A lot more will go missing
In Texas: Drivers have no recourse if police say the tape from a dashboard-mounted video camera is not available
16 Responses to “A lot more will go missing”
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August 16th, 2011 at 9:11 am
failure to preserve potentially useful evidence does not constitute a denial of due process of law.'”
Yeah but failure to preserve potentially useful evidence on my part is called spoliation of evidence… What a lovely double standard..
August 16th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Well, they *would* say that, wouldn’t they? No wonder the police are mounting such a campaign agains photography by the citizenry!
August 16th, 2011 at 9:37 am
Yeah, but destruction of exculpatory evidence DOES constitute a denial of due process of law.
August 16th, 2011 at 10:12 am
Thanks for the heads up Unc.
Austin is Texas’s own little commie cesspool.
I blame all the hippies.
August 16th, 2011 at 10:14 am
The trial judge is the worst of the bunch. The jury should have been informed of the facts, heard the testimony of the police and the rules and regulations about the video. Instead, the judge forbade the defense from mentioning the video at all.
That simply is not trial by jury.
August 16th, 2011 at 10:23 am
Withholding exculpatory evidence constitues denial of due process (Brady v. Maryland). A failure to preserve evidence does not, unless you can prove it was done in bad faith (Arizona v. Youngblood).
There have been some cases in specific districts that plug the obvious loophole here, but in most of the country it’s as in this case. The cops can just pretend the tape is missing due to incompetence and unless you can prove otherwise, you’ve got no recourse.
August 16th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Well, you’ve ALWAYS got recourse, but you’ll have to balance the morality of such a decision with your own circumstances when the time comes, especially considering that “one should not attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence…” or whatever.
August 16th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Rigging cases in favor of the prosecution is a state-wide affair in Texas.
August 16th, 2011 at 10:38 am
Time to start putting cameras on side and rear windows.
Oh you lost yours lets use mine. They make them small enough to mount discreetly where they are not nearly as noticeable. Or for laughs mount a Super 8 in the rear window.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:19 am
With a bumper sticker that reads: “Video taping in progress. Traffic stops of this vehicle constitute consent to recording.”
August 16th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Up here, one of the ‘Burbs near Cleveland is requiring all it’s officers to be wired with Video Cams on their Body. The Union HATES it. After all, it’s hard to keep the incompetent ones on the Force paying their Dues when they are caught acting like they are on the Canton, Ohio P.D.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Good young friend of mine just wnet through police academy here and is now in the final days of training at the PD before they turn him loose on the street. He said nobody has mentioned the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights yet. On the other hand, it’s 40,000.00 a year, plus nice benefits.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:45 am
The policeman apparently never got the subpoena to preserve the tape. That is also a problem with this case.
August 16th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Not following up on the service of the subpoena was a failure on the defense attorney’s part. A proper Return of Service would be admissible proof that the officer received the subpoena – without that, there’s nothing to show that he actually got it, and so no evidence he acted in bad faith.
August 16th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Yes & no as for ‘rights’.
If you accuse a cop of a crime and the police ‘accidently’ cannot find it that will let the jury know the cops LIED. And if later the tape is found to be there that is obstruction of justice.
And if the tape is logged and a subpoena is issued the cops do have to produce it.
Still, cover you self if you can. Try to stop were cameras are near by or have one on you running (same for microphones and taperecorders.) Of course if you are a bad guy that might not be a good idea.
August 16th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Paul that depends. A lot of bad guys get framed up because the police are too lousy at there jobs to catch them straight up… A careful criminal would not do anything in front of a camera anyhow so a camera in the car could just be the thing to keep the cops from getting too smart for their own good.