If You Build It...

I need to go on record about something. I used to work in a county that had recently built a new jail facility. What I noticed was that people were doing real jail time for a variety of the least serious crimes (the most noteworthy being "Driving on a Suspended Licensed"). People with priors were being thrown by red-faced judges into jail for lengthy stints in actual jail. Also, the equivalent of the most common jail alternative, the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program (SWAP), which was called "Work Release", had a couple of special rules that prevented many defendants from entering the program. For example, if the defendant had ever been arrested for resisting arrest (not necessarily convicted, just arrested), then into jail they went; no jail alternatives. Also, if the defendant was serving a sentence for any act of domestic violence, no work program; just jail. I predict the same will happen in Santa Barbara. Yes, there is a jail over crowding program, but the severity of it is debatable. Moreover, if the prevention programs that are supposed to tied to the program are effective, then that too should lessen the inmate population.

Now I don't doubt the sincerity of Sheriff Bill Brown, in his quest for a new jail facility, for a minute. But asking a sheriff whether jails are a good thing is kind of like asking a queen bee whether hives are a good thing. As Max Weber pointed out, bureaucracies must grow; that is what they do. They don't necessarily intend to grow, but growing brings so many collateral benefits to the individual actors, that they do so naturally and instinctively. They draw more funding, more employees, and sooner or later they are bigger of a big shot, and are making a bigger salary with a better retirement.

I have another prediction. The so-called anti-recidivism and other prevention programming that are NOW tied to the new jail proposal are going to fall by the wayside in the name of fiscal responsibility. The true purpose of the money now being sought from the County, directly from the taxpayers, and the State, is to build a new jail facility, not to trump years of budget cuts of social welfare. It sounds great, of course, to increase spending on mental health programs, homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation, etc. However, it will be easy to dump these as "pie in the sky", and generally unsatisfying expenditures that we just can't afford. The success of these programs is hard measure. The success of a jail, however, is easy to measure. If it's full of inmates; it must be working!

Have a safe Halloween on Del Playa!

I want to thank the Associated Students of UCSB (and attorneys Robin Unander and David Andreasen) for inviting me to speak at their not-so-annual workshop to educate UCSB students on their rights at Embarcadero Hall on Wednesday Evening. It was a nice opportunity to speak to one or more of my future clients, directly or indirectly, like now. And, no, that's not to imply that the people that showed up are criminals. Actually, they were a very gracious, intelligent, and inquisitive group of young people. I also want to thank Deputy Sheriff Miles Davies for joining me on stage and providing very candid answers to questions, and generally good information, which was not overly infected with law enforcement (or other) propaganda. It was remarkable that we agreed about nearly everything. For those of you who couldn't be there, I will jog through the main points that were made in favor of a safe (and hopefully for you) arrest free Halloween celebration:

1. Don't do anything illegal.

2. Don't drink if you are under 21 (if you must, do it out of view of police, and in a private place).

3. Don't drink to excess.

4. Don't walk around in the street with alcohol, or any container for alcohol.

5. If you throw a party, restrict access (consider carding at door and using bracelets).

6. If the police come to your door to, perhaps, issue a noise violation ticket, meet them at the front door, step outside, and close the door behind you.

7. Do not consent to a search of your person, vehicle, house, dorm room, apartment, bag, purse, backpack, wallet, etc.

8. Do identify yourself correctly if you are under arrest or detained.

9. If you don't know if you are under arrest or detained, just ask. (Good suggestion, Miles!)

10. If you believe the police are violating your, or someone else's rights, don't throw a fit. In fact, better to keep it to yourself, and take good mental notes of the badge number(s), and other particulars. Wait until it gets to court before you make your argument. Doing otherwise will worsen whatever trouble you are in, or get you in trouble even if you have done nothing else wrong.

11. If you are arrested, remain silent after you have supplied correct information concerning your identity. If you are not driving a motor vehicle, it need not be done with a license or other document. It is seldom, if ever, a good idea to explain anything to the police, or plead with them to let you go, or anything else you might want to say at that point. Wait until it gets to court, and until after you have talked it through with a lawyer. Don't make any deals with the police. Specifically, don't give them a statement in return for a promise to not take you to jail, or to put in a good word with "the judge", or to "drop charges". These are sometimes outright lies and are, at best, half-truths. If you end up going to jail on that occasion because you didn't make a statement; that, relative to other potential outcomes, is a good one. What you might not know is how quickly you will be released. If you aren't intoxicated and, therefore, housed in order to sober up, you will be given access to a telephone where you can contact me, a bail bondsman and/or a friend, who can usually help you bail out in a number of hours (depending on the seriousness of the charges, and some other factors). So, as unpleasant as it is to go to jail, don't think of it as the final stage of the controversy where it will be decided once and for all that you are guilty as charged; it is often just the beginning of a long chain of events where, we can hope, ultimately, justice will be done. Don't make it harder to achieve a just result on your case by giving in to trickery and deceit (which, by the way, are lawful law enforcement tactics).

12. If you have any questions about the above, call me at 805-892-4922, or you may email to sbcrimlawyer@gmail.com. Also, visit my website devoted to the Isla Vista population of potential arrestees at http://www.ivlawyer.com/

Have a safe and enjoyable Halloween! And here's a Halloween greeting from Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office:

“We have a zero-tolerance enforcement posture for all crimes alcohol-related, party-related - anything that you can think of,” Raney said. “Drunk in public, open containers, minors in possession of alcohol, indecent exposure and loud music ordinances [are] all zero tolerance.” See the complete article at:

http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=14889

Know Your Rights!

The Associated Students of UCSB is hosting a workshop for students on how to avoid attracting the attention of the Foot Patrol and how to deal with police officers who may contact them and arrest them for any variety of charges during the Halloween festivities on and around Del Playa in Isla Vista. The talk begins at 7 p.m. in Embarcardero Hall tomorrow (10/24/07). Myself and Sheriff's Deputy Myles Davies, of the IVFP, are the featured speakers. See you there!