Woman strip-searched, tossed in jail for overdue traffic ticket

[green73]

A North Texas woman was handcuffed, stripped down and booked into jail – all because of an overdue traffic ticket.

It was just a ticket. Sarah Boaz was cited in August after an officer said she ran a stop sign.

Boaz lost the ticket, but said she knows it was wrong not to have paid it right away. Despite those missteps, she also says she never expected a late fee or penalty to land her in jail.

It happens in every city, every day, at just about every intersection. Drivers roll past stop signs, and through stoplights. But getting caught, and getting a ticket, is nothing compared to what Boaz got.

“I guess it was just frustrating to me, that a bill that I pay a month late, I end up in jail for,” she said.

Boaz expected trip to work Wednesday morning never happened. Because of her unpaid ticket, the Richland Hills City Marshal was waiting at her house, with a warrant for her arrest. “I’m like, nobody puts out a bench warrant after 60 days. Why would you do that? You wouldn’t do that.”

Even when Boaz arrived at the jail, in handcuffs, she still didn’t think it was real. Then a female officer started giving her instructions. She remembered the officer saying, “’I’m going to need you to undress. I’m going to need you to stand against the wall. Please don’t step in front of this white box, or I’ll take that’… aggressive toward me. Obviously I am going to jail.”

CBS 11 News learned a strip search is standard procedure for anyone brought to the jail in North Richland Hills.

Richland Hills is small enough, that it only has one marshal. Warrants for unpaid tickets don’t sit around for months, like they might in larger cities.

Attorney Jason Smith told CBS 11 News though, there’s nothing requiring the city to put people in jail. “The constitution doesn’t keep the government or government officials from using common sense. Unfortunately, some police officers, some governments get overly aggressive because they want that ticket revenue.”

Municipal court officials said two reminders were sent to Boaz, which she says she never got.

A footnote – on Thursday, Boaz’ husband was issued a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/10/24/woman-endures-strip-search-jail-time-for-overdue-ticket/

[jkr]

"DONT MESS W/ TEXAS"


my ass....

[tod evans]

Non-compliance will not be tolerated! :mad:

[phill4paul]

Good cop.

[aGameOfThrones]

Attorney Jason Smith told CBS 11 News though, there’s nothing requiring the city to put people in jail. “The constitution doesn’t keep the government or government officials from using common sense. Unfortunately, some police officers, some governments get overly aggressive because they want that ticket revenue.”


you were an attorney.



Municipal court officials said two reminders were sent to Boaz, which she says she never got.

even if she did get them, so what? strip search and jail over a ticket?


A footnote – on Thursday, Boaz’ husband was issued a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign.

criminal inc.

[presence]

debtor's prison much?

[69360]

This happens every single day in small towns and rural areas all over the country. This is nothing new or different. In big cities traffic warrants fall through the cracks and you'd only get arrested on the warrant if you get stopped by the cops for something else and they find the warrant. They don't have the resources to enforce traffic warrants.

That's not the case at all in small towns where not a whole lot goes on. They will actively seek you out on the warrant. You'll end up at your local PD in a holding cell. You only get a pat down at that stage. Then you'll have the chance to make bail on the warrant. If you don't it's off to the county or regional jail and that's where the strip search happens before you enter general population.

This woman had multiple opportunities to either pay her fine, appear in court or make bail on the warrant before she ended up strip searched at a county jail.

[phill4paul]

This happens every single day in small towns and rural areas all over the country. This is nothing new or different. In big cities traffic warrants fall through the cracks and you'd only get arrested on the warrant if you get stopped by the cops for something else and they find the warrant. They don't have the resources to enforce traffic warrants.

That's not the case at all in small towns where not a whole lot goes on. They will actively seek you out on the warrant. You'll end up at your local PD in a holding cell. You only get a pat down at that stage. Then you'll have the chance to make bail on the warrant. If you don't it's off to the county or regional jail and that's where the strip search happens before you enter general population.

This woman had multiple opportunities to either pay her fine, appear in court or make bail on the warrant before she ended up strip searched at a county jail.

Good cops. Good laws.

[Brett85]

This happens every single day in small towns and rural areas all over the country. This is nothing new or different. In big cities traffic warrants fall through the cracks and you'd only get arrested on the warrant if you get stopped by the cops for something else and they find the warrant. They don't have the resources to enforce traffic warrants.

That's not the case at all in small towns where not a whole lot goes on. They will actively seek you out on the warrant. You'll end up at your local PD in a holding cell. You only get a pat down at that stage. Then you'll have the chance to make bail on the warrant. If you don't it's off to the county or regional jail and that's where the strip search happens before you enter general population.

This woman had multiple opportunities to either pay her fine, appear in court or make bail on the warrant before she ended up strip searched at a county jail.

Yeah, I don't really disagree with anything that happened here except for the strip search. Police officers at prisons shouldn't have the right under the Constitution to just search every single prisoner that comes in, regardless of whether they have probable cause or not.

[69360]

Good cops. Good laws.

In this case I don't think the cops did any wrong by this woman, she was negligent at every step of the process.

[belian78]

In this case I don't think the cops did any wrong by this woman, she was negligent at every step of the process.
If you think there's nothing wrong with arresting/throwing in jail/stripsearching a woman over a damn 'failure to stop' ticket, you're sick.

[69360]

Yeah, I don't really disagree with anything that happened here except for the strip search. Police officers at prisons shouldn't have the right under the Constitution to just search every single prisoner that comes in, regardless of whether they have probable cause or not.

They kind of have to. You wouldn't believe what people have tried to smuggle into prisons up on their person or up their butt. They really can't have drugs and weapons in prisons for obvious reasons.

It's also important that you don't get strip searched at your local PD when they put you in the cell there. It's only if you don't make bail and get sent to county that you get the strip search.

[69360]

If you think there's nothing wrong with arresting/throwing in jail/stripsearching a woman over a damn 'failure to stop' ticket, you're sick.

I don't think you read my reply at all. She could have paid the fine. She could appeared in court to contest the summons. She could have made bail on the warrant after her arrest. She was searched and jailed because of her own multiple failures.

This is nothing new and this is how it works all over the country every single day. At some point the legal system has to take action when people fail to respond. It's not like she ran the stop sign and they ripped her out of the car, tore her clothes off and threw her in a cell.

How else should the cops have proceeded here? How do you think it should be handled when people don't pay fines, refuse to appear, then don't make bail? Just let them go?

[belian78]

It's for a damn traffic ticket for christs sake! Take her $75 and send her home, don't degrade her just because you can. Again, you two defending this are sick.

[tod evans]

Gotta justify the cops, their support systems, the jails and their support systems, the courts, etc....

This broad is another statistic come election time.

Same for budget justification, one more scofflaw apprehended. :mad:

[Brett85]

They kind of have to. You wouldn't believe what people have tried to smuggle into prisons up on their person or up their butt. They really can't have drugs and weapons in prisons for obvious reasons.

It's also important that you don't get strip searched at your local PD when they put you in the cell there. It's only if you don't make bail and get sent to county that you get the strip search.

Yeah, but I wouldn't think it would be necessary to strip search someone just because they didn't pay a traffic ticket. How dangerous could someone like that be? I could see the need to search someone who's suspected of murder or rape or something like that, but not someone who simply didn't pay a traffic ticket. There should be probable cause before a police officer conducts a strip search, in my opinion.

[Brett85]

It's for a damn traffic ticket for christs sake! Take her $75 and send her home, don't degrade her just because you can. Again, you two defending this are sick.

What "two?" I'm arguing that they shouldn't have had the right to strip search her. What they did violated the 4th amendment.

[green73]

We have some real winners on this site.

[Brett85]

They should've just taken her to jail until she paid the $75 traffic ticket, and then sent her home.

[mrsat_98]

In this case I don't think the cops did any wrong by this woman, she was negligent at every step of the process.

why you got neg repped

http://freedom-school.com/law/traffic-stop.htm

TO: Police Officer, Sheriff, or Law Enforcement Officer, Peace Officer, or agent
please take notice of this information:

The individual man or woman presenting this information (constructive notice) to you is doing so in a good faith attempt to protect you from yourself. Me, I have a good deal of respect for the public service job you are doing and understand how difficult it is to seek out and prosecute criminals. However, this document is presented at a ´traffic stop´. Comity applies.

Where an individual is detained, without a warrant and without having committed a crime (traffic infractions are not crimes), the detention is a false arrest and false imprisonment.
Damages awarded. Trezevant v. City of Tampa, 741 F.2d 336 (11th Cir. 1984)
Motorist illegally held for 23 minutes in a traffic charge was awarded $25,000 in damages. The above case sets the foundation for ~$65,217 dollars per hour, or ~$1,800,000 (1.8 M) dollars per day. If you want to make me rich - detain me for as long as you like.

"The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself in a criminal prosecution but also privileges him not to answer official questions put to him in any other proceeding, civil or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might incriminate him in future criminal proceedings." LEFKOWITZ v. TURLEY, 94 S.CT. 316, 414 U.S. 70 (1973).

"The privilege is not ordinarily dependent upon the nature of the proceeding in which the testimony is sought or is to be used. It applies alike to civil and criminal proceedings, wherever this might tend to subject to criminal responsibility on him who gives it. The privilege protects a mere witness as fully as it does one who is a party defendant." MC CARTHY v. ARNDSTEIN, 266 U.S. 34, 40, 45 S.CT. 16, 17, 69 L.ED. 158 (1924).

"...where the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination is involved...the court has always construed its protection to ensure that an individual is not compelled to produce evidence which later may be used against him as an accused in a criminal action. ... The protection does not merely encompass evidence which may lead to criminal conviction, but includes information which would furnish a link in the chain of evidence that could lead to prosecution, as well as evidence which an individual reasonably believes could be used against him in a criminal prosecution." HOFFMAN v. UNITED STATES, 341 U.S. 479, 486, 71 S.CT. 814, 95 L.Ed. 1, 18 (1951).

"in KASTIGAR v. UNITED STATES, 406 U.S. 441, 92 S. CT. 1653, 32 L.Ed. 212 (1972), we recently reaffirmed the principle that the privilege against self incrimination can be asserted in any proceeding, civil or criminal, administrative or judicial, investigatory or adjudicatory. Id., at 444, 92 S.Ct. AT 1656; LEFKOWITZ v. TURLEY, 414 U.S. 70, 94 S.CT. 316, 322, 38 L.Ed. 274 (1973).

"WE have recently noted that the privilege against self-incrimination --- the essential mainstay of our adversary system -- is founded in a complex of values. ... To maintain a fair state individual balance, to require the government to shoulder the entire load ... to protect the inviolability of the human personality, our accusatory system of criminal justice demands that the government seeking to punish an individual produce the evidence against him by its own independent labors, rather than by the cruel, simple expedient of compelling it form his own mouth. ... In sum, the privilege is fulfilled only when the person is guaranteed the right to remain silent unless he chooses to speak in the unfettered exercise of his own will."

"...there can be no doubt that the Fifth Amendment privilege is available outside of criminal court proceedings and serves to protect persons in all settings in which their freedom of action is curtailed in any significant way from being compelled to incriminate themselves." MIRANDA v. ARIZONA, 86 S.CT. 1602, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)

Please also NOTE: the above, as stated by the Supreme Court, are rights and privileges as guaranteed by the Constitution, and anyone (including judges) who knowingly violates those rights may be civilly and criminally liable under several federal statutes. Please see: United States Code, Title 18 Section 241 (Conspiracy against Rights), and Section 242 (Deprivation of Rights under color of Law); Title 42 Section 1983, 1985, 1986 (Civil Rights).

Officer, I cannot and will not provide you with any information that may later be used against me in a civil or criminal proceeding. This includes producing documents that may or may not be in my possession. If there is some important information that you wish to impart to/upon me, please do so in a respectful manner. I do hope you will have a good day.

Respectfully submitted,

__________________________________, reserving all rights, proceeding Sui Juris

[phill4paul]

In this case I don't think the cops did any wrong by this woman, she was negligent at every step of the process.

You wouldn't. "Law and order" and all that bunk. Are you privy to some information about who it was that she actually harmed that the writer is unaware of?

[FloralScent]

In this case I don't think the cops did any wrong by this woman, she was negligent at every step of the process.

You're a cop.

[JK/SEA]

You're a cop.

probably...and also a 'contrarian'. Most likely would support rape by cop as justified punishment.

[69360]

They should've just taken her to jail until she paid the $75 traffic ticket, and then sent her home.


They can't. By ignoring the summons she now has a much more serious failure to appear charge against her.

[Anti Federalist]

They can't. By ignoring the summons she now has a much more serious failure to appear charge against her.

Was that date to appear valid?

Did the state exercise any manner of due diligence to ensure that this woman was aware of the date or any changes made?

It was monkeyfucking around with court dates that got Randy Weaver's family executed.

[enhanced_deficit]

Land of the Free ..its daughters being stripped/groped for $70 revenue collection while billions of dollars being spent on roads in Iraq/Afghanistan that no one seems to locate.
I will it under Iraqi freedom decision also.



debtor's prison much?

It is getting more common (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?430954-Lawyer-representing-family-of-Miriam-Carey-arrested&), but seems selective still.

[69360]

Was that date to appear valid?

Did the state exercise any manner of due diligence to ensure that this woman was aware of the date or any changes made?

It was monkeyfucking around with court dates that got Randy Weaver's family executed.

They say they sent 2 notices. She admitted that she knew it was unpaid. She said she thought it was a "bill" she would or should get a "late fee", but she got a failure to appear warrant out for her.


Boaz lost the ticket, but said she knows it was wrong not to have paid it right away. Despite those missteps, she also says she never expected a late fee or penalty to land her in jail.

It happens in every city, every day, at just about every intersection. Drivers roll past stop signs, and through stoplights. But getting caught, and getting a ticket, is nothing compared to what Boaz got.

“I guess it was just frustrating to me, that a bill that I pay a month late, I end up in jail for,” she said.

Randy Weaver did nothing wrong.

[Root]

Once again, who is the victim here?

[SeanTX]

Could be worse, I've heard they do no-knock raids in some places over unpaid tickets/fines. There was the case in Dekalb Co. Georgia posted here back in the spring, where a SWAT team terrorized a family in a late night raid over an unpaid fine.

Tax collectors with guns and a license to kill, that's all cops are any more (any "peace officer" stuff they do is just on the side, and just enough to keep most people thinking they are "protecting" them).

[LibForestPaul]

If you think there's nothing wrong with arresting/throwing in jail/stripsearching a woman over a damn 'failure to stop' ticket, you're sick.

If you do not pay your taxes, they put a lien on your bank account and garnish your wages. No jail time for quite a few that I know personal who owed quite a bit more than $100.

[Anti Federalist]

Randy Weaver did nothing wrong.

Yes, he did.

He "Failed to Appear" for a court summons after being entrapped by a FedCoat informant.

[69360]

Yes, he did.

He "Failed to Appear" for a court summons after being entrapped by a FedCoat informant.

They changed the court date on Weaver and did not notify him properly or personally, then executed a failure to appear warrant. He did nothing wrong and there is no way to know if he would have appeared or not, he never got the chance.

This woman brought all this upon herself by her own actions, or more precisely inaction. That wasn't the case with Randy Weaver at all.