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LeeOblivious OP t1_jcc3mmz wrote

Reply to comment by Ok-Survey406 in Man sues highway patrol, says arrest was unlawfully based on expunged marijuana charge. by LeeOblivious

He was arrested for a crime he did not commit and had proof that he had not committed. The database the officer used should not have shown he was a felon as that record was ordered sealed. And when he presented a certified official copy expungement the officer chose to ignore it.

Law enforcement made three failures here that compromised this man's rights. First, they did not follow the courts order and statutory process when his record was expunged. Rather they completely ignored it and continued to have his information listed as a convicted felon. Secondly, when presented with the official certified copy of the expungement they refused to accept it because it could be fake. If a certified official copy does not count as an official record anymore because it could be fake, then a whole lot of people just lost their citizenship, professional licenses, and other status's that rely on such documentation. And, thirdly, as a result of their unlawful action they kidnaped and held this man illegally under threat of official violence.

So no it was not a pretty standard arrest.

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Ok-Survey406 t1_jccrocj wrote

It’s unfortunate that it happened. It’s also not that noteworthy.

He had a gun. He had proof his record had been expunged. The HP didn’t think his proof was sufficient. They arrested him. Was his proof sufficient? Who knows, the article doesn’t elaborate.

Either way, It doesn’t seem like any law was broken. Unless you can prove this, the civil suit has no chance. You mention kidnapping. That is extremely unlikely.

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LeeOblivious OP t1_jcctx8n wrote

What more elaboration do you expect than the statement that it was an official copy and that it was certified? Do they need to go into detail on what all that means in a word limited article? Or can we just conclude that the words mean what they say they do?

The laws that were broken have been laid out already. First the expungement statute, next the 4th amendment to the US Constitution. I could also make a 5th and 14th amendment due process argument.

Kidnaping is the taking and holding someone by force (or threat of force even if only implied or understood) unlawfully. Clearly as there was NO LAWFUL reason to arrest this man, his subsequent arrest and detention was unlawful. By definition! An ok sorry my bad I made a mistake does not make it not kidnaping.

The lawsuit has apparently already passed through initial motions to dismiss as the judge has sent it to mediation. If it had no grounds to stand on it would not have gotten this far. And when a Judge sends a case to a mediator that is them generally trying to tell the sued side to settle or else face a worse outcome in front of a jury.

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