Attorney Arrested After Client Requests His Presence During Interrogation

[XLFD]

A few generations back, the police's heavy-handed tactics of interrogation led to a landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona that gave those that are accused of crimes very specific rights and mandatory notifications that are called Miranda rights, so that their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination can be tranlated to the suspect and practiced when a police interrogation happens. 

In the adjacent state of Nevada, an attorney, Steven Stubbs, was giving a group of motorcyclists a symposium on constitutional rights, when he was called out to aid a biker who was about to have his rights infringed by Las Vegas Police after a traffic stop.  The biker designated him as his counsel, the attorney assented, and when the police tried to question the biker outside the presence of the attorney, the attorney insisted on being present.  The police arrested him for obstructing a public officer. 

The video below catches the action just after the biker points at Stubbs and says "That's my lawyer".   Stubbs comes forward and asks if the man is being detained, which the police sergeant affirms, and notes it was for a traffic violation, and they want to question the biker.

 

 

In the video, Attorney Stubbs told the LVMPD Sergeant that he would be attending the questioning and the LVMPD Sergeant agreed and approved. Stubbs and the Sergeant had a brief discussion on the 5th Amendment Right to Counsel.

<--- Attorney Steven Stubbs.  A few minutes into the questioning, LVMPD Gang Task Force showed up and announces that it was now their investigation. LVMPD Gang Task Force Lieutenant Yatomi (P#6402) ordered Attorney Stubbs to leave so that LVMPD could question Stubbs’s client out of his presence. Attorney Stubbs refused to leave because of his client’s 5th Amendment Right to Counsel.  This was undoubtedly one of the rights he was giving a talk on that very day, in front of some of the witnesses to what happened next.  

LVMPD Gang Task Force Lieutenant Yatomi proceeds to arrest Attorney Stubbs for Obstructing a Public Officer. Attorney Stubbs was booked in the Clark County Detention Center and was released early the next morning. Attorney Stubbs has his first court date in March 2014 to face the charges. 

 

It seems fairly evident to those that respect the laws and the rights of individuals, that Lieutenant Yatomi is the one guilty of violating the law here, and hopefully that gets vindicated by Nevada courts.  Read more here.

[Willy]

It appears that the LVMPD officers are going to need some instructions regarding the law. I've often wondered how police officers can enforce laws when they are not legal experts. Attorneys must, on a regular basis, review the legal systems requirements and rulings to keep abreast of what the law says. The police are the designated enforcers of a large portion of those laws. How can we expect them to keep up with what is current let alone learn all the previous legislated laws they must enforce.

[XLFD]

What is more valuable to the community when training our law officers:  giving them a basic understanding of the rights of individuals and their duties as law enforcers to preserve those rights or giving them tactics and strategies on how to circumvent those rights and bypass their duties to the law/people?  Most would pick the former, but more and more governments are pushing their police forces to do the latter.  It's a troubling trend. 

[wildfire]

Well I wish we had our lawyer that would stick by our side and  not be bullied by the prosecutor, and  if the  lawyer we have was such a good lawyer and from them big city's  he wouldn't back down like he did n has n  its all because of  a lathe prosecutor told our lawyer something that scared him into allowing a bunch of bullcrap  from the prosecutor , that maybe our lawyer would lose his license or  the prosecutor lied  and of course we do believe this,  just so it looks good  for that court and prosecuting lawyer,  which i might say is an ass and the judge is  too old to be a judge, gosh  he listen's to what the prosecutor tells him to say, like he has no brain  of his own anymore and hes allowing false   lies in that court room and allowing the innocent people to go to prison and  allow to keep the guilty ones out all because OH THAT'S ANOTHER CASE,  which the judge and prosecuting lawyers will never look into, never, that town reminds me of a cult, were everybody is related in some shape or form  and  if your not part of the relation  then your F**** , and they that town does things to you  to get read of you in anyway they can. I'am for getting read of judge, n prosecuting lieing lawyers  that know things aren't right in the court systom , and FIRE all of them   and  then bring our case back in to show that we the people, our RIGHT and put the falsely accusers BEHIND BARS!!! them are the ones lieing because they ARE BEGIN COACHED BY SOMEONE IN THEIR FAMILY WHO IS CLOSE TO THEM, that lives with them.

[XLFD]

Wildfire,

I am familiar with the case you speak of, and I always worry about the wheels of justice when they run over the rights of those accused of crimes without allowing for all the exculpatory material that seems to be out there, using tactics that are criminal in and of themselves.

It should also be noted that the case of Lowell Fetters has just been plea-dealed, just before Thanksgiving.   You may remember him as the one who shot LPD Officer Dave Maltbie in the summer of 2012 on North Delia Street.  There has always been some inconsistencies in this particular case, a reluctance on the part of officials to release information, and a question as to what set this whole episode off.  Now that it has been settled for the most part, the records will become public and we can see better what made this Vietnam war hero react the way he did that day. 

[dowland]

Might be war hero, but I know for fact he repeatably beat his wife and police have been called many of times on him for domestic violence.

[XLFD]

The police were called often to their house for various shouting contests (I have went back a few years in getting FOIA requests of police reports on his past events) , but never has he had domestic violence on his wife.  He had an incident with one of his sons, more of an inter-generational power struggle, but no domestic violence on his wife.  If you know more, it isn't part of the record. 

[dowland]

They truth is not always in a police report, and yes I do know more. But I will leave it at that.

[XLFD]

On October 4, 2010, Lowell Fetters' wife went into the LPD with some concerns about her husband on her own initiative and was interviewed by Officer Steve Wietrzykowski.  She said "he has not physically harmed her, but has destroyed property."  A few more visits to the house by LPD since then get the same problems-- yelling and destroying property.

Those I have interviewed close to the matter, have indicated there was no physical abuse, and the two kept to their own space.  Dowland or anyone else, if you have proof otherwise, please share it with me in private or public. 

[wildfire]

Well I don't remember this case but their part about how cops n  not putting all informations is reports is very true,  just like the state cop  on frederick lewis's case  he did not put all the info  in the police report as it was said at the very begin of this case n  their were a bunch of stuff in it that was not said by Mr. Lewis at all  n things the cop twisted around n worded it not the same way, cops r  not the smartest  in a wood pile,  n they play their stupidness  out  n think no one will catch  them,  they all will some day.They need to get read of these jerks  n get some "REAL" COPS IN,  someone who will pertact like they r suppose to n not the  kind that will do brownie points for whoever just to get a free piece  of A**  or a under the table pay raise,  or   a day off but will write it in as your here n get paid for it story....They are all jerks in my book never just any of them they will back stab in  the back, n then what? you deside I already have for my part!!! jerks, jerks, jerks.

[wildfire]

Well them cops are stupid  just like the rest of them  n  they say they are to pretact, "ya right", who are they pertacting?  not none of us  they are pertacting their own kind ,  how often to you see  a lawyer at the seen of its client, well duh,  never but just to show how the justice systom is   their needs  to be new lawyers  or fix the muranda rights  n  help all the people who are lied to made to say things they should be made to say n all them cops thats ceoied people to say stuff needs to lose them police lisence for ever  n  go to jail / prison   for all their bull crap  n the people who are the accuser also needs to go to jail/prison  for as many yrs as the one they put away for something they never did n  if n  when they get out leave then  leave the accuser   in their longer, just because of laughing or  lip telling people what to say,  n  anybody else  whos in the bull crap systom  also