[bchalfant]

The case:

Over the weekend of March 16-18 a friend and I were placed under arrest and served 2 days in the county jail for Open containers.

We were originally pulled over for failure to stop which was questionable because we stopped but apparently it wasn't for the 5 count and the officer pulled us over.

A field soberity test was given in which the officer stated that I passed. He then gave me two breath tests which both registered me having .04 and the legal limit being .08 in KS.

The officer if there were any open containers in the car and I said there were 2. He asked to search the car, I said yes. He found nothing but 2 open beer cans. He then arrested both me and my friend and took us to the county jail to be booked. But after placing us in hand cuffs he did not Mirandize my friend or I.

After 5 hours sitting in the holding cell I was finally booked and able to make my first call. My friend did not get processed for 12 1/2 hours. We also were informed that since our residences were in a different county than where we were arrested that we were unbondable and we were going to have to spend the night and wait the judge to show up the next day to review cases and set an appropriate bond.

Needless to say the judge never showed up or came in because no bond was issued the next day. We came into booking at 4:00 p.m. Friday afternoon and I was stripped searched, given a jump suit and placed in a Module in the county jail by 12:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

Finally Sunday we were released from jail at 2:00 p.m. on our own recognisance. We didn't pay have to pay a bond to get out.

Now what is really bothersome to my friend and I is the way we were treated and how bond was never set until Sunday almost 2 full days later. On top of it all neither me nor my friend have any priors on our record. This was the first time for both of us to be in jail or arrested. Something seems so wrong about this. The claimed we were a flight risk and that's why a bond was not issued that Friday night.

My question is first, does the county have any sort of case against us since we were never Mirandized, and second would we stand a chance winning a Civil case against the County for the gross mistreatment of our case and we as human beings. When in the Jail it was as if we had no rights. No one could call us, not our wife's or lawyers.

IF we can, we want to pursue a case if it is worth it not to prosper from this (we've already agreed anything we get out of this is being donated to a local charity) but to get the law changed so it doesn't happen to someone else that is just like we are.

We admitt we broke the law and believe are not arguing that we did nothing wrong, but it seems the treatment did not fit the crime.

Thanks for listening, we have both been changed by this experience not to mention scared poopless for this weekends ordeals.

Thanks again and any input would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Me

[Fr_Chuck]

Sorry you can try to lobby the law makers to change the law but the laws on bail and the amount of time you can be held without being charged, are very set by state statue.

Next of course you don't have to be read your rights to be arrested, I have no idea where that idea comes from, you only have to be read your rights before you are questioned ( minor questions at the scene of a traffic case does not meet that rule.

And since you were treated by standard rules, you have no cases what so ever on anything.

And in many places you would have just been held to Monday morning when the first appearance would have been done, ( the place I used to be a officer never had any first appearance, so anyone arrested on weekend was held till Monday.