Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
I'll try to keep this short. My son was involved in an act of vandalism. The next morning he contacted the victim, apologized and agree to pay for repairs. Later that day two police officers arrived at my house and asked to enter for the purpose of "talking to my son about the incident". As soon as they entered the apartment, it was clear they intended to arrest my son, one of the officers stated as much. I believe I gave limited consent for entry and consistent with the court finding in People vs Superior Court (KENNER) 73 Cal. App.3d 65, the arrest was not done legally. They did not charge him at that time and he was released, so I did not raise the issue. Now 3 months later, one of the officers did obtain an arrest warrant for vandalism (even though he told the victim he would not if restitution was made). Two different officers found him at our apartment and arrested him. That is the background, my question is this. If a judge finds that his initial arrest was in fact not legal, is that grounds for dismissing the case against my son? Do the police get a "do over" to make a proper arrest with a warrant after realizing their mistake?
2 Answers from Attorneys
An illegal arrest does not necessarily result in a dismissal.
I agree with Mr. Shapiro. If they can convict with admissible evidence obtained by lawful means, the case is not going to be dismissed. It appears that your son's admission of the crime was made to the victim independent of the initial unlawful arrest. An attorney would have to thoroughly review the matter, however, as these issues are very dependent on the underlying facts.
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