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Civil lawsuit?

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tornsoul

New member
Is this a federal lawsuit? And if so what law did the police brake? And how much are the damages that they have caused me worth

I was incarcerated from 12-11-17 until 1-6-18 on 1-6-18 I had got out of jail on bond. My phone was in the possession the Police until after I had been sentenced on 2-5-18

I got my phone back from the Police on 2-5-18 at 2:25pm.
My phone was missing the sim card and had also been factory data reset on 1-3-18. Factory data reset erases all data on devices. Whoever did a factory data reset on my phone on 1-3-18 well it was in the possession of the Police erased evidence on my phone that was being used against me.

With all of that said I also had pictures of loved ones on my phone that can't be replaced along with evidence that I was using in a ongoing family court case that proved abuse. I also have all of the proof that my phone had been factory data reset well in the possession of the police and have a letter that my lawyer at the time sent for a preservation of evidence.
 


adjusterjack

Senior Member
1 - It's not federal.
2 - At best, small claims maybe.
3 - But you would first have to comply with your state's tort claims laws which likely require you to make a written claim within a short period of time. Ask your lawyer to look that up.
4 - Your damages may be limited to the cost of replacing the material.
5 - That you CAN'T replace the material is entirely on you. You should have had those photos and documents backed up and kept somewhere safe. It's not rocket science to transfer or copy photos and documents from your phone to a computer and then duplicate them to a backup drive and/or USB stick. It's so easy to lose a cell phone that not backing up your files defies common sense.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Is this a federal lawsuit? And if so what law did the police brake? And how much are the damages that they have caused me worth

I was incarcerated from 12-11-17 until 1-6-18 on 1-6-18 I had got out of jail on bond. My phone was in the possession the Police until after I had been sentenced on 2-5-18

I got my phone back from the Police on 2-5-18 at 2:25pm.
My phone was missing the sim card and had also been factory data reset on 1-3-18. Factory data reset erases all data on devices. Whoever did a factory data reset on my phone on 1-3-18 well it was in the possession of the Police erased evidence on my phone that was being used against me.

With all of that said I also had pictures of loved ones on my phone that can't be replaced along with evidence that I was using in a ongoing family court case that proved abuse. I also have all of the proof that my phone had been factory data reset well in the possession of the police and have a letter that my lawyer at the time sent for a preservation of evidence.
Did the police have a warrant to search your phone or to remove your SIM card? If not, they very well could be held accountable.
 

tornsoul

New member
What does your attorney say?
The lawer that represented me told me that I have a civil lawsuit but I'm having trouble finding what law the police broke so I can sue them. I can't afford a lawyer because I'm without a job and have very little money, I don't really want to let the police get away with something that they did wrong because it's a big deal that they erased evidence without a court order from the judge. If this was family law then I'd know what to do, I've researched family law on my own for 10 years in the state that I live in and I finally got custody of my son without even having a lawyer.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Yes they did, I even have a recording of the police officer admitting to erasing my phone
If when making a copy of your cell phone data for use as evidence in court, data from your cellphone was erased, it is possible a copy of your data still exists. It depends on when the data was erased.

It sounds like a mistake was made but mistakes do not always equal lawsuits.

You should speak with an attorney and discuss the loss of your data with him/her.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
I'm having trouble finding what law the police broke
You probably won't find one because it's a tort. A tort means somebody did you wrong either negligently or intentionally and caused you monetary damages for which you can be compensated.

Unfortunately, government agencies are generally immune to tort claims unless they allow them. Hence my earlier reference your state's tort claims act and the tort claim process that you would have to comply with before you can sue.

As for damages, if you could be successful at all, you'd probably be compensated for the cost of the sim card. I doubt if you would get any money for loss of documents and photos since it was a simple matter of safeguarding those files by backing them up separately. You failed to do that and contributed to your own loss.

Depending on your state, which you have failed to identify, your recording might, or might not, be illegal.
 

tornsoul

New member
If when making a copy of your cell phone data for use as evidence in court, data from your cellphone was erased, it is possible a copy of your data still exists. It depends on when the data was erased.

It sounds like a mistake was made but mistakes do not always equal lawsuits.

You should speak with an attorney and discuss the loss of your data with him/her.
The police didn't make a backup of the data on my phone, they were using text messages that were stored internally on my phone so when they erased my phone they erased the texts also. The police officer that erased my phone admitted they they erased it and they were very rude and mean about it.
You probably won't find one because it's a tort. A tort means somebody did you wrong either negligently or intentionally and caused you monetary damages for which you can be compensated.

Unfortunately, government agencies are generally immune to tort claims unless they allow them. Hence my earlier reference your state's tort claims act and the tort claim process that you would have to comply with before you can sue.

As for damages, if you could be successful at all, you'd probably be compensated for the cost of the sim card. I doubt if you would get any money for loss of documents and photos since it was a simple matter of safeguarding those files by backing them up separately. You failed to do that and contributed to your own loss.

Depending on your state, which you have failed to identify, your recording might, or might not, be illegal.
I'm in Michigan, I've found out that the recoding can be used
 

quincy

Senior Member
The police didn't make a backup of the data on my phone, they were using text messages that were stored internally on my phone so when they erased my phone they erased the texts also. The police officer that erased my phone admitted they they erased it and they were very rude and mean about it.

I'm in Michigan, I've found out that the recoding can be used
Here is a link to the Freedom of the Press Foundation with information and tips on what you can/should do, now that you know your personal information has been compromised:

https://freedom.press/training/mobile-security-for-activists-and-journalists/

The recommendations, and there are several, include getting a new SIM card and consulting with an attorney. Those are my recommendations as well. You might want to find an attorney well-versed in civil rights (perhaps contact Michigan's ACLU).

As a note and slightly off-topic: The Michigan State Police Department has been challenged in the past for police use of cell phone extraction devices and tracking devices.
 
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