Arrest record during immigration?

[cbbsas]

I guess I can see a situation where this guy is driving along, fighting and arguing with his GF, the police spot it and stop the car to see what's up. She's all hysterical and says "he assaulted me." Guy might have, or might not have, but probably whatever he did, he doesn't think it's a crime, or he thinks it was deserved on her part, like either she was acting up or it was mutual combat or it was just a standard fight for them. The police ask him to step out of the car, he goes crazy because he thinks they're racist and that the woman is lying. Before you know it, he's in the slammer, waiting on bail, with a story that this was all about racism and sexism.

Then, he pleads out on the resisting arrest because the prosecutor doesn't have a lot of faith in the woman qua witness, but they have him cold on chest or dash cam, and on his side there's a big risk of going to the jury - maybe he lives in Palm Beach or somewhere that a guy going crazy on the cops on video is very risky to bring to a jury. But it's after a review of the evidence at any rate.

But yeah, a guy pleading guilty might *feel* innocent, but the situation where a guy is "completely innocent" - ie. stone cold framed by the cops - like, I just don't believe that happens these days, and I don't believe that, in such a situation, anybody pleads guilty.

Ask yourself: if some American cops completely framed you, would you plead guilty to whatever they arbitrarily decided? No chance. It's just not something that happens. Trust me, we have a massive number of lawyers out there who live to take on cases like that. I'm sure OP tried to get one, and they said the same thing that his public defender did: yeah, you're guilty enough that you run the risk of being convicted if this goes to trial, so plead out.

The stories you fabricate on these forums are quite unsettling. Yes I might plead guilty, that can be the lesser evil in some circumstances. Take a day off trying to frame someone in an expat forum, Pierre.

 

[Pierre Smith]

I mean, thanks for the props on my storytelling skills, I'm glad you "follow" me. If you google around enough, however, or even just review my past posts carefully, you'll discover my qualifications and background. I'm thinking out loud with many of my posts, like most of us, but it's not like I'm even saying anything particularly controversial. I'm also, I think, significantly younger than many of the posters on here, so that when I post something, they may be primed to see it as an old crank spouting his opinion, instead of a guy in his mid-thirties, coldly analyzing.

Back to your post, though, I'll just remind you that the only three things I've posted on here that were remotely controversial:

1) this post;
2) the advice on taking a strongly adversarial posture viz. the wife that another forumer was divorcing; and
3) a lengthy discussion over several different fora/threads about my staunch opposition to the Trump Administration's changes to increase the cost of international trade.

In all three cases, the reason that I have the positions I have, as I've explained, is that I live in America's second most diverse state (after Hawaii), I'm a trial attorney working in an industry that is heavily reliant on the international movement of goods (and I'm also super knowledgeable about immigration law to the US, because of clinics and things I've volunteered for), I have a statistics/economics background prior to taking up law (including a spell at America's top shipping/importing company), and I'm a - not quite all that successful but definitely not giving up - entrepreneur trying to import/export stuff between the US and three South American countries.

I've said all of that before. Everything I post is colored by that - my biases are out there. The guy with the wife who left him - I'm a trial attorney, I go utterly bananas (or pretend to) so as to get the best result. The mail service issues - those changes cut/increase the cost of the movement of goods from Argentina (and elsewhere, but at any rate not just China) to the US, and decrease profits for small entrepreneurs. Here, this guy's issue with pretending that his domestics are because of some random racist cops framing him - that's just down to my knowledge of how ultra rare that situation is, as a guy who's literally a part of multiple attorney circles in California, where these things are very frequently discussed. Like, the idea of a cop saying "yeah, look, there's a black, let's stop him and frame him for a crime" - just doesn't happen, at least, not in any way that I've heard of, aside from ultra unreliable sources. Just don't believe it. But can definitely believe something more realistic/plausible, for instance, that a black dude gets more jail time than a white one, or that their bail is higher.

Like I said, I'm glad you "follow" me. But follow me better.

 

[FallenAngel]

All you can do is try. Some people may tell you to go the citizenship and pay big fees to a citizenship lawyer. I would advise against that. Many times lawyer promise outcomes that they cannot deliver. The truth is that it does not really matter what the law is. The only thing that matters is whether the federal judge likes you. And, he is not going to like a man with a huge arrest record no matter how long ago it was and like it or not being black won't help you in Argentina.

Having an arrest record is a very easy excuse for a judge to drag your case into permanent process where it never terminates as has happened to many of Bajo Ceros cases. Lawyers may tell you that after X years it doesn't matter. The truth is, the only thing that matters is what the judge thinks. In argentina the court is far more arbitrary than even the US.

So, I would advise you to get an immigration lawyer and try the immigration visa route. If you get denied, then you move on. Trying other routes will be a colossal waste of time. You can learn that lesson now or you can learn it after dropping $10k on lawyers fees.

 

[cbbsas]

That’s all well and fine but for me, the story telling format - when it’s someone else’s story that you’re trying to retell - is unsavoury. Rest assured I don’t follow you (and following you better is just... never going to happen), I just felt the same way on the ex wife post - they were in the same tone and both left me feeling a bit perturbed. I think it better at this point for the focus to be back on the OP and his original query but I don’t think the way that you reframed the OP’s situation, within this thread, with the limited information that we have, is at all fair.

 

[jbeas176]

middlepath i have lived in the US all my life. i travel alot and own property in BA. racism does exists in the south against blacks. and yes, you can be pulled over for skin color alone. and yes when put in that situation most plead out. arizona was very famous for pulling over latinos because of the color of there skin. sorry california has rodney king lets not forget. i think you might pay more in argentina but considering the cost of travel it might be worth it. good luck

 

[middlepath]

I guess I can see a situation where this guy is driving along, fighting and arguing with his GF, the police spot it and stop the car to see what's up. She's all hysterical and says "he assaulted me." Guy might have, or might not have, but probably whatever he did, he doesn't think it's a crime, or he thinks it was deserved on her part, like either she was acting up or it was mutual combat or it was just a standard fight for them. The police ask him to step out of the car, he goes crazy because he thinks they're racist and that the woman is lying. Before you know it, he's in the slammer, waiting on bail, with a story that this was all about racism and sexism.

Then, he pleads out on the resisting arrest because the prosecutor doesn't have a lot of faith in the woman qua witness, but they have him cold on chest or dash cam, and on his side there's a big risk of going to the jury - maybe he lives in Palm Beach or somewhere that a guy going crazy on the cops on video is very risky to bring to a jury. But it's after a review of the evidence at any rate.

But yeah, a guy pleading guilty might *feel* innocent, but the situation where a guy is "completely innocent" - ie. stone cold framed by the cops - like, I just don't believe that happens these days, and I don't believe that, in such a situation, anybody pleads guilty.

Ask yourself: if some American cops completely framed you, would you plead guilty to whatever they arbitrarily decided? No chance. It's just not something that happens. Trust me, we have a massive number of lawyers out there who live to take on cases like that. I'm sure OP tried to get one, and they said the same thing that his public defender did: yeah, you're guilty enough that you run the risk of being convicted if this goes to trial, so plead out.

If you live in Palm Beach, I'd love to take you out for a cigar and a good scotch (Lagavulin 16) next time I'm in Orlando and describe to you my life as a black man in the US. I believe in resolving differences over conversation (and cigars). I'll drive down and we can meet at whatever joint you have down there. Or we can meet at Corona in Orlando.

No one else was in the car with me, I'm not sure where you got the idea that this was a domestic dispute. Kind of speaks to your preconceived notions. I'm actually in the process of putting together a website that lists police violence against black people on a day by day basis for the past year, would you like to review it when I'm done? That way you can say, for example, on August 12th 2019, this innocent black person was murdered/arrested falsely/etc by the police.

I do believe you're racist, but I don't believe you're willfully so. I think it comes from a place of being handed so much that you've never had to struggle in life in any meaningful way, so for you life is very black and white, not gray. For example, just being white is an advantage. Being a man is an advantage. But I don't think you're capable of understanding that. So while you're intelligent, you're not very wise. Which is not your fault. Just like I wouldn't blame a poor person for not understanding how to become a millionaire by 65 by not drinking every Friday night but instead investing the money, I don't blame you for being incapable of some forms of compassion or gray-area thinking or the skills that you would have acquired had you suffered in your life.

 

[middlepath]

I mean, thanks for the props on my storytelling skills, I'm glad you "follow" me. If you google around enough, however, or even just review my past posts carefully, you'll discover my qualifications and background. I'm thinking out loud with many of my posts, like most of us, but it's not like I'm even saying anything particularly controversial. I'm also, I think, significantly younger than many of the posters on here, so that when I post something, they may be primed to see it as an old crank spouting his opinion, instead of a guy in his mid-thirties, coldly analyzing.

Back to your post, though, I'll just remind you that the only three things I've posted on here that were remotely controversial:

1) this post;
2) the advice on taking a strongly adversarial posture viz. the wife that another forumer was divorcing; and
3) a lengthy discussion over several different fora/threads about my staunch opposition to the Trump Administration's changes to increase the cost of international trade.

In all three cases, the reason that I have the positions I have, as I've explained, is that I live in America's second most diverse state (after Hawaii), I'm a trial attorney working in an industry that is heavily reliant on the international movement of goods (and I'm also super knowledgeable about immigration law to the US, because of clinics and things I've volunteered for), I have a statistics/economics background prior to taking up law (including a spell at America's top shipping/importing company), and I'm a - not quite all that successful but definitely not giving up - entrepreneur trying to import/export stuff between the US and three South American countries.

I've said all of that before. Everything I post is colored by that - my biases are out there. The guy with the wife who left him - I'm a trial attorney, I go utterly bananas (or pretend to) so as to get the best result. The mail service issues - those changes cut/increase the cost of the movement of goods from Argentina (and elsewhere, but at any rate not just China) to the US, and decrease profits for small entrepreneurs. Here, this guy's issue with pretending that his domestics are because of some random racist cops framing him - that's just down to my knowledge of how ultra rare that situation is, as a guy who's literally a part of multiple attorney circles in California, where these things are very frequently discussed. Like, the idea of a cop saying "yeah, look, there's a black, let's stop him and frame him for a crime" - just doesn't happen, at least, not in any way that I've heard of, aside from ultra unreliable sources. Just don't believe it. But can definitely believe something more realistic/plausible, for instance, that a black dude gets more jail time than a white one, or that their bail is higher.

Like I said, I'm glad you "follow" me. But follow me better.

Okay, okay, now I understand. You have a pride problem. You're in your mid-thirties? Life will take that out of you, I hope. People don't view you as you want them to view you with that pride problem, man. They view you as hostile, unapproachable, and not likable. I don't think you're more intelligent than anyone else because you use proper grammar and bullets for your ideas and other people don't use English grammar as well. I can see straight through it and it reeks of insecurity and daddy issues.

 

[Dougie]

Middlepath, you don't owe an explanation to anyone. I wouldn't waste your energy on him. That being said, I'm glad you did because I discovered a new scotch. Looks great.

Good luck with the immigration process.

 

[TWB103]

I'm touchy because for every year of my life in the US, I have had to listen to people like you who are ignorant to reality (in the true sense of the word, not the derogatory sense). You haven't lived a day as a person of color and you have no idea what you're talking about. It happens every day, all the time, in every city. Ferguson has more bench warrants than people, for example. A white cop killed an unarmed black man in handcuffs in Minneapolis. A white woman called the cops on a black birdwatcher. There has been a system of oppression since 1776 and people with your mindset continue that system.

Now that we have camera phones, people are just starting to realize that racism still exists in the US. Whether or not it's convenient for you to believe is not my problem. I realize this board has a right wing bias. My point wasn't to start debating the fine points of politics. I simply wanted information. The fact that we're discussing whether or not I'm innocent really, really bothers me. Am I touchy? Yes. You try hearing "You're so well-spoken, where are you from?" and "Blue lives matter, too!" or whatever variant your whole life and see how you feel. Please, do some research and read some statistics man. You're ignorant and it shows.

No doubt, as a black man, you've experienced racism and discrimination in the US. But how did you distinguish that your stated mistreatment was due to you being black?

I wouldnt say this forum is right wing biased. 50/50 at most.

 

[middlepath]

No doubt, as a black man, you've experienced racism and discrimination in the US. But how did you distinguish that your stated mistreatment was due to you being black?

I wouldnt say this forum is right wing biased. 50/50 at most.

Your question is incendiary and I decline to answer. I can see your intentions despite the docile words.