Urgent: your help is needed to keep an innocent mother out of jail

[mad cow]

Prosecutor Drops Prison Threat Against Gun Owner Who Mistakenly Thought Her Pennsylvania Carry Permit Was Good in New Jersey
http://reason.com/blog/2014/09/24/prosecutor-drops-prison-threat-against-g





I wondered what a Pretrial Intervention Program was.



SMH

Excellent news!

Furthermore, Hoffman's memo should help similarly situated defendants. The Press says "the clarification also means McClain will now review other similar cases that have been denied PTI in the past."

Maybe it will help this guy.
http://gunssavelives.net/blog/reaso...irearms-through-nj-doing-3-5-years-in-prison/

 

[KCIndy]

Prosecutor Drops Prison Threat Against Gun Owner Who Mistakenly Thought Her Pennsylvania Carry Permit Was Good in New Jersey
http://reason.com/blog/2014/09/24/prosecutor-drops-prison-threat-against-g



I wondered what a Pretrial Intervention Program was.



SMH

Oh, you beat me to the post! That's what I get for being a slow typist!

Yeah, the PTI thing is still a big pile of BS considering no crime was committed. I would have preferred to see charges dropped all together. But it sure beats ten years in the state penitentiary with no hope of early release, which is what that idiot prosecutor was wanting.

 

[KCIndy]

Excellent news!


Maybe it will help this guy.
http://gunssavelives.net/blog/reaso...irearms-through-nj-doing-3-5-years-in-prison/

I'm familiar with the case. It's one of several that McClain has done that - in my opinion - is nothing except malicious prosecution by a sadistic prosecutor who seems to have a pathological hatred of anyone who owns a gun. In another case, a man with a carry permit in PA was taken to Atlantic City by his friends for a bachelor party. He didn't realize how insane NJ's gun laws were until McClain threw the book at him. Unlike Ms. Allen, this guy (if I remember right) took the plea and ended up doing three years in prison.

I'm hoping the state AG will push hard to release all these persons who are still incarcerated immediately.

 

[jjdoyle]

I thought I read in this thread that she was fired after getting arrested, but not sure if that was verified?

If so, is there any news on if she is going to get her job back?

 

[Anti Federalist]

I thought I read in this thread that she was fired after getting arrested, but not sure if that was verified?

If so, is there any news on if she is going to get her job back?

Yes, she was.

No news on the second question, but I would doubt it.

Corporate HR pukes take a pretty dim view of being arrested.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Will she lose her right to bear arms?

 

[KCIndy]

I thought I read in this thread that she was fired after getting arrested, but not sure if that was verified?

If so, is there any news on if she is going to get her job back?

Yes, she lost her job after her arrest. Apparently she was in jail for about five weeks before she managed to bail out. (I can't find the news article right now, but I'll post it here if I can look it up later.) I sincerely hope she'll get her job back, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

EDIT/UPDATE:

I found the article. According to this piece written by Radley Balko for the Washington Post, Shaneen spent 40 days in jail after her arrest before finally being able to be bailed out. The article doesn't say, but I wonder how high the bail is for the "crime" of carrying a weapon for self-defense. Probably a lot.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/22/shaneen-allen-race-and-gun-control/

 

[KCIndy]

Will she lose her right to bear arms?

Supposedly, the successful completion of PTI erases the charges, so I would guess the answer is that she'll be able to retain her right to bear arms:

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/crpti.htm

If a defendant successfully completes all the conditions of PTI, then the original charges are dismissed and there is no record of conviction.

Of course, after getting unjustly and unconstitutionally f*cked over as bad as she did (five weeks in jail, loss of job, unemployed for a year and threatened with a decade in prison) she may not want to have anything to do with concealed carry. And after getting burned that badly, I couldn't really blame her.

Also, she's not out of the woods yet. PTI sounds like it's basically like probation: (Thanks to Lucille for the PTI info link!)

What are the Conditions for Participation In Pretrial Intervention?

Supervision under the PTI program may average from one to three years. Certain standard conditions are imposed on those accepted into PTI, such as, random urine monitoring, and assessments for fees, penalties and fines. Additional conditions may also be imposed to require the performance of community service, payment of restitution, and submission to psychological and/or drug and alcohol evaluations with compliance to recommended treatment programs.

It's still a giant, steaming pile of BS.

 

[limequat]

A pat on the back for everyone in this thread. RPF may have been only a small part of the donations and heat put on McClain, but we certainly helped. Good job everyone!

 

[kahless]

A few days after a flurry of articles about Christie running for President met with many comments about this case. If Christie did not have Presidential aspirations I suspect she would likely still being facing jail time. This still reflects poorly on Christie and the prosecutor for allowing it to go on this long, not completely dismissing the case and no effort on Christie's part to change the NJ gun laws so this does not happen to people like Shaneen and others.

I hope every candidate running against these two scumbags remembers this.

 

[KCIndy]

A few days after a flurry of articles about Christie running for President met with many comments about this case. If Christie did not have Presidential aspirations I suspect she would likely still being facing jail time. This still reflects poorly on Christie and the prosecutor for allowing it to go on this long, not completely dismissing the case and no effort on Christie's part to change the NJ gun laws so this does not happen to people like Shaneen and others.

I hope every candidate running against these two scumbags remembers this.

You're right. According to the Reason article, the state's AG put some heat on McClain (the local prosecutor) and I'm guessing the state AG was probably pressured by Christie to tamp down the fuss.

I'm guessing the Ray Rice scandal probably didn't hurt, either.

But the bottom line is that the prosecution caved for PR reasons, NOT because anyone in particular realized how wrong the charges were in the first place. It's beyond disgusting.

 

[VoluntaryAmerican]

Happy news here

 

[acesfull]

Fuck NJ and their Unconstitutional Laws... The tyrants are now being exposed however until the NJ State Constitution starts to acknowledge that a second amendment even exist, this un justice will happen again...

My advise to Ms. Allen, stay in PA, keep your weapon to protect yourself and your family however stay away from NJ and their Draconian gun laws...

Regards

Acesfull

 

[Anti Federalist]

You're right. According to the Reason article, the state's AG put some heat on McClain (the local prosecutor) and I'm guessing the state AG was probably pressured by Christie to tamp down the fuss.

I'm guessing the Ray Rice scandal probably didn't hurt, either.

But the bottom line is that the prosecution caved for PR reasons, NOT because anyone in particular realized how wrong the charges were in the first place. It's beyond disgusting.

Quite right, it is...if anybody did realize it, from the asshole cop that arrested her all the way to the asshole governor, it never would have gotten to this point.

Shaneen Allen would be rotting in prison for the next few years if not for the fuss everybody kicked up.

Maybe there is some good to be had from SWOLDs after all.

 

[Mani]

Quite right, it is...if anybody did realize it, from the asshole cop that arrested her all the way to the asshole governor, it never would have gotten to this point.

Shaneen Allen would be rotting in prison for the next few years if not for the fuss everybody kicked up.

Maybe there is some good to be had from SWOLDs after all.

Petitions, billboards, making this go viral, phone calls, donations...Whatever it was...or the combination of...looks like it made a difference....



We need to remember that, the next time an innocent person is having their life ruined for no reason at all.

 

[ChristianAnarchist]

At least it's a victory of sorts. I don't know what the future holds but I'm afraid it's only going to get worse before we can hope for a turn around...

 

[osan]

Yes, she lost her job after her arrest. Apparently she was in jail for about five weeks before she managed to bail out. (I can't find the news article right now, but I'll post it here if I can look it up later.) I sincerely hope she'll get her job back, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

EDIT/UPDATE:

I found the article. According to this piece written by Radley Balko for the Washington Post, Shaneen spent 40 days in jail after her arrest before finally being able to be bailed out. The article doesn't say, but I wonder how high the bail is for the "crime" of carrying a weapon for self-defense. Probably a lot.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/22/shaneen-allen-race-and-gun-control/

In NJ if you're "OK" and a local, you will be released on your O.R.

The fact that she was out of state probably complicated things a bit. That she was arrested at all is the amazing part. I would also ask this: how is her arrest, as well as the policies and laws that lead to in accord with the notion of "full faith and credit" as per Article IV Section 1?

 

[kahless]

In NJ if you're "OK" and a local, you will be released on your O.R.

The fact that she was out of state probably complicated things a bit. That she was arrested at all is the amazing part. I would also ask this: how is her arrest, as well as the policies and laws that lead to in accord with the notion of "full faith and credit" as per Article IV Section 1?

Just wait to the Presidential race heats up to hear the news media campaign for Christie with their lies like he is an advocate of the 2nd amendment and leans Libertarian. After they cement that in the public psyche expect to see it in internet comments and hear it repeated back to you by the average Joe. Mind boggling.

 

[osan]

I wondered what a Pretrial Intervention Program was.

PTI is up to the discretion of the prosecutor. If said prosecutor is building a political portfolio, the chances of being given PTI in NJ are virtually zero, barring extraordinary countervailing influences coming to bear. Virtually all NJ prosecutors are building such portfolios. It's what they do over there. I must therefore conclude that the prosecutor in question must have been leaned upon with some less-than-subtle force.

If you are fortunate to get PTI and you keep your nose clean for a year, meaning NO contact with the law... not even a parking ticket, the charges are then DISMISSED. That way, there was never any crime, no trial, and no conviction of which to speak.

The problem, however, is that the NICS arrest record remains. At least, that was the case 20 years ago and I seriously doubt NJ legislators, guardians of human rights that they are, would have passed anything to improve upon that reality.

The ONLY good thing in NJ criminal law is that you are able to COMPLETELY expunge a record with 10 years of good behavior after lapse of sentence. What this means is that you can stand before a judge and under oath tell him that you have never been convicted of a felony without fear of contradiction in the records. As far as the state is concerned, upon expungement, the crime never happened.

Naturally, "elements" in the NJ legislature have been trying to dismantle the expungement provisions in their law for many years. In fact, by now they may even have succeeded for all I know.

NJ is a horrible place to live. Absolutely atrocious, though it still takes a back seat to dumps like MA, IL, NY, and CA. That, of course, is splitting the splits of splits of splits of hairs.

 

[KCIndy]

In NJ if you're "OK" and a local, you will be released on your O.R.

The fact that she was out of state probably complicated things a bit. That she was arrested at all is the amazing part. I would also ask this: how is her arrest, as well as the policies and laws that lead to in accord with the notion of "full faith and credit" as per Article IV Section 1?

Obviously, it's not. But when has the government ever abided by its own laws?