# How did you spend your New Year's--me, I was arrested for murder. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488 "2007-01-03T01:18:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/81 "2007-02-04T11:12:04Z")
[QUOTE=Way Too Happy] The description was: White male, 50 y.o., blue jeans, brown bomber jacket, white sneakers and glasses. … When I was compelled to stand in front of several (the cavalry had arrived) police cars, the eyewitness, from the back of a squad car, identified me, in the glare of 5 spotlights, as the perpetrator of said B&E. I’ve never set foot in that building, or on that property. I have NO police record… [/QUOTE] Having thought about this some more, I find it unbelievable that you can be arrested, brought before a judge and have a ‘polygraph + interrogation’ offer 😕 made to ‘prove your innocence’, when the sole evidence against you is: - an eye-witness identification at night by spotlight from the back of a car with no line-up Are you kidding us? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/82 "2007-02-04T13:58:21Z")
[QUOTE=glee] I’m not a lawyer or a cop and I’m posting from the UK. Over here, as far as I know, polygraph evidence is not admissable in court and you cannot be convicted on eye-witness evidence alone. What is the law in the US? [/QUOTE] IANAL yada yada yada (throw in whatever other pointless disclaimers you want), but you can be convicted on the testimony of a hamsandwich, if the judge and jury buy the testimony of said hamsandwich. It take only a judge (and the DA’s presentation) to go to trial after a hearing. If–when the case goes to trial–the jury believes the prosecution’s case, then you’re convicted. That’s why so many people in the various states opt for pleas. If you plea (guilty), they’ll give you a lighter sentence, sometimes even just probation, if it’s your first time. But if you stick it out, maintaining your innocence, and if–whether you have a good lawyer or not–the jury don’t buy it, you tend to get a harsher sentence. This is the way of jurisprudence [sp?, it’s early, and I have to get to mass] today in CA, especially with the vast majority of cases around petty drug cases. And this is why California is now exporting its prisoners to other states, because of overcrowding. Imagine that: exporting people, the same way you export oranges or avocados. But if you’ve got a federal case, there’s no guarantee of a lesser sentence just for pleading. They want you to plead to lessen their workload; but in the end. they’ll usually give you the same sentence as if you’d gone to trial. I guess they have more space in their prisons. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/83 "2007-02-04T14:18:23Z")
[QUOTE=Way Too Happy] But he’s probably never had anybody tell him: “I know it only takes an Associates degree to be a cop, but she could’ve used what brains she had…!” [/QUOTE] Take consolation, **Way Too Happy** , in that all it takes to be a cop is a high school diploma (along with a few other non-academic stipulations). In a way, you were kind of making a compliment. In any case, it seems like when all this comes to the next hearing, or even trial, your insistance (not copping a plea, taking the PG, the fact that it wouldn’t involve time) could pay off, simply because that’s how an innocent person would react. When they took me in for that murder, I was thinking about requesting a PG, feeling sure it would clear me. Not that it necessarily would (I knew at the time), but that guilty people usually don’t insist on taking a PG. ---
**Author:** ![notthatagain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@notthatagain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notthatagain)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/84 "2007-02-04T14:29:42Z")
No I am _NOT_ kidding anybody. The ONLY evidence the prosecution has is: One eyewitness who swears to God that _I_ am the guy that committed this crime. The palm print recovered from the scene is not mine. One of the two eyewitnesses won’t swear I’m the perpetrator. In America, _ONE_ eyewitness is enough to bring you to trial, and as my attorney put it: "Eyewitness testimony is VERY powerful when delivered to a jury in a courtroom. The prosecution has offered me a fabulous deal IF I plead guilty. I will _ **NOT** _ plead guilty to a crime I did not commit. IF I had committed a crime, I assure you I’d be exponentially foolish not to have accepted the most recent plea offer. I have no defense. I live alone (they won’t consider my invisible friends), so nobody can swear to my presence between 8:05 and 8:45 p.m. My trial was (and may be again) docketed. If I’m wrongfully convicted, there will (without gross misconduct) be no reason for appeal. The polygraph results may not be admitted in court whether they’re good or bad. The prosecutor will dismiss all charges if I pass the polygraph. I told the truth. I really didn’t do it. Regrettably, (and perhaps wrongfully) I’ve lost so much faith in “the system” since this happened, that I’m more comfortable with the polygraph than a jury of my peers. One of the most irritating parts of this process is that nobody seems to care about the truth. You can say ‘this’ in court, but you can’t mention ‘that’. I understand it’s an adversarial system, but how can you judge for yourself without _ALL_ the facts? That’s one reason I was so quick to do the polygraph - neither the district attorney, nor police detectives called upon me for _my_ version of what I was doing that day. With the interrogation, at least I could bring to light details that no one has cared to consider. No lies. No stories. _ALL_ I have to do is reiterate the truth about that night. 07 FEB is the day when (if the polygraph did it’s job well), all the charges will be dismissed, or (if the polygraph failed to separate fact from fiction), I will be re-docketed for a jury trial. It may be insightful to know that I have one of those (German/Irish) “Everyman” faces. Look at me, and you’ve got 3 acquaintances that I look like. That’s why I’ve refused to harbor hostility toward the eyewitness. The polygraph was the best shot I had to take. I took it. I can only hope to soon report “with glee” that it’s over. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/85 "2007-02-04T14:35:11Z")
As far as polygraphs go, I’ve known several people whose sincerity I believe in fully who took polygraphs. All of them came back with “inconclusive” results. Every. Last. _One._ This has led me to believe that police use it as a confession device. Knowing that it can’t be used in court, they try to scare you into confessing. No matter how sincere and truthfull a person is his or her name will never be cleared by a PG. All it can do is force guilt to the surface. In the book _Blowing My Cover_, the author talks about the PG she had to take while applying for the CIA. They locked her in a little room, left her alone for long stretches of time, kept demanding that she was lying about bizarre and innocuous things, and made her come back for two different tests. In the end she passed not because she proved that she truly was a loyal citizen, but because she never cracked. Never confessed to anything no matter how much they insisted she was lying. I hope things turn out well for you, **Way Too Happy** , but don’t expect the PG to accomplish much. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/86 "2007-02-07T20:48:25Z")
[QUOTE=Way Too Happy] 07 FEB is the day when (if the polygraph did it’s job well), all the charges will be dismissed, or (if the polygraph failed to separate fact from fiction), I will be re-docketed for a jury trial. [/QUOTE] I am anxiously waiting to read what I pray will be good news for you today. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/87 "2007-02-08T00:35:48Z")
Well? ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/88 "2007-02-08T01:08:45Z")
Holy Crap. If he’s in CA, he may be on his way home now… here’s hoping. If he stopped for a tipple on the way home, I think we can assume it’s good news. ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/89 "2007-02-08T01:28:47Z")
I think he’s in Michigan. So it would be, what, 7:30 there? (_crosses fingers for **Way Too Happy** _) ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/90 "2007-02-08T01:34:50Z")
The suspense ---
**Author:** ![notthatagain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@notthatagain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notthatagain)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/91 "2007-02-08T03:16:21Z")
At 9:25 this morning, the judge strode into his usually crowded courtroom, to find only one young gentleman seated in the back, and me, sitting straight and proper in what was becoming my regular front pew seat. But this time I had a smile this big —\> 😃 For those of you who have followed this 119 day nightmare, you are well aware that I have steadfastly sworn to Og & the Teeming Millions, that I did NOT commit, or otherwise participate in that particular crime on 12 OCT 2006. The polygraph results reflected that. This was one time I was glad that I’m not a very good liar. For the “test” lie I had to tell, the needles went off the friggin’ chart. The polygraph operator wasn’t going to have to be bothered with significant interpolation. Any un-truth I would’ve considered would have been pounced upon faster than Cecil in a question factory. The prosecutor opened with: "Your honor, at this time, the State would motion to dismiss all charges against the accused, with prejudice. We’re motioning for dismissal based on the fact that “Way Too Happy” underwent a polygraph examination, and his fingerprints did NOT match those found at the scene. Hizzoner allowed a slight smile to remain in place of his official judicial scowl as he, still working on the paperwork in front him, replied: “Well, that would explain the broad smile on Mr. Happy’s face. Not something one sees very often in this position. Your motion is granted.” Over the top of his glasses, he looked at my attorney and remarked: “I _presume_ you don’t object…” Five minutes later I was writing a check for the final installment of my attorney’s fee. guizot, I’m sorry I hijacked your thread. I didn’t mean to, but it did have a killer (pun intended) title. Thanks to EVERYBODY who took the time to read about things that happened to a bunch of us. Keep your guard up - I didn’t think it would ever happen to me either. I am now a card-carrying donor to the American Civil Liberties Union & Amnesty International. I have learned priceless lessons at a school I never wanted to attend. For them, for me, for US – It’s over. I’m posting the SOME of the official stuff below (truncated), just in case anybody wants to see the kind of trauma debris the courts leave on their servers for public access. :rolleyes: 2006-00\*\*\*\*-FH PEOPLE vs. HAPPY, WAY TOO RLC File Date 11/20/2006 Case Status Open Case Status Date 11/20/2006 Case Disposition UNDISPOSED Case Disposition Date Party Information Party Name Party Alias(es) Party Type Attorney(s) Attorney Phone HAPPY, WAY TOO DEFENDANT * * * Party Charge(s) Case Party HAPPY, WAY TOO Count Code Description Disposition Disposition Date 1 750.115-A B&E-ILLEGAL ENTRY Count Code Description Disposition Disposition Date 2 750.3803A MAL. DESTRUCT. BLDG. $1,000 TO $20,000 Payment Check 500.00 Fee 10 PERCENT BOND 500.00 Docket Entries Date Text 02/07/2007 BOND RETURN NOTIFICATION SENT TO JUDICIAL AIDE 02/07/2007 DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE The following event: PRETRIAL CONFERENCE scheduled for 02/07/2007 at 9:00 am has been resulted as follows: Result: DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE -SGD \*DISPOSE Judge: Location: COURTROOM \*\* 01/11/2007 PRETRIAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULED The following event: TRIAL scheduled for 01/11/2007 at 10:30 am has been rescheduled as follows: Event: PRETRIAL CONFERENCE Date: 02/07/2007 Time: 9:00 am Judge: Location: COURTROOM \*\* Result: DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE 01/11/2007 ADJOURNED, NOT PLACED ON RECORD The following event: TRIAL scheduled for 01/11/2007 at 10:30 am has been resulted as follows: Result: ADJOURNED, NOT PLACED ON RECORD,DFT TO TAKE POLYGRAPH,ADJ TO 2-7 @9AM FOR P/TR -SGD Judge: ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/92 "2007-02-08T03:20:47Z")
I am SO happy that things worked out for you. I had a relative that was involved in a situation that was somewhat similiar and I know what a nightmare it can be. BTW, what does DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE mean? ---
**Author:** ![notthatagain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@notthatagain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notthatagain)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/93 "2007-02-08T03:25:23Z")
Dismissed “with prejudice” means that the court has prohibited the State from ever charging me with this particular crime again. Ever. No matter what. I’m not an attorney, but I believe that’s what it means. ---
**Author:** ![notthatagain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@notthatagain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notthatagain)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/94 "2007-02-08T03:35:50Z")
never edit when you’re sleepy :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/95 "2007-02-08T05:00:27Z")
Outstanding, **Way To Happy**! It’s good to know that our flawed legal system does indeed “work” every once in a while. I’m stunned that the system would allow such minimal “evidence” be presented as fact and expect to get a conviction. I’m delighted that your nightmare turned out to be a good story for your grandkids but wow…just wow. How close this came to a different outcome scares the bejeebers out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/96 "2007-02-08T06:29:35Z")
YAY!!! Now – well, after a suitable time to come down from the emotional roller coaster you’ve been riding – you need to start the process of [having your arrest expunged](http://www.johnsoncriminaldefenselawgroup.com/lawyer-attorney-1157446.html). > [@](#): > > Allowing access to your old criminal arrest record tends to open the door for discrimination against you even though you are now a productive, respected, and law abiding citizen. As a result, under certain circumstances, you may be able to have old arrests or convictions erased from public and police records. This procedure is called expunging your record or expungement of your criminal history. It involves the sealing or erasure of police and court records of your criminal conviction and arrest from public inspection in the eyes of the law. > > Once your record has been expunged, you can legally state for the purpose of potential employment, education or professional licensure that you were never convicted of a crime and you may also be able to state that you have never been arrested. The conviction will not even show up when a government agency conducts a background search of your public records because the records are off limits to everyone except law enforcement personnel. > > \ > > - If you are found not guilty of a crime or are otherwise acquitted, you may be able to have your arrest record and the charge sealed immediately. I wish you the very best of luck! ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/97 "2007-02-08T06:37:11Z")
[QUOTE=Way Too Happy] Dismissed “with prejudice” means that the court has prohibited the State from ever charging me with this particular crime again. Ever. No matter what. I’m not an attorney, but I believe that’s what it means. [/QUOTE] Indeed. [ > [@](#): > > A dismissal with prejudice is a judgment rendered in a lawsuit on its merits that prevents the plaintiff from bringing the same lawsuit against the same defendant in the future. It is a harsh remedy that has the effect of canceling the action so that it can never again be commenced. A dismissal with prejudice is res judicata as to every issue litigated in the action. > > The possibility of such a dismissal acts as a deterrent to the use of dilatory tactics by a plaintiff who wants to prejudice a defendant’s case by unreasonably hindering the disposition of the action from the time of the filing of the action to the actual trial of the issues. It is also designed to minimize, if not eliminate, the congestion of court calendars caused by unnecessary delays in pending cases. Because it is regarded as a drastic remedy, courts grant dismissals with prejudice only in the most egregious cases in response to a motion brought by a defendant or by a court sua sponte, or on its own will. ]([Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](http://www.answers.com/topic/dismissal)) Woo Hoo! Go You!! ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/98 "2007-02-08T07:53:34Z")
Congrats ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/99 "2007-02-08T12:07:26Z")
So does this mean you get to keep the stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488/100 "2007-02-08T12:50:35Z")
Great! Now I don’t have to keep cheeking this thread, wondering if we have to get you out, by turning this over to one of those groups, that fight this kind of thing. Have fun in your continued outside existance. 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-spend-your-new-years-me-i-was-arrested-for-murder/386488.md?page=6)