Man accused of illegally towing ICE vehicle during raid found not guilty
  • 1032 points Into-Imagination

    The jury has spoken.

    And I like what they said.

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    323 points ExCivilian

    I wish this reporter would have done their job and explained the merits and issues presented in court to give us some idea of the jury’s possible reasoning. It’s not clear whether this was a technical victory or jury nullification.

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    280 points soylentgreenishere

    It's ABC 7. All their articles are kind of brief. This sub loves to hate on the LA Times like it's the devil incarnate, but it says:

    During the trial, the defense attorneys argued that the law enforcement vehicle was blocking the driveway to the complex and their client had moved it around the corner — just one block away. They said that the car was returned within 13 minutes.

    and

    Nunez’s attorneys, Deputy Federal Public Defenders Rebecca Harris and David Menninger, said they were pleased the jury exonerated their client.

    “We thank the jurors for their service as an essential backstop against prosecutorial overreach in our constitutional system,” they said in a statement to The Times.

    and

    The not guilty verdict is the latest in a string of trial losses in federal court cases tied to immigration arrests and protests. There have been three recent not guilty verdicts delivered to defendants accused of assaulting federal agents.

    A Times investigation in July found that the aggressive pursuit of federal charges against people protesting immigration enforcement in Southern California has led to weak cases being rejected numerous times by grand juries.

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    78 points BlinksTale

    Why did they only drive it around the corner? That seems so strange. I would not have blamed them for bringing it all the way to an impoundment lot just to make it clear that this was an illegal action and would not be tolerated. 

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    60 points ArchitectofExperienc

    I doubt an impound would have accepted it, sadly. I don't even think the private ones are allowed to take government fleet vehicles

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    24 points BlinksTale

    Do we have guidelines for what to do with illegally parked government vehicles then? Is it really just “move to nearest location to undo obstruction”?

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    23 points ArchitectofExperienc

    As I understand, government vehicles [Exempt plates] have to go to government lots, and 50/50 on whether they'd take an ICE vehicle

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    46 points OhighOent

    Hard to tell its an ICE vehicle when they slap an out of state plate on an unmarked vehicle.

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    1 points kyokans

    If it’s clearly marked as an ice vehicle, people will harass them.

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    30 points LadyTentacles

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    8 points RockmanMike

    Except I bet they're not legitimate government fleet vehicles by the way they're changing/installing fake plates. All govt fleet vehicles are properly registered and have govt plates. These thugs don't have them.

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    34 points Paladin_127

    The fact he just moved it around the corner is probably what led to the not guilty verdict. That way it just became an inconvenience to the federal agents rather than depriving them of their government owned vehicle.

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    2 points corneliusgansevoort

    If prosecutors had been reasonable and not ghoulish fascist fist-puppets they could have had a good shot at a simple "obstructing a federal investigation" or whatever but they they did what authoritarians do and tried to lie about it and make themselves the victims. Oh well good thing those Bozos suck at their jobs!

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    17 points Super_XIII

    It's pretty standard tow procedure, you grab the car then drive it a short distance away so that you are out of sight of the car owner, then you get out and properly strap the car in so it doesn't fall off or get damaged from the towing. You can't always do that at the start because the car owner will notice you and jump into the car, try to beat you up, shoot you, etc. better to put distance between you and them then get the car sorted out. Of course there were multiple ICE vehicles so the agent probably just got into another car and drove after the tow truck and got them when they stopped to strap the car in.

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    8 points AccomplishdAccomplce

    Honestly, the fact they did only move it around the corner is likely the main reason why they were found not guilty. It was smart on their behalf, created enough chaos and pushed their buttons, unfortunately did waste the Court's time but also set a precedent for what can be done in these cases which I think is good for all of us that are fighting this

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    1 points kyokans

    He didn’t want to legitimately tow the vehicle. He just wanted to mess with ice. The impound likely isn’t going to accept a government vehicle anyway.

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    -4 points Clausewitz1996

    The Feds weren't illegally parked. Officers aren't prohibited from blocking the entrance to a private lot during the conduct of an arrest.

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    0 points GreenHorror4252

    I wish this reporter would have done their job and explained the merits and issues presented in court to give us some idea of the jury’s possible reasoning. It’s not clear whether this was a technical victory or jury nullification.

    That can never be clear, because no jury will admit that they engaged in nullification. Jurors are not required to explain their reasoning and are encouraged not to talk to reporters.

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    10 points whomad1215

    Hippity hoppity this vehicle is now my property?

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    3 points mybotanyaccount

    Now lawyers have a case they can reference

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  • 358 points panda-rampage

    This is good news

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    69 points SardonicusR

    Good for him! I remember Trump aides boasting that they were going to put him away for years in federal prison. Failures, the whole pathetic lot of them.

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  • 193 points overitallofittoo

    Don't dodge jury duty!!

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    42 points XanatosINC

    This is a critical takeaway.

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  • 76 points gerrysaint33

    I’m curious, did the vehicle have CA Exempt plates? Also, looks like we just gotta take everything to trial against ice and this will be outcome. 👏🏼

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    61 points theshabz

    To jury trial specifically. Gotta take the decision out of the hands of the system and put it into the hands of the people. That's why juries matter.

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    8 points Original-Rush139

    The article says the lights were flashing but I don’t trust the article. 

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    16 points Homesick_Martian

    I can order red and blue flashing lights on Amazon for less than $20.

    Is that all I need to be allowed to park where I want?

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    2 points corneliusgansevoort

    Without a physical ID and a human face to match (or like a full color correct squad car or helicopter) I assume you are pretending to be a cop.

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    2 points Homesick_Martian

    Seems very reasonable- have you seen the roving squads of men in American cities you would assume to be pretending to be cops?

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    5 points Late_As_Sometimes

    No, and it might get you in trouble for impersonation of law enforcement.

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    2 points Homesick_Martian

    So what else would be needed to establish that my vehicle is a law enforcement vehicle?

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    -1 points Clausewitz1996

    Normally I've seen flashing lights in all the videos of ICE officers making arrests. In either case, there would have been dashcam footage or surveillance tape that the jury saw.

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  • 55 points Infinite-Penalty-736

    Fuck ice, fuck donnie trump.

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  • 27 points beefrights

    Hell yeah, felony for that was insane

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  • 9 points starlulz

    Jury nullification 😊

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  • 27 points falaffle_waffle

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    0 points BarelyContainedChaos

    he never nodded. why would you someone make this gif

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    3 points falaffle_waffle

    God damn it I just searched for the gif and clicked that one and posted it. I didn't realize he w never nodded.

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  • 26 points Professional_Two7663

    A huevo, me la pelan ICE.

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  • 26 points Granadafan

    The next president needs to pardon anyone convicted of standing up for the rights of people against Trumps Gestapo 

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  • 4 points Ok-Worry-8743

    Not all heroes wear capes

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    1 points strumthebuilding

    You don’t know that none of them wore capes

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  • 13 points Less_Tacos

    Good work jury folks.

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  • 4 points Boring_Park1178

    Good for him.

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  • 4 points snewchybewchies

    Google jury nullification 

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  • 3 points gerryduggan

    Add him to the END GAME portals scene.

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  • 5 points Ghitit

    This is great!

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  • 4 points Sleepwokesleepwoke

    Get them all 

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  • 2 points Original-Rush139

    Jury nullification FTW 🙌 

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  • 2 points HairyPairatestes

    I wonder how much he spent in paying a trial attorney to do a four day trial.

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    2 points Josh-Baskin

    He used public defenders. So probably $0.

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    2 points uzlonewolf

    Public defenders are not necessarily free. The court will tell you how much you are going to need to pay, though that could be $0 if your income is below the threshold (not sure what it is offhand).

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  • 1 points AutoModerator

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    parent
  • 1 points necrophagous_queen

    Blessings to this man 💕

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  • 1 points FlanneryODostoevsky

    Hilarious

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  • 1 points Fine_Ad_6181

    Hunting down the court transcript for this one has been difficult; anyone on here happen to have any access or info? I sense a comedic goldmine in this one lol

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  • 1 points Inevitable_Grand2040

    We all need to actually go to jury duty and be informed about jury nullification https://fija.org/library-and-resources/library/jury-nullification-faq/what-is-jury-nullification.html

    parent
  • 1 points OwnLime3744

    This article is lacking. How big was the parking lot being blocked? Was ICE impeding the right of individuals to access vehicles and parking? Was it Nunez' job to keep the right of way clear?

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  • 1 points DidelphisGinny

    Fuckin a skippy, Bobby Nunez! 🐸

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  • 0 points ElliotAlderson2024

    LA officially a rogue city.

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  • -1 points Own_Remove_1679

    lol, la.

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  • -8 points [deleted]

    [deleted]

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    8 points uzlonewolf

    Yes, yes, we must obey in advance or they might do the thing they're going to do anyway!

    parent root
    -2 points [deleted]

    [deleted]

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    6 points uzlonewolf

    Violent authoritarian thugs are NOT "on your side."

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  • -4 points htphong24

    Ok so next time if I see an ambulance with flashing lights on and blocking my driveway then I can tow it away? Anyone can buy a van and decorate it to make it look like am ambulance.

    parent
    1 points Organic-Travel-3185

    Good luck with the jury. You know that these scenarios differ wildly in the public eye. This is fallacious.

    parent root
  • -4 points pleasesayitaintsooo

    Disgraceful

    parent
  • -10 points ProposalMindless8524

    Did someone make you follow the rules?

    parent
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