Legal Question in Constitutional Law in North Carolina

Guilty until Proven Innocent?

I was FALSLY arrested and charged with felony obtaining property under false pretences. I was not ?ed by the police or a detective about the matter.My brother had asked me if I would sell his beer tap handle collection on ebay for him.I did this for him, thinking, and being told that they where HIS. He called me and told me he had been fired for stealing them, and they where pressing charges against him and me. I reminded him that he had told me they where his. He said he knew, and he had told his supervisor this. He told the police this as well. The detective called me and asked for my Name,DOB,SS#,Phone# and mailing address. I tried to explain the situation to him. He TOLD me that he just needed the above mentioned info. he didn't need a statment.And told me I needed to go to the magestrates office. When I arrived I tried to explain, but they read me my ''SO CALLED'' rights and charged/arrested me. I had to appear before the Judge and again tried to explain, I was told to plea guilty or not, not to say anything else without an Attorney. On the day of the trial, my brothers attorney told the Judge I did not know they where stolen. She dismissed my case, but it is on my record, and I feel it was handled very wrong. Please contact me


Asked on 9/26/06, 11:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Guilty until Proven Innocent?

The rule that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty only applies at trial, and even then only to the finder of fact (the jury or the judge). It does not apply at the time of arrest, since it would never be justifiable for police to arrest someone they presume is not guilty. It would likewise be impossible for a prosecutor to pursue a case against someone she had to presume was innocent.

The fact that you were innocent and yet were arrested does not mean the police or the prosecutor did anything wrong. If the information available to them at the time gave them probable cause to believe you were guilty, their decision to arrest you was correct.

All that is on your record is an arrest, not a conviction. Arrest records are usually not made public because they are so easily misunderstood. Being arrested means only that you appeared guilty to a police officer at the time and not that you actually did anything wrong. Generally only courts and law enforcement agencies can look at your arrest record, and they understand this principle. You should not be too concerned about what future background checks will reveal.

A final word -- it was *extremely* unwise of you to insist on talking to the police and the magistrate without a lawyer. The familiar warning that "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law" applied in your situation. You're very lucky that the evidence showed you to be innocent. Had you been brought to trial, there is a very good chance something you said would have sealed your fate. As it is, you may have helped seal your brother's fate instead.

Read more
Answered on 9/27/06, 12:03 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Constitutional Law questions and answers in North Carolina