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I believe in this guy's innocence. He'll have his day in court May 18th. Also, I hope he wins his judgment of $10M. Eight months in solitary confinement while the prosecution eff'd up? wow.
I always thought this guy appeared to be innocent from the beginning. I don't know what to think. Either he's won the lottery BIG TIME (including the possible $10M from the state if his lawsuit is successful) with the police / prosecutors really effing this one up, or he truly is innocent.
If there was any evidence of guilt at all, he'd be going to trial. I don't think anyone here "won the lottery"- after seven months in solitary confinement for a crime he didn't commit, plus getting his name & picture splattered all over the news, money can't fix him or make his life right. He won't get a penny unless he continues to fight & re-live this ordeal for months or years, & how much money would it take to get an honest man to live through that? Governer Duker needs to apologize & hold those responsible accountable for this.
If there was any evidence of guilt at all, he'd be going to trial. I don't think anyone here "won the lottery"- after seven months in solitary confinement for a crime he didn't commit, plus getting his name & picture splattered all over the news, money can't fix him or make his life right. He won't get a penny unless he continues to fight & re-live this ordeal for months or years, & how much money would it take to get an honest man to live through that? Governer Duker needs to apologize & hold those responsible accountable for this.
His attorneys have nothing except incentive to fight this. Expect some litigation and subsequent findings. On a contingency they could collect up to 40% of a hefty award. They're going to be all in on this. You don't get a multi million dollar suite all that often, especially in a conservative county like Maricopa where defense usually wins civil suits. But this is easily one of the more sympathetic situations I've heard of.
As for winning the lottery, sometimes people like revenge. I see it all the time, I don't do litigation but I do find myself involved in it quite a bit.
As for Gov Roscoe, expect a depo or two from his office done quietly.
I believe in this guy's innocence. He'll have his day in court May 18th. Also, I hope he wins his judgment of $10M. Eight months in solitary confinement while the prosecution eff'd up? wow.
That's the thing - the money won't come from the people who actually ran this guy over, it'll get added to our tax bills. We don't pay our prosecutor $10 million a year, because he isn't *worth* $10 million a year, but with him in office, we may as well have set $10 million in a barrel & lit it on fire, because that money is gone. It's not the first time & it won't be the last. Perhaps we could raise the salary to say $5 million a year, with the requirement that he not abuse innocent people & maybe the taxpayer would win for once.
His attorneys have nothing except incentive to fight this. Expect some litigation and subsequent findings. On a contingency they could collect up to 40% of a hefty award. They're going to be all in on this. You don't get a multi million dollar suite all that often, especially in a conservative county like Maricopa where defense usually wins civil suits. But this is easily one of the more sympathetic situations I've heard of.
As for winning the lottery, sometimes people like revenge. I see it all the time, I don't do litigation but I do find myself involved in it quite a bit.
As for Gov Roscoe, expect a depo or two from his office done quietly.
We, the taxpayers, have paid out millions and millions for Arpaio's antics. In any case, he will not see anything like what his claim is and he may get nothing at all. He has to prove there was no probable cause to arrest him and some egregious and illegal wrongdoing by the prosecutor not just a bad investigation. It's a tall order. Why people think that because you are arrested for something you did not do entitles you to money is beyond me. I guess many have no experience with the criminal "justice" system.
We, the taxpayers, have paid out millions and millions for Arpaio's antics. In any case, he will not see anything like what his claim is and he may get nothing at all. He has to prove there was no probable cause to arrest him and some egregious and illegal wrongdoing by the prosecutor not just a bad investigation. It's a tall order. Why people think that because you are arrested for something you did not do entitles you to money is beyond me. I guess many have no experience with the criminal "justice" system.
He'll get a settlement, just you watch and see. The now infamous tweet and all the grandstanding in front of the news is all he needs but I'm sure there's more on top of that.
This is almost exactly like the Atlanta case and he got paid rather well.
As for money fixing what damage was done? Nope, but it can take him to places in style to help him forget about it.
We, the taxpayers, have paid out millions and millions for Arpaio's antics. In any case, he will not see anything like what his claim is and he may get nothing at all. He has to prove there was no probable cause to arrest him and some egregious and illegal wrongdoing by the prosecutor not just a bad investigation. It's a tall order. Why people think that because you are arrested for something you did not do entitles you to money is beyond me. I guess many have no experience with the criminal "justice" system.
A lot of this is tort action (especially the damages) not criminal/civil rights actions. He doesn't have to prove the probable cause for a lot of what he is claiming. And entitle isn't a word I'd use, lawsuits are difficult. But what happened here is particularly egregious, the facts are symnpathetic, and often in cases like this, that aren't settled, a judge will find ways to make things "better." His attorneys will tack on a lot of tort claims that include a good amount of discretion. In short, he has a good chance at getting paid.
False Imprisonment
-Under Arizona law, “false arrest” is a species of false imprisonment and consists of a detention of a person without his consent and without lawful authority.
-If the arrest or imprisonment of an individual has occurred pursuant to valid legal process, the fact that the action was procured maliciously and without probable cause does not constitute false arrest or false imprisonment under Arizona law; the proper remedy under such circumstances is an action for malicious prosecution.
Malicious Prosecution In order to prevail on a claim of malicious prosecution, a plaintiff must show that the defendants prosecuted him with malice and without probable cause, and that they did so for the purpose of denying him equal protection or another specific constitutional right.
-Under Arizona law, the elements of a malicious prosecution claim are: (1) a criminal prosecution, (2) that terminates in favor of the plaintiff, (3) with the defendants as prosecutors, (4) actuated by malice, (5) without probable cause, and (6) causing damages.
Libel/Slander (RE: Ducey's Tweet).
1) In order to state a claim for defamation under Arizona law, a plaintiff must allege that (1) the defendant made a false statement; (2) the statement was published or communicated to someone other than plaintiff; and (3) the statement tends to harm plaintiff's reputation.
-Statements of rhetorical hyperbole are not actionable as defamation, as the law provides no redress for harsh name–calling; only statements which may be reasonably interpreted as factual assertions, not simply statements of opinion, are actionable as defamation. -Where an allegedly defamatory statement could reasonably be construed as either fact or opinion, the issue should be resolved by a jury.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (RE: Holding him for 8 months w/o sufficient evidence)
1) To state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress under Arizona law, the plaintiff must satisfy three elements: (1), the conduct by the defendant must be extreme and outrageous, (2), the defendant must either intend to cause emotional distress or recklessly disregard the near certainty that such distress will result from his conduct, and (3), severe emotional distress must indeed occur as a result of defendant's conduct.
Abuse of Process (RE: the claim that they were just looking to quiet public fears)
Under Arizona law, the elements of an abuse of process claim are: (1) a willful act in the use of judicial process (2) for an ulterior purpose not proper in the regular conduct of proceedings.
Deprivation of Constitutional Rights
To state a claim for a violation of § 1983 the plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law
-42 USC 1983:Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable.
I'm sure there are plenty of others, but I'm guessing these are going to be at least included in the complaint. I can't find the actual service on the internet so I'm not sure exactly what the claims are going to be, and journalists do a bad job describing lawsuits.
You'll notice that a few of these tort actions are decided as a matter of fact instead of law (i.e. a Jury decides it). This is where the facts will be sympathetic to the injustice that Mr. Merritt faced and his reputational damage as a serial shooter on one of, if not the most, busy interstate thoroughfares in the nation.
Arpaio is different than what I was describing, Maricopa County pays out very little to aggrieved Plaintiffs compared to say, Pima County.
Last edited by JGMotorsport64; 04-23-2016 at 08:37 AM..
A lot of this is tort action no longer criminal/civil rights actions. He doesn't have to prove the probable cause for a lot of what he is claiming. And entitle isn't a word I'd use, lawsuits are difficult. But what happened here is particularly egregious, the facts are symnpathetic, and often in cases like this, that aren't settled, a judge will find ways to make things "better." His attorneys will tack on a lot of tort claims that include a good amount of discretion. In short, he has a good chance at getting paid.
False Imprisonment
-Under Arizona law, “false arrest” is a species of false imprisonment and consists of a detention of a person without his consent and without lawful authority.
-If the arrest or imprisonment of an individual has occurred pursuant to valid legal process, the fact that the action was procured maliciously and without probable cause does not constitute false arrest or false imprisonment under Arizona law; the proper remedy under such circumstances is an action for malicious prosecution.
Malicious Prosecution In order to prevail on a claim of malicious prosecution, a plaintiff must show that the defendants prosecuted him with malice and without probable cause, and that they did so for the purpose of denying him equal protection or another specific constitutional right.
-Under Arizona law, the elements of a malicious prosecution claim are: (1) a criminal prosecution, (2) that terminates in favor of the plaintiff, (3) with the defendants as prosecutors, (4) actuated by malice, (5) without probable cause, and (6) causing damages.
Libel/Slander (RE: Ducey's Tweet).
1) In order to state a claim for defamation under Arizona law, a plaintiff must allege that (1) the defendant made a false statement; (2) the statement was published or communicated to someone other than plaintiff; and (3) the statement tends to harm plaintiff's reputation.
-Statements of rhetorical hyperbole are not actionable as defamation, as the law provides no redress for harsh name–calling; only statements which may be reasonably interpreted as factual assertions, not simply statements of opinion, are actionable as defamation. -Where an allegedly defamatory statement could reasonably be construed as either fact or opinion, the issue should be resolved by a jury.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (RE: Holding him for 8 months w/o sufficient evidence)
1) To state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress under Arizona law, the plaintiff must satisfy three elements: (1), the conduct by the defendant must be extreme and outrageous, (2), the defendant must either intend to cause emotional distress or recklessly disregard the near certainty that such distress will result from his conduct, and (3), severe emotional distress must indeed occur as a result of defendant's conduct.
Abuse of Process (RE: the claim that they were just looking to quiet public fears)
Under Arizona law, the elements of an abuse of process claim are: (1) a willful act in the use of judicial process (2) for an ulterior purpose not proper in the regular conduct of proceedings.
Deprivation of Constitutional Rights
To state a claim for a violation of § 1983 the plaintiff must allege the violation of a right secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law
-42 USC 1983:Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable.
I'm sure there are plenty of others, but I'm guessing these are going to be at least included in the complaint. I can't find the actual service on the internet so I'm not sure exactly what the claims are going to be, and journalists do a bad job describing lawsuits.
You'll notice that a few of these tort actions are decided as a matter of fact instead of law (i.e. a Jury decides it). This is where the facts will be sympathetic to the injustice that Mr. Merritt faced and his reputational damage as a serial shooter on one of, if not the most, busy interstate thoroughfares in the nation.
Arpaio is different than what I was describing, Maricopa County pays out very little to aggrieved Plaintiffs compared to say, Pima County.
Baloney. I see nothing that rises to the level of malicious prosecution in this case. Other than the press coverage, he is no different than dozens of others who have been arrested, held with bonds they can't meet, lost jobs, lost their reputations and then had cases dismissed for lack of evidence. It happens every day of every year in Maricopa County.
Baloney. I see nothing that rises to the level of malicious prosecution in this case. Other than the press coverage, he is no different than dozens of others who have been arrested, held with bonds they can't meet, lost jobs, lost their reputations and then had cases dismissed for lack of evidence. It happens every day of every year in Maricopa County.
The Press Releases and actions by our dear leader are why I think he's going to get some sort of settlement under the tort actions. Sheriff Joe has lost for less in the form of his constant grandstanding over certain matters. His grandstanding through local media press releases have constituted libel in the past, I don't see how a Governor's tweet and national reaction wouldn't do the same if not more.
This could have played out like you're saying, but I don't think it will. I think the publicity and the reputational harm are greater than they would be in a run of the mill case. This is not a run of the mill case.
As for Malicious Prosecution, you could be right, you could be wrong, it's all in the framing by his attorneys and how they choose to pursue their theory. With some actual evidence, I have no doubt they could frame something compelling. The press is going to eat it up which is a huge leverage for the defendant. In certain, sympathetic situations, it is unusual for judges and juries to make things fit as they "should."
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