The performance of the maniac driving the BMW is impressive, unfortunately, the driver ends up crashing into another vehicle. How many moving violations do you see on this video?
Archive for the ‘Dealing with Police’ Category
BMW Driver Evades Police For Hours, Then Crashes
Jan
15
Clayton Simms, Criminal Defense Attorney, on the topic of Dealing with Police, Utah Crime Related Videos
0
Utah Highway Patrol and Salt Lake City Police Execute A Pit Maneuver
Jan
08
Clayton Simms, Criminal Defense Attorney, on the topic of Dealing with Police, Utah Crime Related Videos
Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) and Salt Lake City Police capture a felony fugitive on a Homicide/Murder warrant.
How to Survive Prison: Working or Hustlin’
Nov
28
Clayton Simms, Criminal Defense Attorney, on the topic of Dealing with Police
Working or Hustlin’ in prison is often necessary to earn money for commissary. Prison work is low paying and most always below the minimum wage. Many prisons require inmates to work unless, they are in drug treatment, anger management, sex offender treatment or in college classes. In fact, most prison jobs pay shockingly low wages, which can be less than a dollar an hour.
Extra money for commissary in which an inmate may buy extra food, shampoo or soap greatly impacts an inmate’s life in prison.
Hustlin’ is when an inmate trades services or bargains for something of value. Hustlin’ is prohibited by prison rules, but it goes on everyday. A Hustle may include braiding an inmate’s hair or loaning an inmate a food item and then that inmate pays back that temporary loan with food with a greater value. Working or Hustlin’ is part of the prison culture as explained in the following video:
Brigham City v. Stuart – A Recap of Exigent Circumstances
Nov
16
Utah Attorney, Brooke Winters, on the topic of Criminal Defense Misc, Dealing with Police, Legal Process, Utah Court
In July, 2001, the police were called to a Brigham City home with a complaint of a loud party. When police arrived, their attempts to announce their presence went unheard at which point the police moved to the rear of the house where they observed through a window several adults restraining a teen who had thrown a punch that drew blood. One of the officers announced his presence again with no response and then entered the house announcing his presence again.
The issue is whether the police officers acted within the law when they entered the house without a search warrant. Was announcing their presence enough to enter the house? The answer is yes.
Exigent circumstances allow law enforcement to enter a property without a warrant under certain circumstances. These circumstances include:
- Whether the offense is a grave offense-particularly a crime of violence
- Whether the suspect is reasonably believed to be armed
- Whether the showing of probable cause connecting the defendant to the offense is more than minimal
- Whether the police have strong reason to believe that the suspect is in the premise being entered
- Whether there is a likelihood the suspect will escape if not swiftly apprehended
The United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, reversed the Utah Supreme Court ruling indicating that due to the violence, police entered the house under exigent circumstances and a warrant was not necessary.
Alcohol in Vehicle Does Not Give Rise to Search
Nov
08
Utah Attorney, Brooke Winters, on the topic of Alcohol in Utah, Criminal Defense Misc, Dealing with Police, DUI in Utah, Evidence, Utah Law
It is true that Utah does have some strange alcohol laws, however it is not illegal to travel with unopened alcohol containers in your vehicle and combined with the smell of alcohol on your breath does not, absent other circumstances, give law enforcement probable cause to search your vehicle.
In Utah, there are three levels of police/citizen encounters. The first being a consensual encounter between the citizen and police, the second is a temporary seizure of the person and the third is arrest. What we are discussing here is a level two encounter which is a temporary seizure of the person but in order to legally affect a temporary seizure of a person, the officer must have “reasonable articulable suspicion” that the seized person is about to or has committed a crime and the scope of the detention must be limited.
Furthermore, in order to search beyond a simple pat down, officers must have probable cause that an offense has been or is being committed. Probable cause is determined based on the totality of the circumstances which taken together create a conclusion of probability. Applying the law to the example given above, merely having unopened alcohol in your vehicle even with an odor of alcohol on your breath does not give officers enough to detain and search. In order for a detention and ultimate search of your person or vehicle officers would need more indica of a crime, i.e. a driving pattern, other indications of drunkenness, visible open containers in the vehicle, etc.
Do Not Fight With Police in Utah
Nov
07
Utah Attorney, Brooke Winters, on the topic of Crimes, Criminal Defense Misc, Dealing with Police, Utah Law, Utah Legal Definition
It may come as a surprise to you that it is illegal to interfere with police during a detention or arrest even if that detention or arrest is later determined to be unlawful.
Under 76-8-305, a person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if he has knowledge, or by the exercise of reasonable care should have knowledge, that a peace officer is seeking to effect a lawful arrest or detention of that person or another and interferes with the arrest or detention by:
(1) use of force or any weapon;
(2) the arrested person’s refusal to perform any act required by lawful order:
(a) necessary to effect the arrest or detention; and
(b) made by a peace officer involved in the arrest or detention; or
(3) the arrested person’s or another person’s refusal to refrain from performing any act that would impede the arrest or detention.
The use of the word “lawful” in section 76-8-305 does not have any bearing on the detained person’s actual guilt and therefore is not determinative of whether someone is guilty of interfering with a peace officer as defined above. “So long as the officer is acting within the scope of his or her authority and the detention or arrest has the indicia of being lawful, a person can be guilty of interfering with a peace officer even when the arrest or detention is later determined to be unlawful.” American Fork City v. Pena-Flores, P.3d 698 (Utah 2000).
This means that in the event you come across someone being detained or arrested by police or maybe you are the subject of the detention or arrest you can not interfere with such detention or arrest by either refusing to cooperate or telling others they do not have to cooperate with lawful orders given by police. If you do so you could be charged with interfering with arresting officer and face up to 6 months in jail and a fine.
Utah Law Enforcement Not Allowed to Detain and Run I.D. Check Without Evidence of a Crime
Nov
05
Utah Attorney, Brooke Winters, on the topic of Constitutional Rights, Criminal Defense Misc, Dealing with Police, Evidence, Utah Law
There are three constitutionally permissible encounters between citizens and police:
• An officer can approach a citizen at any time and ask questions so long as the citizen is not detained against his/her will
• An officer may seize a person but must have reasonable articulable suspicion that a crime has been or is about to be committed and the detention must be temporary and not last longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop;
• An officer may arrest someone if the officer has probable cause to believe an offense has been or is currently being committed.
In a level two encounter the officer must be able to articulate or say why he has formed the objective impression that a crime has been or is about to be committed.
In State v. Chism, 107 P.3d 706 (Utah App 2005) an officer pulled defendant’s vehicle over for a traffic violation. On approaching the vehicle, the officer smelled tobacco smoke coming from the vehicle and observed two packs of cigarettes on the dashboard and several vehicle occupants who did not appear to be old enough to possess tobacco. The focus of the investigation shifted away from a traffic stop to investigating whether the occupants of the vehicle were old enough to possess tobacco. All occupants, including defendant Chism, produced identification. Chism’s driver’s license showed his age as 19 years old. The legal age to possess tobacco in Utah is 18. Without articulating his suspicions, the officer detained the occupants of the vehicle while he ran computer checks on their I.D.
The court ruled that the burden was on the state to support the officer’s suspicion that the defendant was underage to possess tobacco. Accordingly the officer’s detention to further investigate the validity of his identification and ultimate search and arrest were all unlawful. Id.
Reasonable Suspicion of a DUI
Oct
27
Utah Attorney, Brooke Winters, on the topic of Alcohol in Utah, Criminal Defense Misc, Dealing with Police, DUI in Utah
How much bad driving is enough to pull someone over on suspicion of a DUI? The truth is not a lot. Utah law says old fashioned weaving is enough. Other reasons to justify a stop include not proceeding through a green light, backing up when rear window is obscured, driving too slow and citizen tips.
Although it is common to think that the vehicle must be moving in order to get a DUI, Utah law provides that so long as an intoxicated person is in physical control of a vehicle they can be charged with a DUI. Factors determinative of physical control include:
• Whether the accused was asleep or awake
• The position of the automobile;
• Whether vehicle was running;
• Whether the accused was in the drivers seat;
• Whether the accused was the only occupant;
• Whether the accused was in possession of the key;
• The accused’s ability to start and/or move the vehicle;
• How the vehicle got there and;
• Whether the accused drove the vehicle to where it was found.
The bottom line is if you have been drinking and suspect you may be over the legal limit (.08 in Utah), don’t drive.
Excessive Force?
Oct
26
Utah Attorney, Brooke Winters, on the topic of Criminal Defense Misc, Dealing with Police, Utah Crime News, Utah Crime Related Videos
During a Union High School football game several fans performed a traditional Haka dance at the conclusion of the game. The dance itself lasted 17 seconds and ended with Roosevelt Police using pepper spray on the crowd. Reportedly several people standing near the dancers were affected by the pepper spray including a 4 year old.
The Haka is a traditional Polynesian dance popular at many high school football games which included stomping, hand motions and chanting. In addition to high schools, Brigham Young University football team performs the dance prior to every game.
The Roosevelt Police Chief is looking into the incident to determine if excessive force was used.
Tongans get maced while performing Haka at high school football game
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Efforts to Catch Poachers
Oct
24
Clayton Simms, Criminal Defense Attorney, on the topic of Dealing with Police, Utah Crime Related Videos
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources sets up decoy animals in order to catch poachers and illegal hunters.
