Entrapment?

[eclipse]

I was a member in an adult newsgroup. Someone contacted me to see if I wanted to order some material. I asked several questions, and one of them was "is this material illegal?". The response was "NO". When I received this material, it turned out to be child pornography, or so the police say; I do not know for sure since they brought it to the door and immediately seized it. First, the search warrant they presented was not signed. Second, they began searching the house and demanding I tell them where other material was. Although I was not arrested, I was never given my rights or told I had the right to remain silent. They found no material except for what they brought to the door. It seems that the person who emailed me was a postal inspector working undercover. They are now charging me with possession with intent to distribute. This charge is stemming from the fact that they found (3) unused priority mail video boxes. Was this entrapment? Was it an illegal search?

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

No offense, but this is what happens when the libido interferes with the intellect.

Yup, I would say there were a whole bunch of constitutional violations, including entrapment (state law). See, they can do the scenario you mentioned, but the test for entrapment is whether you were actually going to commit the crime anyway (i.e. susceptible to it). You obviously seem not to be a child pornographer, but just merely into normal porn.

So.....no signed warrant, they barge in, etc etc.

I say you can easily get whatever charges against you dropped and attempt a civil suit against these people...only if you get an attorney (criminal defense).

Try attorneypages.com or call your state bar association and ask for lawyer referral.

Next time, just get your jollies off of cable! : - )

 

[eclipse]

I just had my preliminary hearing yesterday. They decided to drop the intent to distribute charge, but are pursuing the possession charge against me. I felt that everything pointed to entrapment, but the judge said that in his eyes there was none. I believe that I am being sent down the river for a crime that I did not commit. My lawyer made no promises to me, but did agree that it was entrapment. He is now recommending that I take a plea bargain and serve 1 year in jail! Why should I serve jail time for a crime I did not commit? HELP!!!