DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE CHRIS TAPP FALSE CONFESSION

In this expose by Judges for Justice we see an individual named Chris Tapp being coerced into a false confession. False confessions are hard to imagine. Any confession is devastating to your case for obvious reasons. Consider the following:

1. Tapp was interrogated by his former high school resource officer. They had already established a bond of trust.
2. Tapp was interrogated using a lie detector and was never actually given a legitimate polygraph. They convinced Tapp that he had suppressed the memories and that the polygraph was failsafe. Nothing could be further from the truth.
3. Tapp was 20 years old and a high school drop out. His rational brain will not quit developing until he is 26. This kid was interrogated a total of 9 times.
4. The prosecution withheld  evidence that would have exonerated him in three of the video taped interrogation sessions.

The tape is long so set some time aside. It is very educational even if it is a bit dry....


Watch the video here!

Protecting your privacy online

In today's world, you must always be aware that you can be charged with a crime if you simply view the wrong kind of site. Any email that you send can be read, some would argue that encryption is the answer. Yet there are signs that our government will not be satisfied until they control the back doors into our encryption software.

So, how do you avoid trouble on the internet, get around government restrictions, or simply protect your privacy as a basic fundamental right? You use software designed to hide your presence on the internet.:

1. First among all privacy programs is TOR which is a browser that loses your ip address through anonymous relays so when you visit a site they can not track you unless you break the rules. The rules can be gleaned by following the TOR link, but the basics are to not allow scripts, disable Java, and don't engage in transactions that compromise your identity.
2. Follow the advice detailed in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's 12 ways to protect your online privacy.
3. There is a very good overall approach detailed at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse that you should also check out. 
4. And finally Tech News World has a very good comprehensive article on privacy.
5. Don't forget to use a VPN with TOR, check this list of VPN providers out.

Follow the above links and educate yourself on the best internet practices in today's world. Enjoy!!

Baby's Daddy

There are fewer words that cause me so much revulsion as the term "Baby's Daddy". What it leaves you with is a clear picture of a child who has been bastardized because some idiot didn't know how to use a condom. It paints a picture of someone who fails to support their child. This duty of support is so fundamental in the State of Arkansas that it exists even without court order.

All child support can go back to the day of the birth of the child. In fact that is the most common occurrence. The father can be held liable for laying in costs and the costs incurred during the birth. A father who has not established Paternity is called a putative father and has no rights at all. He gains rights when his parentage is recognized by the Court System and he both 1. Maintains a relationship with his child and 2. helps to support his child according to his means. Oftentimes you will be supporting the child by providing food, shelter, medical treatment and clothing. It would behoove you to retain checks, receipts, and to cultivate witnesses outside your family if possible that can testify to your actions which benefit your child.

The first thing to do as a "Baby's Daddy" is to get on the birth certificate by signing an affidavit of paternity. This can be set aside through the use of a DNA test to show that "Baby's Daddy" is someone else. Secondly you will want to establish your rights in a court of law, and, depending on the situation, you will probably want a DNA test performed. Really. Even if you trust her. So what do you do now that you have legal rights?

Usually, as a legally recognized father, you begin with visitation. At some point you can move for custody if it is in the child's best interest if you have followed my advice so far. By the way, this advice is applicable to Arkansas only.

Going for custody is more expensive and your involvement with the child's life to that point has to be significant. You lose a lot when you have a child out of wedlock and you are the guy. You have to fight for your rights immediately. Ideally, the mother of your child should support your efforts so there is no legal fight at all. Most often though, there is a fight just out of spite in a majority of the cases where the father is establishing his status to the child(ren) and demanding his visitation/custody.

Visitation is not only easier, it is a good fall back position if your going for custody. Really a no brainer. Especially since if you haven't provided support and developed a meaningful relationship (i.e. the child knows your his/her father) with the child visitation is about all your going to get. You should check your jurisdiction for standardized visitation guidelines.

Drug use, criminal convictions of certain types, and where you live are just some of the factors that can determine your visitation. Even if you and your lover are going to agree, you need to run everything by an attorney.

The warrant requirement

The warrant requirement is imposed upon all law enforcement by the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. There are seven well defined areas where there is no need for a warrant. These are, in no particular order:

1.Consent given voluntarily by someone authorized to consent and of age to do so (they can appear to have authority as well i.e. if they answer the door) waives the need for the government to have a warrant.

Coercion can take many forms. For instance, let's say you are stopped for following too close. To what, it doesn't matter, apparently in Arkansas you just have to be "not white" and driving a car with out of state tags...and they aren't profiling, whatever. Anyway, one of Arkansas' finest told the driver and his companion that they were free to go, but the car had to wait on the K9 unit to get there. Of course the occupant had to wait. And don't doubt that the K9 hit on the car. They then searched it and found the marijuana.

The basic concept is that they shouldn't be able to hold you longer than is called for in the original stop (following too close) without developing reasonable suspicion for further inquiry. That is one of the reasons that he trial judge threw the evidence out in the above case. They should not even be allowed to keep you waiting with casual conversation while they wait on the K9 unit.Once their business is done, bam, they should be off protecting someone else.

But, invariably, they will smell something, see something, notice behavior that lends them probable cause to search your location. If it is a car you will see that there is a special exception for it to the warrant requirement, but that does not mean you should give consent. If you do, then you have waived any chance you have to challenge the search based on a lack of probable cause which they still must have even if the area to be searched is a car. It is when consent is given that you must closely examine that consent to make sure it was given voluntarily.

2. Motorized Vehicles -- The very fact that a motorized vehicle can be so easily moved was first recognized by the Supreme court in 1925. Carroll v. United States (2657 U.S. 132). Of course if the Driver is arrested there can be a search of anything in reach. And if the officer has probable cause to believe that a crime is being concealed or that contraband is present, he can search without a warrant. It gets interesting when they are driving Mobile homes with safes in them.

 3. Impounded Vehicle Inventory -- To protect themselves the police are entitled to do an inventory of any impounded vehicle to guard against theft. Of course it is a handy way to get around the warrant requirement. 

 4. Search Incident to Arrest -- the search must take place after the arrest (not the other way around) and can include the person being arrested and everything under his control/immediate area. (wallet, purse, car, couch where he is sitting). This is based upon the need of the officers to ensure that they are safe when making an arrest.

 5. Exigent Circumstances -- Simply an emergency. Hear a person scream, kick the door down. You can search for that person you believe to be in danger. It is still o.k. when you find out they were hitting their bong and having sex. Still don't need a warrant then, well, until you discover the absence of danger.

 6. Plain View -- If the police are where they are lawfully allowed to be and see contraband or evidence of a crime, then they can make an arrest and don't need a warrant to enter and seize the items in plain view.

7. Caretaker Function -- If the police find a box on the busy freeway and remove it, they can search it so that they know what they are moving. If the police identify a car on the side of the road for a number of days they can have it removed to impound and searched simply to make the roads safer. 

 This is by no means an exhaustive analysis. Something that would help educate you on this issue would be to study how each of these exceptions developed through the case law. You have to know your rights.

That does not mean that you have to let them know you do.....any encounter with law enforcement should be recorded. Show respect, even if you don't feel it, but be firm when you refuse consent, ask why you are being searched, and determine if you are under arrest. At no time are you to make a statement of any kind to the police. You want to gather information from them, not them from you. You should leave their presence immediately upon being informed that you are not under arrest and are free to go. Leave! If they try to engage you in a conversation about the weather, they are buying time until the K9....

We rely on our prison systems to keep us safe. We want prisoners to both be punished and rehabilitated. But what if prisons are used to implement government policy to such an extent that the U.S.A., big on Democracy and Freedom, becomes the worlds largest prison state. Read about the Incarceration Nation. That would be us. Fact check it. I think this article is conservative in that I believe that there are more like 2 million incarcerated at any one time in our prisons.

Add to this that the Innocence Project has clearly shown that innocent people are a significant percentage of this prison population, and things get to be a little scary. They estimate that 2.3 to 5% of the prison population in the U.S. is factually innocent. That works out to be 20,000 people for each 1%. I believe I have that right. Fact check it.

Well, it is a bit more terrifying now. And with out police acting out such as in Ferguson and becoming more militarized every day and the uneasiness rises a few more notches. The bottom line is that Criminal Defense Attorneys are worth their weight in gold. Don't ever speak to the police without an attorney present.

There are horror stories such as the facility in Chicago at the Homan Square Facility. Well, a horror story to us because such places are illegal in this country and the authorities are running it! That place should be removed from the map (legally).

This is not the system I was led to believe existed when I was taught our political system so long ago. It is the reason that aggressive litigators are needed more than ever on the side of the individual. Never face the State or it's System alone.

Torture. What does that term say about a society. I mean, if they engage in it to any degree at all. Imagine if you will that because of your associations that you are picked up, isolated for years, waterboarded, humiliated, deprived of sleep, deprived of basic comforts (i.e. heat) and endlessly questioned.  Who would, who could stand up for you?

In the following story a man was handed over to the Syrians, you know the ones, on suspicion of being a terrorist. His government is pissed and trying to do something about it. It is a good study of a horrible situation, I hope you enjoy the rendition of a Canadian.

The fact is we are humans and facts alone don't mean much to us. We learn, and therefore, are educated best through stories. It is easy to see  in a bad Algebra class. Only the teachers who bring the numbers to life teach the kids anything. Dry facts with nothing else does not work. These guys have studied the best way to communicate and you should give it a read. It details the strategy and tactics behind storytelling from the point of view of management. My interest lies in communicating with juries. Whatever your interest I hope you enjoy it.