California Supreme Court Rules That Silence Can Be Used Against Suspects

[Overlay]

http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/court-silence-can-be-used-against-suspects

"Wading into a legally tangled vehicular manslaughter case, a sharply divided high court on Thursday effectively reinstated the felony conviction of a man accused in a 2007 San Francisco Bay Area crash that left an 8-year-old girl dead and her sister and mother injured.

"Richard Tom was sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter after authorities said he was speeding and slammed into another vehicle at a Redwood City intersection.

"Prosecutors repeatedly told jurors during the trial that Tom's failure to ask about the victims immediately after the crash but before police read him his so-called Miranda rights showed his guilt."

[highnote]

Another example of how the Constitution is no guarantee of protection.

[DJofSD]

So, in other words, it's like the rule in golf for a provisional ball.

If I hit my first ball from the tee box and there is a possibility it could be out of bounds or lost, I can play a provisional ball. However, I can not just put another ball into play without first announcing and informing my opponents this is a provisional ball. If I fail to say something and use the word 'provisional' then any ball I put into play is not a provisional ball, it is the ball that is in play (and wherever it lies I am laying 3).

The article is not clear how the legal point being discussed is critical to the prosecutors case. Certainly the defendants presence at the scene of the accident, the witnesses accounts of him being behind the wheel of his car, the forensics of the accident scene itself are enough to prove he was at fault, had operated his vehicle in an unsafe manner and likely had broken numerous other vehicle codes. I suspect the prosecutor was engaged in a legal gilding of the lily.

[tucker6]

So, in other words, it's like the rule in golf for a provisional ball.

If I hit my first ball from the tee box and there is a possibility it could be out of bounds or lost, I can play a provisional ball. However, I can not just put another ball into play without first announcing and informing my opponents this is a provisional ball. If I fail to say something and use the word 'provisional' then any ball I put into play is not a provisional ball, it is the ball that is in play (and wherever it lies I am laying 3).

The article is not clear how the legal point being discussed is critical to the prosecutors case. Certainly the defendants presence at the scene of the accident, the witnesses accounts of him being behind the wheel of his car, the forensics of the accident scene itself are enough to prove he was at fault, had operated his vehicle in an unsafe manner and likely had broken numerous other vehicle codes. I suspect the prosecutor was engaged in a legal gilding of the lily.
That may be, but the use of his silence against him is prejudicial IMO. I think we'll hear from the SCOTUS before this is all said and done. If the prosecutor had a slam dunk case, why potentially muck it up by introducing new case law into the mix?

[DJofSD]

That may be, but the use of his silence against him is prejudicial IMO. I think we'll hear from the SCOTUS before this is all said and done. If the prosecutor had a slam dunk case, why potentially muck it up by introducing new case law into the mix?
Exactly.

[Tom]

this is the California courts, not representative of the human race.

[Overlay]

There is NO truth to the rumor that the following song will play any part in the final disposition of this case:

2bslCqwImSs

(I wonder if any of the women in the video are named Miranda. :) )

[TJDave]

More and more states are enacting "duty to rescue and report" laws. One day soon, it may be a crime to be a witness to any crime.

Food for thought.

[Tom]

Duty to rescue is FANSTASTIC.
Pretend you get hurt then sue the government for forcing your injuries.

[cj's dad]

One day after work, I stopped within 100 yards of my home. I had 2 beers within 45 minutes. I left the bar as a police car was rounding the corner and at the same time he witnessed me getting into my car on the parking lot. I left and he circled around and pulled me over. I handed over my DL and Reg card. No W or W's, or outstanding tickets. He handed me back my license and asked me to step from the car. I was then asked to do a field sobriety test. I said no as you have no reason to pull me over other than you saw mr leaving a bar. He called for back up. Other PC's arrived and the Sgt. asked me to blow into the monitoring device. I said no. I was taken downtown, car impounded (cost= $150), was released to a friend who picked me up at the police station. I went to trial. I produced a witness who knew when I left work and the bars owner who tapes the bar and she swore under oath that I had 2 beers; she also produced my receipt which showed 2 beers consumed in slightly less than an hour. I produced my debit card statement which verified the same. All charges (DUI & DWI)dropped.
The judge chastised the officer for his over aggressiveness. I had confidence the charges would be dismissed so I did not use an attorney, Had I panicked, it would have cost me another $1200.

Now for the good:rolleyes: part. In addition to the $150 fee, because I refused to take either field sobriety test. I had to put a monitoring device in my car for one year. The cost ti install=$75 and to remove, the same. The monthly monitoring check= $60. The total cost to me= $1170, and all I did was exercise my right ro not incrinate myself. This was 6 years ago.

I should have gotten some friends together and burned and looted.:rolleyes:

This Ca. ruling endangers our constitutional rights. Dangerous ground we're walking here.

[Tom]

I should have gotten some friends together and burned and looted.

Put me on speed dial! :D

[classhandicapper]

this is the California courts, not representative of the human race.

California is the greatest waste of prime real estate in the history of mankind. It's kind of like finding the garden of eden and using it for a cesspool.

[horses4courses]

California is the greatest waste of prime real estate in the history of mankind. It's kind of like finding the garden of eden and using it for a cesspool.

Comical :lol:

80 degrees today with 15% humidity.

How y'all doin? :cool:

[Robert Goren]

More and more states are enacting "duty to rescue and report" laws. One day soon, it may be a crime to be a witness to any crime.

Food for thought.I am not sure you can legislate common decency.

[johnhannibalsmith]

I am not sure you can legislate common decency.

Nor common sense, but that doesn't stop these guys from trying in the name of votes.

[DJofSD]

California is the greatest waste of prime real estate in the history of mankind. It's kind of like finding the garden of eden and using it for a cesspool.
Really?

Wow, one bad act and the entire state is a POS.

That said, give me back anything that has a transistor in it. (Oh ya, a probably half the food that you eat.)

[classhandicapper]

Comical :lol:

80 degrees today with 15% humidity.

How y'all doin? :cool:

Exactly, the weather is like the Garden of Eden but you still live in a cesspool.

[horses4courses]

Exactly, the weather is like the Garden of Eden but you still live in a cesspool.

I can look around for miles - even drive for hours.
No cesspool here....uh uhhh :p

[TJDave]

Exactly, the weather is like the Garden of Eden but you still live in a cesspool.

Dude, please, you live in Queens. :rolleyes:

[Tom]

Very fertile land, California.
Nuts, as far as you can see.

[classhandicapper]

Dude, please, you live in Queens. :rolleyes:

You guys seem to be missing the point.

When you are blessed with a place like California in terms of weather, natural beauty, natural resources, oceans etc... you are living in in Eden. It has unlimited upside potential.

That perfection has been turned into something many businesses and middle class people want to leave. They don't like the extreme taxes, corruption, and politics. Others see the hand writing on the wall and are trying to split the state into multiple pieces so they can salvage that potential for some parts of the state by divorcing themselves of those that are ruining it.

When you are blessed with a 10, turn it into a 7, and are on the path towards becoming a 5, you are turning Eden into a cesspool.

Queens was never more that a 7, but I agree it's also turning into a cesspool. The only thing keeping me there is an elderly mother, special needs brother, and that virtually the entire country is committing financial and social suicide. So I have nowhere to go that makes sense.

[dartman51]

Very fertile land, California.
Nuts, as far as you can see.

Most
of California is like a bowl of cereal, filled with fruits, flakes and nuts. :ThmbUp: