The “game” demonstrates the challenges of proving your innocence.
The Los Angeles Times recently published an article on a police officer with a history of lying. To accompany that story, it included a “game” where participants are told that they have been arrested by a police officer who has been caught lying on an arrest report; he was suspended but kept his job, and his misconduct was kept secret. As you click through, you are asked to prove your innocence by showing that the officer has a history of lying — and soon see how difficult it is to do.
The concept is relatively simple: it illustrates through a “choose your own adventure” style game the challenges of navigating the legal system. In the game, you’re arrested by a police officer who lied — and you are truly innocent. Each step of the way, you are asked to make a decision about what to do, starting with filing what is known as a Pitchess motion.
A Pitchess motion is a legal document filed by your criminal defense lawyer Los Angeles, CA. In it, your attorney asks for evidence on a law enforcement officer’s misconduct, including the use of excessive force, racial profiling, coercing confessions or dishonesty in police reports. A criminal defense lawyer Los Angeles, CA will file a written motion with the court, including a description of the type of records or information that you are seeking as well as documents showing “good cause” for the records to be released to you. If the judge decides that you have shown good cause, then he or she will hold a private hearing to determine which records are relevant to your case.
This part of the “game” is illuminating for many people — because filing the Pitchess motion takes time, and even if you are successful, the judge may not release as much information as you want. As you go through the options, it is disheartening to see how difficult it can be to track down information, particularly if the witnesses to prior police misconduct (such as lying on a police report) do not want to talk). In many cases, the person who has been falsely accused is still sitting in jail, and may even lose their job, home or car. In this way, the game shows the real world implications of dishonest police officers — and why police misconduct should not be kept secret.
These situations can be frustrating, which is why it helps to have a dedicated criminal defense lawyer Los Angeles, CA by your side. We understand what it is like for our clients who are falsely accused of crimes — and we zealously advocate for each and every one of our clients. We work hard to make sure that our clients are treated fairly.
If you have been charged with a crime, you need a highly skilled criminal defense lawyer Los Angeles, CA to represent you. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
