Between Praise and PR

[midnightranter]

For the past two weeks, there have been stories all over the web and news channels about the Yearning for Zion Ranch raid and the subsequent legal battles that ensued. So far, almost 400 children were taken from the sprawling ranch in the hinterlands of west Texas, disrupting the lives of the hundreds of people who live out there. The Yearning for

Comments

Re: Poison tree? I think not.

[midnightranter]

ok, first of all, fruit of the poisonous tree is not my opinion, it's the opinion of the Supreme Court. And by law, yeah, they can't arrest the meth lab cookers. Mostly because, one, most firefighters do not have arrest powers (some arson investigators have this ability, but that's about it) and two, they're too busy putting out the fire. If there is no fire, they can't come into the place. If they see evidence of a meth lab, they can swear out a complaint to a police officer, officer investigates, goes before a judge with a local prosecutor, swear out an affidavit, get a warrant then arrest everyone involved. A little thing we call due process.

Similarly, if a cop on patrol or serving some other kind of duty has probable cause and/or witnesses exigent circumstances that a crime is being committed right there in front of him, then he can act (see Terry v Ohio for more on that). BUT, there is legal precedent for dismissing a case based on a bad anonymous tip. Heck, you can't even stop a person for a search, according to Florida v JL on solely an anonymous top, let alone execute a search warrant.

Do I LIKE it that people who are probably doing horrible things to young girls might get away because some law enforcement types decided not to follow due process? NO. They need to be clean as preacher's sheets on these kind of things so some half assed lawyer can't do what I'm doing.

Also, what's up with all the anonymouoi? Give some kind of name, you know? Please. Do it for the children.