusing me of a double standard in the same post and claiming that you still have a point.

[jman220]

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Is 15mph the general lowest over the speed limit most POs will pull you over for?

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I had a PO who was the head of traffic enforcement for a large department tell me this:

1. If it's just a regular PO then the general rule is 14 over the speed limit. This has to do with the type of radar they use and other mitigating factors.

2. If it's POs that specifically give traffic tickets then it can be as little as half of that. These are the guys with lasers and usually they are two motorcycle cops. I've personally received a ticket from these folks for 9 over.

3. If you are going over in a school zone, you are probably getting a ticket for as little as 5 over. Depends on the PO though they might just give you a warning. His advice was to never ever go over the speed limit in a school zone.

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i got a ticket doing 7 over on the highway in the state of ny.

it was a speed trap. i saw if from a far, there were cars going my speed or faster. i still got pulled over. i thought the ticket was [censored], even though i was speeding, again 7 miles over. i was young it was probably at least 10 years ago, and at the time i was young and stupid, and didn't think i'd ever be back in NY, so i never paid it.

so my question.

is there a time limitation on speeding tickets? someone told me most states have like 7 years on this. i lived in ny for 7 months last year, and luckily was never pulled over, but was always scared shitless of being thrown in jail for a speeding ticket i got so long ago.

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As a result or failing to pay your ticket, your privilege to drive in NY is suspended. Therefore, if you are ever pulled over for anything, you will be charged with a violation of VTL 511.1 an unclassified misdemeanor. Unless you get a really strict ADA/Judge, you will almost certainly not go to jail for this, but you will have to clear up your license (ie: pay your outstanding fines) before you get any sort of plea deal.

(I'm also a prosecutor).