The Attorneys' guide to bailing their friends out.

It finally happened, you hear, "an inmate from the Shelby County Correctional Center is attempting to contact you."  You knew this day would come, your friend finally got put in jail.  But why are you getting the call? You practice employment law.  All you know about criminal law is how to get speeding tickets.

This guide is to help those attorneys whose practice is far removed from criminal law.

1. Answer the call if you can. Which means you will have to pay, unless your friend in jail put money on the books.  Most likely isn't going to happen. So be prepared to dash to your wallet.

2. In most cases the person will be entitled to a bond. It may take a couple hours for a bond to post so tell your friend to enjoy a  new situation while they wait.  That's when you, the attorney, go to the Shelby County Inmate sight to see the bond amount.  For those of you that don't know:  a bond secures that the person will show up to court.

3. After you figure out the bond, you need to contact a bonding company or expect to pay a cash bond. Bonding companies make you only pay a percentage of the total bond amount. They are on the hook if your friend doesn't show back up. (Not good)

4. Now you have the bonding company, and it's time to get your friend out of jail. The bonding company will post the bond and your friend will be processed out. Once again, this may take a couple of hours.

5.  If you can't bond your friend out, then the next business day he will be arraigned.

6. If they do bond out immediately,  then arraignment will be the following business day as well.

7.At this point, you will want to contact a criminal defense attorney so you can hire them or so they can help you with the process.

As you can tell, it is a rather simple but foreign process to many.

*make sure to ask your friend why they were arrested. This will be important!

Domestic Violence and the Standard a person is held too.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: The Reasonable person standard.

I was asked by a friend of mine to examine and explain what constitutes Domestic Violence when no physical injury has occurred.

Unfortunately, that answer is as not so simple, but I will try to shed some light.

In Tennessee, to be convicted of assault without injury occurring then the Defendant must, " Intentionally or knowingly cause[s] another to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury; or

 Intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative."  T.C.A. 39-13-101  Even though this is vague, a Reasonable Person does have a definition. 

Still confused?  Basically a reasonable person is what a normal person in the same situation would have done or thought.  For example, would a reasonable person think someone is trying to assault them if they were giving them a hug and that person was a close friend?  No, a reasonable/ normal person would not think that.  So, in a perfect normal world, that would be unreasonable.  But this is not a perfect, normal world, and people have fears and take actions differently. So, sometimes that is taken into account.  Does the "friend" know about these fears? That can potentially change the outcome of this case.

Now, Mississippi has a different interpretation of what constitutes an assault.  It states, "attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm."  MS Code Annotated. 97-3-7.  This definition is more focused on what that Defendant did. Also, it seems to take away the reasonable test.  For example, if two friends were having a nice chat and one friend decides to make a playful but potentially menacing stance towards the other, then this could be assault.  Would it be reasonable within the context, probable not, but none-the-less it could be charged as assault.  The law on its face does not look at whether it was reasonable for the victim to think what he/she thought.

This is why prosecutors and police have discretion in these matters.  But, once a matter is charged and the prosecution has started that is where Defense attorneys have a hard time.  Two levels though the charge was reasonable, so we have to show unreasonableness or present the context. 

Beginners guide to navigating 201

Anyone that has had to deal with 201 poplar (the criminal court house) knows that's it is a maze of court rooms, lawyers, and elevators. 

When first dealing with 201, it can be daunting and mildly frightening.  Good news, this beginners guide will help you find the basics to get you started!

For anyone that has a case in 201, this guide will show you the necessities.  Criminal cases start in General Sessions.  These court rooms are on the floor below floor number 1.  You go down the escalators to reach these court rooms.  Drug cases however start in the criminal hearing room which is on the second floor. So, if you have a drug case, it will start on the second floor.  For all other cases, go to the bottom of the escalators.   

Division 10 is domestic violence cases. Any case that revolves around a domestic relationship will start in this division.  

Division 8 houses the drug cases, except for the initial arraignments, which again are on the second floor. 

Divisions 1-3 handle city traffic tickets.  If you are issued a traffic ticket, this is the place where you will need to handle your matter. Division 14, which handles Shelby County tickets, is on the 2nd floor. 

The 5th floor starts the Criminal Court rooms.  Once a case has found to have had probable cause by the grand jury or by information, then the Criminal Court rooms handle the case.  The 1-4 Criminal Courts are on the 5th floor.  The 5-8 Criminal Court rooms are on the 6th floor.  Finally, Criminal Court Room 9 and 10 are on the 7th floor.  

This is only meant as a guide to navigation.  Any law questions should be handled by an attorney. 

Terry v. Ohio- What is a Terry Stop?

In the landmark case, Terry v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that a police officer may stop someone if there is reasonable suspicion to believe that a crime is afoot. This means that an officer does not need a warrant or even probable cause to detain someone.  However, the officer is only allowed a reasonable amount of time to either confirm or deny their suspicions about the crime.

So what is the difference between probable cause and reasonable suspicion?
Reasonable suspicion is a lower bar than probable cause. The officer has to be able to articulate sufficient facts to believe that a crime is occurring or recently occurred.  Although the officer would have to give a reason as to their suspicion, it could simply be something to the effect of, "he was in the general area of the crime and walked away when I approached him."  
On the other hand, probable cause requires the officer to have sufficiently trustworthy facts to stop the person.  In this instance, if the police officer sees you run a red light, then it is sufficient enough to pull you over and give you a citation. Seeing someone running the red light is sufficiently trustworthy.

To sum it up, a terry stop is the ability of an officer to stop a person and ask them questions.  It is perfectly legal as long as there is reasonable suspicion and the length is reasonable as well.

Miranda v. Arizona- "The Miranda Warning"

Miranda v. Arizona is one of the cases that most people are familiar with when they think of criminal law.  Television has popularized the "Miranda warning," but very few people could tell you what the case really is about and how this right came into being.

Miranda was arrested on charges of rape, kidnapping and robbery. After being arrested, he was interrogated by police.  However, Miranda was not informed of his rights that are protected by the Constitution. During this interrogation, he confessed to the crimes and his statements were used against him in trial. 

Luckily, the Supreme Court held that a person accused of a crime must be informed of their rights to remain silent, to obtain an attorney and any information given after could and most likely will be held against them in a court of law. 

Most people take these rights for granted today.  We see it everyday on television and hear about it in the news. So it has become common place in today's culture.  But take moment to reflect a world with out these rights.  People could get bullied into confessing for something they did not do, and subsequently convicted due to that confession.  

So what does this mean for the average citizen? 
The Miranda warning  is triggered by two events, 1. a custodial detention (usually arrest) and 2. an interrogation.  An interrogation can be a police officer asking you questions after the arrest, but a simple arrest will not trigger the mandatory warning.  (Do not let TV fool you.) If you are arrested and the police start asking you questions, ask for an attorney or tell the police that you wish to remain silent.  

For more information regarding this case visit: PBS.org   or visit  http://www.uscourts.gov

For more information on a case visit: http://www.wagermankatzman.com/