Will my case get dismissed due to officer misconduct?

I haven’t written a blog in a while but I was prompted to do so recently because I am seeing a pattern of similar questions asked of me or expectations by defendants in a criminal case.

Will you “win” your case by a dismissal or other means if the arresting officer was forceful or rude?

The officer’s are bound by the laws of the United States just like you and me are as civilians. Officers are more restricted than civilians when it comes to investigating a crime and must follow certain procedures. Those legal procedures must be followed. Some of those legal procedures involve things like consent or warrants. There is nothing in the law that says the officer has to be nice to you. Being professional is an administrative or departmental policy issue. They could be disciplined for treating you a certain way and go on his or her “permanent record” but it still doesn’t negate the fact that you may or may not have committed a crime.

One of the reasons the officer’s are not so “nice” is because they have a job to do while staying safe. Officer safety is their number one priority while investigating. If you respect that you will get a nicer officer. A nice officer can also be dangerous to your case because he or she will be able to manipulate information from you without you even knowing it. General rule, don’t speak to police officer’s if you are worried about incriminating yourself.

So legal procedures are different from policy procedures. If your case goes to a jury then that officer’s behavior can be judged and may make an impact on their decision.