But They Didn't Read Me My Rights!: Myths, Oddities, and Lies About Our Legal System - Softcover

Cicchini, Michael D.; Kushner, Amy B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1616141662 ISBN 13: 9781616141660

Publisher: Prometheus, 2010

Synopsis

Much of what we think we know about the law is actually a myth or misconception. This book debunks many of those myths and misconceptions by providing an entertaining yet educational tour of our American legal system, including its many oddities. In the process, the book answers many interesting legal questions about some of our most important, fascinating, and surprising laws in an array of areas. For example, the police do not have to read you your rights when they arrest you; in fact, sometimes they can even interrogate you without reading you your rights. Moreover, you can be charged and convicted of drunk driving for just turning the ignition key, even if you never drive the car or start the engine! While some contracts do have to be in writing to be enforceable, most don't. The authors explain why. Written in a lively, appealing style, the book is composed of self-contained chapters, each addressing a distinct legal myth, oddity, question, or misconception. Select your favorite topic or enjoy the authors' witty and very informative discussion of the law cover-to-cover. Either way, you are assured of being entertained, enlightened, and surprised!

About this title

About the Author

Michael D. Cicchini, JD (Kenosha, WI), is a criminal defense attorney. Super Lawyers and Milwaukee Magazine named him among "the top lawyers" for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. He graduated summa cum laude from the Marquette University Law School, and has also published extensively on criminal and constitutional law, including articles in the Tennessee Law Review and the Arizona State Law Journal.

Amy B. Kushner, PhD (Kenosha, WI), is a lecturer in English at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Previously, she taught literature and composition at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she earned her doctorate in English literature. She is also a contributing author to 101 Horror Films, 101 Science Fiction Films, 101 Gangster Films, and 101 War Films.

Reviews

The law is never black and white, as Cicchini and Kushner prove in this entertaining look at common assumptions and misconceptions about the American justice system. Presented as a series of questions and answers, the book begins with attention-grabbing legal oddities (e.g., it's possible to be convicted of drunk driving without actually driving a car) and progresses through the particulars of contract law, taxation, and civil suits. Cicchini and Kushner, a criminal defense attorney and college English lecturer respectively, stress that the myriad state and federal laws are too vast to memorize; they are also almost always flexible, being applied to specific cases through legal reasoning. For example, it's possible to be convicted of multiple counts of the same crime, despite the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, provided there are multiple victims. While some of the questions border on ridiculous (Can the police tell when you're lying? Are public defenders 'real lawyers'?), the majority will intrigue the average reader accustomed to the television version of law and order, which emphasizes drama rather than legal precedent. (Apr.)
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

BUT THEY DIDN'T READ ME MY RIGHTS!

MYTHS, ODDITIES, AND LIES ABOUT OUR LEGAL SYSTEMBy MICHAEL D. CICCHINI AMY B. KUSHNER

Prometheus Books

Copyright © 2010 Michael D. Cicchini and Amy B. Kushner
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61614-166-0

Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................13DISCLAIMER—READ THIS FIRST!.............................................................................17Acknowledgments...............................................................................................191 Is it against the law to look at someone the wrong way?.....................................................232 Can you be convicted of drunk driving if you're not driving the car?........................................263 Can a professional fighter be charged with battery for winning a fight?.....................................294 Is marijuana legal?.........................................................................................325 Can you be convicted of bail jumping if you never leave the state?..........................................346 Can you be convicted of a crime for yelling in your own home?...............................................377 Can you be convicted of "carrying a concealed weapon" if your gun is not concealed?.........................418 Can you be convicted of "statutory rape" if the minor lied about his or her age?............................479 Is oral sex illegal?........................................................................................5010 Is it a crime to cheat on your spouse?.....................................................................5311 Is prostitution legal in Las Vegas?........................................................................5612 Do the police have to read you your rights when they arrest you?...........................................6113 Can the police search your car if you have an air freshener hanging on the mirror?.........................6514 Can the police tell when you are lying?....................................................................6915 Can the police lie to you when they interrogate you?.......................................................7316 Can the police search your home without a warrant?.........................................................7717 Can you make a citizen's arrest?...........................................................................8118 Since I'm innocent until proven guilty, will I still have to sit in jail before trial?.....................8719 Can a child be convicted of a crime?.......................................................................9020 If you accuse someone of a crime, can you later "drop the charges"?........................................9321 If you punch someone in a fight, are your hands considered dangerous weapons?..............................9722 Can hearsay be used against you in court?..................................................................10323 Does a speedy trial mean you'll get your trial within six months?..........................................10724 Can you be convicted of a crime for a mistake or an accident?..............................................11025 Can you be convicted of multiple crimes for a single act?..................................................11526 Can you be convicted of a crime without any evidence?......................................................11827 If a jury convicts you of a crime, can you appeal the verdict?.............................................12128 Can you beat your case by claiming you're insane?..........................................................12529 If you're charged with a crime, can you represent yourself in court?.......................................12930 Are public defenders "real lawyers"?.......................................................................13531 If you can't afford a lawyer, will the court appoint one for you?..........................................13932 Do contracts have to be in writing to be enforceable?......................................................14733 Will a contract be enforceable because it is in writing?...................................................15034 Can promises be enforced, even if they're not enforceable as contracts?....................................15335 Can a minor (under eighteen years old) enter into a contract?..............................................15636 Are disclaimers, or no-liability clauses, enforceable?.....................................................16037 Are there legal ways to get out of an otherwise enforceable contract?......................................16438 If you break up with your fiancé, can you keep the ring?..............................................17139 In a divorce, does the mother have an advantage over the father for child custody?.........................17440 In a divorce, can a "pre-nup" protect your assets from your ex-spouse?.....................................17741 Can the government order you to pay support for someone else's child?......................................18142 If you find lost or abandoned property, do you have to pay taxes on it?....................................18743 If you barter for goods or services, do you have to pay taxes?.............................................19044 Is it possible to lose your property through "adverse possession"?.........................................19545 Is it possible to use your neighbor's property without trespassing?........................................19846 Can you sue a restaurant if your coffee is too hot?........................................................20347 Can a burglar sue me if he gets injured on my property?....................................................20748 Can I be sued for helping someone during an emergency?.....................................................21049 People are spreading rumors about me—can I sue them for slander?.....................................21450 Do you have to go to law school to be a lawyer?............................................................21951 Do you have to pass the bar exam to be a lawyer?...........................................................22252 Do all lawyers go to trial?................................................................................22553 Is becoming a lawyer the road to riches?...................................................................228Afterword.....................................................................................................233Endnotes......................................................................................................235Index.........................................................................................................273About the Authors.............................................................................................275

Chapter One

Is it against the law to look at someone the wrong way?

Yes. It certainly can be. And not only might it be against the law, but it might also be considered criminal behavior for which you could wind up with probation, a hefty fine, a jail sentence (which is typically one year or less of incarceration), or, in some cases, even a lengthy prison sentence.

How can this possibly be? Well, it probably begins with our love of government. We love the concept of government so much that we have multiple layers of it. There is the federal government, the state governments, and then the multiple levels of local governments. On top of them, we have a slew of agencies and other governmental bodies, created by each and every level of government, that also have lawmaking authority. These laws consist of statutes, regulations, agency and court decisions, and ordinances, to name only a few. To be sure, we live in a legal maze.

For starters, then, every state government has a massive criminal code that prohibits many types of conduct, such as theft and drunk driving, for example. These criminal codes consist of hundreds, and sometimes a thousand or more, different crimes for which you can be prosecuted and punished. And as if these weren't enough, many of the lower levels of government within each state—such as the counties, cities, villages, and townships—create their own sets of laws called ordinances. Usually, these ordinances replicate the state's criminal code to a large extent, but sometimes they add even more prohibitions on our conduct.

So there may be a local ordinance in effect in your county, city, village, or township. This ordinance prohibits something called "mashing." If you are prosecuted for violating this ordinance, you could be convicted and could face a stiff forfeiture or fine. And if you can't pay, you could eventually receive a "commitment," which is a jail sentence for your failure to pay that fine. What is this ominous-sounding mashing from which our local communities need such vigorous protection? Hang on to your seats; here it is:

Mashing: no person shall improperly ogle—that is, to eye amorously or provocatively—any person of the opposite sex.

A close reading of this statute raises some interesting issues. First, what is a proper ogle as opposed to an improper ogle? If you properly eye a person amorously or provocatively, it's okay. But if you do so "improperly," it is against this particular law. And how do you know whether it's proper until you do it? Does this mean that only married people can ogle? And if so, how does one get married if he or she can't first ogle?

Second, why are gay men and lesbians excluded from this statute? If you eye someone of the same sex in an amorous or provocative manner, you're not violating the ordinance. The most likely explanation is that the government officials who dreamed up this law are somewhat sheltered and never even imagined that two people of the same sex could possibly ogle one another.

This law against mashing is not only on the books, but it actually gets used in prosecution. And the reality can get even worse. There is even a section in most states' criminal codes—the body of law that takes the form of a statute, rather than a noncriminal local ordinance—called disorderly conduct. It is criminal behavior to engage in disorderly conduct, and that crime is punishable with probation, jail time, or, if you have a prior criminal record, possibly even with prison time. Just what is this horrible disorderly conduct that simply has to be criminalized and punished? Here it is:

Disorderly Conduct: Whoever, in a public or private place, engages in indecent or otherwise disorderly conduct that tends to cause or provoke a disturbance is guilty of a misdemeanor crime.

This disorderly conduct statute has been used, countless times, to convict people for surprisingly minor behavior, including conduct in private places, such as in their own homes. And there is no need to prove that the conduct in question actually caused a disturbance; rather, if such conduct merely "tends to" cause a disturbance, that's enough to qualify as a crime.

So if someone was accused of ogling, an act that upset the person allegedly being ogled, the accused ogler could also be charged with disorderly conduct. How? Well, isn't improper ogling under the mashing ordinance also "indecent" conduct that "tends to cause or provoke a disturbance" under the criminal statute? It sure is. And you might even be convicted of both mashing and disorderly conduct for the same "criminal" act.

This disorderly conduct law is so vague and imprecise that it doesn't give us any notice of what specific conduct is considered criminal. For this reason, its constitutionality has been challenged many times but to no avail. The courts have fallen in love with this disorderly conduct statute, and it is here to stay.

But don't worry. If you don't have a prior criminal record, you might get away with a simple fine rather than jail time or probation, if in fact you are convicted of disorderly conduct.

So, the lesson is that we really need to watch whom we look at or how we appear to look at them these days. Either that, or maybe we should tell our government to stop making so many laws.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from BUT THEY DIDN'T READ ME MY RIGHTS!by MICHAEL D. CICCHINI AMY B. KUSHNER Copyright © 2010 by Michael D. Cicchini and Amy B. Kushner. Excerpted by permission of Prometheus Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1616141662
• ISBN 13: 9781616141660
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 275