Amidst all of the current crap we are bombarded with each day, almost unnoticed, The Supreme Court started another session this week, and on Tuesday, Hearing vs The United States was on the docket.
http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/2007/0responses/2007-0513.resp.htmlStemming from a 2004 arrest the case revolves around the legality of the search.
In July, 2004 Herring showed up at the Sheriffs Dept to reclaim some personal items for an impounded vehicle: a Coffee County (Alabama) investigator at the station asked for an outstanding warrant check, was told there was one in a neighboring (Dale) county, and that it was being faxed over. The officer(s) followed his truck and proceeded to stop Bernie Dean Herring, finding a loaded gun an a bag of Meth in his possession.
The county clerk in Dale county meanwhile was unable to locate the physical warrant and called the Judge, only to be told the warrant had been recalled: she called Coffee county who radioed the officers to inform them of the screw up , but by that time, some 10-15 minutes later, the stop, search and arrest had been made.
The district court decided that the screw up was in Dale county and the officers acted in good faith, and sentenced Herring to 27 months: the appeal was based on the failure of the district court to throw out the fruits of a poisoned search.
The investigators did not find he had "rolled through a stop sign" or "crossed a white line" either of which would have been grounds for stopping and searching the truck, they followed procedure, and a clerical error by a filing clerk is the root cause of this suit
The appeals process has now made its way to the Supreme court of the land where the case of someone so stupid as to show up at the sheriffs department with an illegal gun (he was already a convicted felon) and meth amphetamine will either upheld or will be overturned, with the inevitable civil suite sure to follow!
The war of ideology is being fought on many fronts each and every day