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Rights Violated?

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mimiy2k

Guest
I am a minority shareholder and officer of a corporation that has been existence for several years prior to my marriage this year. The primary office of the corporation is in our home. The computer equipment in that office belongs to the corporation which my husband has no interest in.

A couple of days ago, plain clothes detectives from the Sherrif's office (Southern Calif)showed up at our door, never presenting a warrant, and searched through my business computer files, hard drive, netscape bookmarks, online web visits, etc.

They did not seek my permission and I walked in in the middle of it.

This happened because years ago my husband was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ignorantly accepted a misdemeanor plea for something he was not involved in. He was in the house when his brother had consensual sex with a girl he thought was over 18 but who later turned out to be a runaway and minor.

His brother pled guilty to Rape of a Child and served time. My husband was threatened with all kinds of charges, although although he was not directly involved. Out of intimidation, he accepted a plea of "immoral communications with a minor" which was a
misdemeaner and "no big deal" he thought.

This happened in another state and there you do not have to registr as a sex offender after 10 years on a misdemeanor offense.

He found out that in california, where he now lives with me after marrying me, that Calif supposedly requires him to register as a sex
offender here although it was just a misdemeanor, was more than 10 years ago, and he no longer had to register in his home state (we are not even sure he was told the right thing about being required to register here).

Nonetheless, in his desire to comply with any laws, he did register here when he was advised he might be required to.

Unfortunately, since then, he began serving electronic home confinement in the meantime for an alcohol related offense. In the
paperwork he signed with Probation, he MAY have waived his rights to have a warrant served while on gome confinement (we are
checking on this).

Even if he DID, it is my presumption that this would not give law enforcement the right to search my corporation's computer (hard
drive, cache, email, bookmarks, web sites visited, document files, etc.), would it? Nor MY prvate files on the corporation's computer, or MY online activities?

I feel pretty sure that both MY right to privacy, and the corporations, and my Constitutionally protect rights as to search & seizure were VIOLATED when they came in and searched on my computer, in my gome office, without a warrant to ME or the
CORPORATION, without consent from either. (I walked in in the middle of this).

I had just awakened, was groggy, and unsure what was going on so I did not stop them (I was intimidated and did not want to make
them target my husband as uncooperative either).

He plainly told them it was MY office, my businesses computer, etc. -- and he never gave them permission either. They just helped
themselves.

Again, he *may* have waived his civil rights as to a warrant...but I never waived mine nor did the corporation.

They were clearly on a FISHING EXPEDITION for evidence of online ponography, but of course found none.

I am not even sure exactly what the CD they inserted into my hard drive did, or if they installed something. I was groggy and unsure of what was going on. And I was too intimidated to get into it with them.

Yet I have a fiduciary duty t protect the secrets of the corporation as a officer.

My husband signed a Pre-nup with me and owns no interest in the Corp directly or through my minority shares.

The detectives asked my husband if he had ACCESS to a computer and he told them he ocassionally played lottery games and such
on my business computer. Based on this, they helped themselves.

Can his waiver of a warrant (if it even exists) have the far-reaching effect of extending to property he has BORROWED which belongs to someone else without a warrant being served on that person/corporation?

I presume that this was a violation of my Constitutional rights as to unlawful search and seizure and the Corp's right to Privacy. Am I correct?

The detectives said they were here in the first place ONLY because my husband failed to re-registr within 5 days of his late April
birthday because he did not think he needed to re-register unless we moved to a new address.

They dd not EVEN KNOW he was on electronic home confinement or that he may have waived any rights when applying for this. So
when they started rummaging through the cabinents and the computer, without presenting a warrant, they did not know this.

He re-registered yesterday and asked to have a copy of the 41 numbered paragraphs he had to initial so that he could refer to them to
insure his compliance in the future with registration requirements. They REFUSED to give him a copy and told him he just as to
"remember them."

What can you tell me about the various legal issues raised hereinabove? I am interested in knowing from the Corporation's rights
viewpoint, my rights viewpoint, Civil Rights, my husbands rights, etc.

Only because I am looking for several viewpoints, I am posting this in a couple of different legal topics in this BBS (not SPAMMING!).

So, just answer within your specific area of law if that is easiest.

MANY thanks!!! :)
mimiy2k
 


ALawyer

Senior Member
Any answer would require an attorney to carefully review the papers he signed, what basis there was to enter and who said what to whom and when. If a warrant was required and not obtained, then any evidence illegally obtained could be supressed.

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This is intended as general information only and NOT LEGAL ADVICE. You are not my client, and I have no obligation of any kind to you. To retain a lawyer, go to http://AttorneyPages.com
 
M

mimiy2k

Guest
Thanks for the reply! :) However...

This question is *not* about my husband's rights, or "evidence" obtained.

It is a question about MY 4th Amendment rights...and those of the corporation...which are separate and distinct entities in law from my husband.

To boil it down, let's just say my husband *did* earlier waive his rights with respect to a warrat having to be served for Search & Seizure. The point of my question is: Can any waiver my husband signed lawfully EXTEND to me, his wife, and also to the Corporation and its property (remember, he has NO interest in the Corp and I am only a minority shareholder myself).

It is my feeling that my 4th Amendmet rights were probably violated along with the Right to Privacy of the corp.

This is not about evidence gathered (there is none)...it is about Constitutional Rights.

Hope this helps clarify!

:) Mimiy2k
 

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