I had the great fortune the other day to read a response from the Attorney General’s office. It was a response to a Motion called a “Motion to Compel.”
You see, when defending life, liberty, or property from the government, which includes the right to life (say in death penalty cases) or liberty (such as if the government wants to throw you in jail for attempted murder) or property (such as taking a piece of property for government use), you’re entitled to what’s called due process under the law.
What this requires is that the government has to turn over what’s called all discoverable evidence (evidence that may or may not be beneficial to you). This means you are entitled to inspect any evidence collected at the scene of the crime or that may be used against you in a court of law.
Does the Bureau have to let you inspect the Car?
So, because a Bureau of Automotive Repair License Defense falls under both liberty and property (liberty to practice your chosen profession and property because a professional license is a property right under the law) the government must turn over all available evidence for inspection.
This includes the vehicle they sent in for the undercover run. It’s needed for inspection for a proper defense. I need to see how it was set up, I need to check the timing, PCV system, missing air pump, or whatever they claim the technician missed to determine if he in fact did do so. Just because the Bureau says so, doesn’t make it so.
It’s akin to the police saying, “The blood matched the defendant, trust me, it did – no, no, I’m not giving you the sample we used in our crime lab, just trust us.”
If you buy that, I have a bridge to sell you. It’s substantive and procedural due process; you have to give access to all discoverable evidence.
Part of the Bureau’s response was:
“Because of economic necessity, the BAR has a finite fleet of vehicles . . . [requiring the BAR to produce the vehicles for inspection] would effectively shut down the program. . . “
I couldn’t help but laugh at this statement. The Bureau of Automotive Repair crying poverty. That’s a new one.
I’ll share a little secret with you:
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/StateAgencyBudgets/1000/1111/spr.html
Scroll down and take look at Code 31 – the bureau’s line. Now look at the rest of the Bureaus – Dental, Cemetery, Telephone Medical Advice Bureau, etc. . . now look back at the BAR.
Notice a difference?
Oh, those numbers are in the thousands – so add “,000.00” to those numbers.
So the Bureau of Automotive Repair’s budget for this year is:
$166,249,000.00.
That’s $166 Million Dollars for anyone keeping score at home.
And they’re crying poverty for having to hold a vehicle for a few months for defense inspection.
I love it.
I’m sure that poverty line will do well in front of a judge;
“Your honor, we only have $166 million dollars this year, we can’t be expected to park a car for 6 months.”
I can’t wait for this conversation.
-William Ferreira