[Oatka]

The cops and the state were so intent on proving the guy was drunk, they forgot to worry about whether it was any of their business , or what they were doing to prove it.
We found him not guilty faster than it took them to reassemble the court to read our verdict.

Other than finding the guy not guilty, is there anything the jury could recommend on penalizing the police? Seems to me that they can pull anything like this and the worst than can happen to them is to have their "criminal" found not guilty.

IMO, we need something like "Not Guilty, With Prejudice" (against the authorities). i.e. Paying of defendant's legal fees, automatic fine, loss of rank or outright termination for the officer(s), plus automatic fines levied against the PD. A couple of findings like that and these types of abuses would evaporate.

[papertyger]

IMO, we need something like "Not Guilty, With Prejudice" (against the authorities). i.e. Paying of defendant's legal fees, automatic fine, loss of rank or outright termination for the officer(s), plus automatic fines levied against the PD.

Tell me about it!

I would have liked nothing better than to have been able to ask some questions of the police testifying.

Quick example: the cops said they were out of their area because they smelled smoke and were looking for a fire.

if you know anything about this part of Florida, there's damn near ALWAYS something burning between April and September! Saying you smelled smoke in a Florida summer is like saying it was warm out.