Saturday, October 06, 2007

The Policeman is your Friend

The moral is that you should mail a check if you owe a fine. Photos at link. A really goofy sentence beginning third paragraph.

Man Threatens Suit After Being Wrongly Jailed For 37 Days - News Story - WFTV Orlando: "ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man spent 37 days in the Orange County jail for a crime he didn't commit. Now, an attorney for the innocent man wants Orange County to pay for the mistake. He's threatening to sue unless the county offers up a substantial amount of money.

Marvin Lopez went to the court house to pay some traffic tickets and he was arrested on outstanding warrants for DUI and reckless driving. It turned out the guy wanted on those warrants goes by the alias Marvin B. Lopez. The two share the same name, but don't look anything alike.

Despite not looking at all alike, Lopez spent 37 days at the Orange County jail for a crime he didn't commit. Lopez's lawyer, Larry Hanks, told Eyewitness News jail employees refused to check his client's fingerprints against Marvin B. Lopez, the man wanted for DUI and reckless driving."

2 comments:

Barbara's Journey Toward Justice said...

I see you are from Texas and The Innocent Man Marvin Lopez, if from Florida, but these stories need to be heard. I just posted this on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice,see below. Maybe someone from Texas can do a story about Marvin Lopez on youtube, or the issue of innocent people wrongfully convicted.
This is from my blog...Texans on Justice Contest on YouTube

The State Bar of Texas will sponsor a contest on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site."We are the first bar association in the United States - in the world - to have a YouTube contest," says Walton, a partner in Houston's Vinson & Elkins.

On Sept. 28, State Bar President Gib Walton launched the Bar's YouTube contest, "Lone Star Stories: Texans on Justice," and invited Texans of all ages as well as lawyers licensed in Texas to submit three-minute-or-less original videos that illustrate their vision of the promise of justice for all.
The contest is part of the "Let's Do Justice for Texas", A new public education initiative by the State Bar.
Learn more at www.TexasBar.com/justicefortexas.
A public initiative that Walton announced after he was sworn in as the Bar's president in June. This is another way of getting the citizens of Texas to understand the value of the justice system and the role they play in it, Walton says of the contest.

The contest offers entrants a chance to win $2,500 in each of two categories.
Those in the younger-than-18 category are competing for a $2,500 scholarship. The State Bar will award a $2,500 cash prize to the winning contestant in the 18-and-older category.
Contestants can submit videos between Oct. 15 and Dec. 15.
The State Bar will award the prizes to the winners in each category during the Bar board's Jan. 25, 2008, meeting in Grapevine. Sirman says the Bar has not yet selected the judges for the contest.
Walton says he is anxious for the videos to start coming in. "We know Texans have opinions," Walton says. "I'm looking forward to what Texans have to say.

"We're the State Bar of Texas. Let's protect the basics. Let's do justice for Texas! And, hopefully, let's have some fun while we're doing it!."
Closing lines from,
Gib Walton's Acceptance Speech
June 22, 2007 - San Antonio, Texas

Anonymous said...

asking a cop to actually perform a task not related to dragging a stranger to a dungeon - such as double- checking an identity - is asking a lot. to be a cop at all you have to be a lazy sadist. the ones that aren't lazy sadists eventually blow their brains out because they know something is wrong. and these police suicides are correct, something is wrong and for once they make the proper decision. now, if there is a warrant for a marvin lopez and a marvin lopez shows up at the station, what is easier: putting marvin lopez in jail?...or letting him go because he's the wrong marvin lopez. the answer is, putting him in jail. it's easier and to a sadist it's a lot more fun. so the advice is right: mail in your fines. never go into a police station under any circumstances. as soon as you give your name they are going to run a check on you. you're right there! if you come up snake-eyes on their computer for anything at all, even in a previous lifetime, they will take you to the dungeon. you're right there! they get to save a trip! and if you show up with donuts they get to save two!