I have a question for the lawyers/LEO's

[JohnnieB]

P.S. She was not working in the capacity of CMT when the drugs went missing. She did not have access to the drug storage room when it happened.

Not a lawyer or LEO, but worked in hospitals for many years.

First and foremost - As everyone else has said - Lawyer up & Shut up. Let the lawyer do the talking.

Questions/Information to share with lawyer:

How do they know when the drugs went missing, might be a "bookkeeping error" - Has a thorough drug audit all the way back to the supplier inventory been done yet?

Who did have access when the drugs went missing? Don't forget that people working in Housekeeping, Maintenance, IT, Safety, Haz-Mat and other departments may have master keys and codes to all locks, as well as Former Employees.

In addition, question the physical security of the room itself. (IE: While studying blueprints to install an antenna array for a medical telemetry system, I discovered a med room with strong doors and pick resistant locks that was accessible via a dropped ceiling. The oversight was quickly corrected, but it had existed since the last remodeling, three years prior.)

Not wanting to badmouth LEO in general, but there are some bad apples amongst them that tend to get tunnel vision and about the only way anyone can prove themselves innocent is to solve the mystery for them.

Good Luck,
John

 

[charlie sherrill]

Short and simple. Lawyer up and shut up.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

We had some hats printed up years ago- They read "Criminal Defense Lawyer" on the front with the scales. On the back it read "Nobody talks-everybody walks"
I think if the Bar association ever found out who had them made up they would have sanctioned me..er him.

 

[smith revolver cop]

If I were she, I'd show up at the 2:00 tomorrow with my lawyer in tow, and ask them to repeat for the record everything they previously told her about the "evidence" against her, how she must submit to the polygraph, what happens after, etc. Then she and her lawyer can decide if the polygraph needs to happen. It's a lot easier to clear a case with a confession than to actually have to investigate it. Not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

+1. She's in a predicament where she needs a lawyer. The cops may be trying to bully her, or they may be acting in somewhat good faith, based on the "signed affidavits." But, a good lawyer can quickly poke holes in the signed affidavits- my guess is that one of those two people either committed the theft or is covering for whoever did. (I wonder if THEY took polygraphs???)

 

[Szumi]

We had some hats printed up years ago- They read "Criminal Defense Lawyer" on the front with the scales. On the back it read "Nobody talks-everybody walks"
I think if the Bar association ever found out who had them made up they would have sanctioned me..er him.

There is that story about the engineer about to be executed on a guillotine. They trip the thing, the blade doesn't come down and the engineer looks up and says, I see what your problem is.

Too much talking is like that.

I like that hat!

Szumi

 

[jimmyj]

A Polygraph Exam can show whatever the Polygraph Operator wishes it to show.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

+1. She's in a predicament where she needs a lawyer. The cops may be trying to bully her, or they may be acting in somewhat good faith, based on the "signed affidavits." But, a good lawyer can quickly poke holes in the signed affidavits- my guess is that one of those two people either committed the theft or is covering for whoever did. (I wonder if THEY took polygraphs???)

There are no two signed affidavits. That was a bluff. If there were affidavits, they would have already arrested her.

Almost everyone else has said "Lawyer up and shut up," so I won't repeat it. Oops, I guess I just did, sort of.

 

[VM]

.............so they told her she must be there by 2:00 PM tomorrow or face arrest. That don't sound right to me. They also said that if she fails the examination, she will be arrested on the spot.

I hope everything worked out. I'm sure I'm not the only one that is interested in update.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Oh, there might be signed affidavits. Those aren't hard to get. It's called "leaning on someone". There's always someone that did something and wants to make it go away. There's always a confidential informant that'll say whatever.

Is this a small town or something? Seems a lot of work for a non homicide, but then I might be jaded. (I'm used to places where homicides are only notable when the head isn't found, and then still never get solved. Shrug.)

You need to find a real criminal defense attorney. Depending on how the system works in your town, you might want need to bring someone in from out of town.

Anyway, lie detector tests are used to shake people up and leverage them. It's not exactly junk science, but there are reasons why it isn't allowed into evidence.

 

[mike4sigs]

I Vote for getting a lawyer
And if she has'nt lost her job yet she needs to start looking for a new one because it sounds like they r looking to hang her and what little i know (GF is H R person) unless she signed a paper they cant force her to take any type of lie detector and right now her employeer cant talk about her work file just except her attendance and job quality but IF (IF) they get a theft on her then they can talk about it!!

 

[bountyhunter]

Hey everyone,
I have a question to ask of any lawyers or LEO's that wish to chime in.
Here's the deal,
My daughter in law is a CNA and CMT. The health care facility where she is working has found that a box of morphine patches are missing. For some reason, they are pretty much accusing her of the crime. She took a UA a couple of days after it happened and passed it. No drugs in her system. Now almost a month later two people in the apartment complex where she lives, have signed affidavits saying she tried to sell these patches to them. The city police show up today and wanted her to come to the station to take a polygraph examination. She could not find a babysitter so they told her she must be there by 2:00 PM tomorrow or face arrest. That don't sound right to me. They also said that if she fails the examination, she will be arrested on the spot.
My question is, don't they have to serve a court order or something to demand a polygraph exam, or a summons? How can they arrest her without any physical evidence? I really don't think she would do something like this, and she still saying that she did not do it.
There are no cameras in the room where they keep the drugs, and if they were so sure that she did it, wouldn't they simply turn over the incriminating evidence and have her arrested?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all.
Gordon P.S. She was not working in the capacity of CMT
when the drugs went missing. She did not
have access to the drug storage room when
it happened. I am wondering if they can even force her to take the polygraph without a court order or some kind of real evidence.

No person can be forced to take a polygraph. They are trying to intimidate her into taking it.

Even if she fails the poly, it is inadmissable in court. However, testimony of witnesses who claim she tried to sell them the morphine is strong evidence and MIGHT be enough to support an arrest.

The DA is who decides if the case is strong enough for an arrest.

Always remember: it is legal for cops to lie and they do it all the time to try to bluff people into incriminating themselves. You should assume they are lying anytime their lips are moving. Get her a lawyer immediately, tell her not to speak to ANYONE about the case. If the cops start threatening arrest to try to get her to incriminate herself, have her refuse to open her mouth and tell them to talk to her lawyer.

 

[bountyhunter]

There is that story about the engineer about to be executed on a guillotine. They trip the thing, the blade doesn't come down and the engineer looks up and says, I see what your problem is.

Too much talking is like that.

I like that hat!

Szumi

As they say:

How does a fish get caught?

He has to open his mouth.

 

[narc766]

18 year and counting LEO here and I agree with evreybody about not taking the polygraph and you absolutely do not have to submit to it. The polygraph itself is not admissable in court but what happens is when the police give the pre-polygraph questions people often time admit to their crimes before the test is even given, and those admissions are admissable.

I am not so sure I would hire a lawyer just yet and would probably wait for charges to be filed. If they have enough probable cause they will file the charges whether you hire a lawyer or not. It does sound like they are fishing trying to get her to confess and without her confession they have nothing, so save your money and wait for the police to make their move.

 

[jlrhiner]

Well, how's it going for her?