Just as I had predicted, the public intoxication charges against Mindy Montford were dismissed this week.

"It started last June when police pulled over her friend for allegedly driving drunk and the exchange was caught on an officer's dash cam.“My friend is an attorney," the driver said. Then the officer says "Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am -- I’m advising you to go back to the car.”

After seeing this type of abuse of power on many occasions, it is not surprising to see an officer make a wrongful arrest simply because his authority is being questioned, or because someone flunks the "attitude test". However, as I previously mentioned, what makes Mindy's arrest especially offensive and egregious to me is that it was done in retaliation after she was asked by her friend to provide legal advice.

I don't mean to over-dramatize this unfortunate incident, but as I watched the video of the officer trying to silence Mindy, I couldn't help but think of the universal struggle between rule of law and a police state. The hallmark of totalitarian regimes is absolute control and an immediate silencing of anyone who dares to question authority. Criminal defense lawyers, who act as one of the only checks on police power, are society's best defense against a police state. As Justice Stevens once eloquently stated "the function of the independent lawyer . . . is a guardian of our freedom."

But this is not the end of the story for Mindy Montford. She’s filing a complaint with the city's Office of Police Monitor. Montford says it’s her duty to make sure no citizen goes through what she calls a “wrongful arrest”.

Good, I'm glad that Mindy has the courage to take this one step further and pursue what is clearly an abuse of power. Because just like any other public servant, police officers must be held accountable. Plus, if someone like Mindy doesn't do this then who will? We all know that this kind of thing happens routinely to the powerless who never will make it on the news and who never will complain.

As criminal defense lawyers, we all have a duty to stand up for people and call out abuses of power when we see them.

Labels: abuse of power, APD, mindy montford, the role of defense attorneys

posted by Kristin Etter   permalink   0 Comments