Wasn't this an episode of Castle?
"Don't you need probable cause? You mean you can lie like that? That is so cool!"
-Rick Castle, Nanny McDead
Cool that now every conviction these cops ever worked on will be reversed.
Tennessee Rules of Evidence - Rule 608. Evidence of character and conduct of witness...
Also a good case citation for motion to strike defendant's statement/confession without Miranda during traffic stop detention, which are always "arrests"...if you fail to stop you WILL be killed by police state death squad. Unless you have a very fast vehicle, know how to drive it, have a getaway route, and plan to move to a foreign nation.
Detectives Pose as Fake Lawyers to Secure Guilty Plea
MADISONVILLE, TENN. -- In every profession, there are some who go about their job the right way and some who do not. Unfortunately, those who do their job the wrong way and happen to be in law enforcement have the ability to put the lives and freedom of citizens in serious jeopardy. For a great example of this, look no further than the story of two Monroe County Sheriff's Deputies who fooled criminal suspect John Dawson into believing that the detectives were actually lawyers who represented him and tricked him into pleading guilty on charges of theft, drug-dealing, and burglary.
Reports say that Detectives Doug Brannon and Pat Henry even went as far as concocting fake letters from a fake law firm and sending them to Dawson through his cellmate. Detectives were unfortunately successful in securing the plea, but not surprisingly, Dawson's real lawyer appealed the guilty plea to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals correctly ruled that the circumstances surrounding the plea were a shocking violation of Mr. Dawson's constitutional rights, with Judge James Witt calling the detective's actions "egregious, illegal, and abhorrent."
The aforementioned characterization of the detectives' actions is entirely accurate. Such actions demonstrate an egregious disregard for the constitutions of the United States and the State of Tennessee, and constitute a blatant violation of the rights and civil liberties of criminal defendants. There is no word as of yet regarding whether the detectives will be facing any charges such as felony official misconduct, but their actions certainly fit that offense as it is defined by the statute.
Unfortunately, there are those in law enforcement and the court system who disregard the pursuit of justice as they strive for self-promotion or other goals. The rights of criminal defendants often get lost as other forces come into play. Criminal defendants in Tennessee would do well to join forces with aggressive criminal defense counsel who will protect their rights from those who seek to infringe them.
Detectives posing as fake attorneys foil Monroe Co. guilty plea
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Documents from the criminal appeals court show Monroe County sheriff's deputies tricked a suspect into believing they were lawyers representing him.
As a result, the Tennessee Court of Appeals last week overturned a guilty plea by John Dawson on charges of theft, burglary and drug dealing.
Records from the court say Detectives Doug Brannon and Pat Henry are accused of sending letters from a fake law firm to Dawson through his cell mate, who was an informant for law enforcement.
The judges found that those actions interfered with efforts by Dawson's court-appointed attorney.
Appellate Judge James Witt had harsh words for Detective Henry, saying his actions were "egregious, illegal and abhorrent."
Dawson was already serving time on unrelated federal charges. He's also accused in the murder of Troy Green which began as a missing person's case in 2006.
Detective Henry is still on staff at the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Full text of opinion:
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHN EDWARD DAWSON - On May 7, 2009, the defendant’s appointed counsel filed a motion for a continuance on the basis of her discovery that a member of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department had represented himself as two separate attorneys, had pretended to handle parts of the defendant’s case on the defendant’s behalf, and had instructed the defendant to cease communication with appointed counsel. Counsel noted that she had previously requested a mental evaluation of the defendant in January 2009 on the basis of his claiming to be represented by a “federal” attorney. One week later, citing the same grounds, counsel filed a motion to dismiss the indictments in all four cases on the basis that the State had inappropriately interfered with the defendant’s right to counsel. At a May 15, 2009 hearing, the defendant’s counsel stated that despite filing a request for a speedy trial, she had filed two motions to continue based upon the defendant’s failure to cooperate with her. She noted that although the defendant had recently become cooperative, she did not know at that time the full extent of the interference with her representation or what privileged information had been garnered by the State as a result of the fraudulent representation scheme. January 13, 2011
What could possibly go wrong with this picture...
That's why it's illegal for cops to lie, forge, purjure and torture. Governments have slaughtered 100-millions of their own citizens in the past century...
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