Flock Camera Can Be Jail Bird’s Best Friend

Letter to Philippians: As the Flock camera debate rages & the controlling law is still in its infancy, folks falsely accused of crimes based on Flock evidence need to know the importance of quickly getting a savvy defense attorney who knows the devil can be in the details…

The following is by no means a legal hornbook on 4^th Amendment search & seizure rights & procedures. But let’s start by reminding that having salt of the earth counsel in your corner is key especially when falsely accused by police of a felony drug or trafficking charge. Think “The Practice” on tv; and hire Clarence Darrow if the feds think “national security” may be involved because you’ve entered the legal system’s Twilight Zone of constitutional rights. Speed is another key while sitting mystified in a jail cell, unless you like sitting next to a drug cartel kingpin for a couple of weeks. Recall the lesson of 23-yr-old Florida woman, Lindsey Issacs, who was arrested after the state Highway Patrol used a Flock ALPR image to link her (undamaged) black Dodge Durango to a fatal interstate crash. She spent 13 days in jail, several in solitary confinement, before investigators at the urging of defense counsel, took a harder look at the Flock evidence, including images of her unharmed vehicle, which turned out to exonerate, not prove guilt. As outlined in an earlier Commentary, while Flocks have generally been held to be constitutional, the increasingly widespread use of the data it provides police is still largely unsettled law. This is arguably relevant if the police violate their standards, state laws or regulations; especially suspect can be later generation technology linking ALPR systems together across state lines.

In most cases, your lawyer can quickly get you released after arraignment on reasonable bail or even your recognizance, then, work with the DA’s office to review the validity of the Flock evidence in their possession. Even if that evidence looks damning, if it was somehow illegally procured or in violation of police standards, it still might be suppressed via motion before trial. If the allegations are so serious the police don’t bring you quickly before a judge as in the Florida woman’s case, a petition for Habeas Corpus forcing such a face-to-face is available to determine whether you’re being held unlawfully. But take some comfort in knowing the police, not the Flock, accused you of a crime you didn’t commit. And the same Flock evidence used to arrest you can be the key your lawyer uses to free you.

Davd Soul