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[XTCdriver]

   I doubt you had them labled "Pirated xbox games" so...

[barracuda]

[regulater7]

just talked to my parents, there getting a laywer tommorow, and for the games.. they where all in DVD CASES, that where printed all WHITE with the name of the game and "Xbox" in the corner.. also i had 2 origanals so they could tell they wernt real... its really obivous.. also some wernt labeld.. and it said DVDR with "itailan job" on it, they turned on my xbox and popped it in and it worked.. i dont even know if they could do that?? i said no you cant do any off this, but they kept saying it doesnt matter... so i never let them.. they just did.. man i hate cops.. atleast the ones with a power trip.. uhg....

[bigshooter13]

Very interesting story you have going on here. Hell, maybe Kevin Rose himself could help ya out! That would be pretty bitchin. But listen to what these guys are telling you. It all sounds like good advice to me.  Please keep us posted on what is going on. I'm very curious to see how this turns out.

Good luck to you!

[assmonkey]

he full of shit
he's just trying to scare you(to see if your hiding the real goods)
it the Fbi job to take your back ups,not your local cop

[SKoT]

Ok, i know this for a fact

THEY cannot prosecute you for anything they found in your house that was not listed in the warrant, you could be growing marijuana in your bedroom, have bomb building books out with a lead box with plutonium lableled on it and they could just look they can look thorugh your drawers but seriously get alml ur shit out of your house having to do with ur pirating, even taking a magnet to this PC HD tomorrow cuz if they do happen to get a warrant really fast and come tomorrow morning just hand whatever they have a warrant for to them, be polite and honor any requests they have (reasonably) get a good Lawyer dont cheap out, and even video tape what the cops do every second they r on ur property and show to ur lawyer, if and when u show up in court, be VERY respectable, dress very nicely and always end your sentences with "your honor" when talking to judge, look the judge and prosecutor in the eye when talking dont look at the floor or figit, talk with confidence and explain everything that happened, ud be suprised what little details can throw ur case right out of court.

That's all i can think of right now, I feel reallly bad for you and really hope u'll get aquitted, but a very important thing to do is eliminate anything that can incriminate yourself and talk to your lawyer about where you should go from there.

Good Luck man

SKoT

[fezzman]

Any time that you are talking to the cops MAKE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you are aware of your body language.

1.  ALWAYS look them dead in the eye.  Theoretically a liar will shift his eyes to the side (left I believe).

2.  Keep your hands on the table of your lap.  Perhaps even hold your own hands.  Again, theoretically a liar rubs his hands on his legs or is just figity.  Crossing your arms over your chest is just like saying "I don't care" or "I'm not listening."

3.  Do not say, "Um...." excessivly.  That incinuates that you are "searching" for a lie.

4.  Keep your feet firmly planted.  If standing, stand straight and do not shift your weight from leg to leg.

5.  NEVER answer a question with a question.

Cops are trained to read body language.  If they sense that you aren't being 100% with them then they will just push harder and harder until they hear what they want to.

Also, research your lawyer first.  I work very closely with the courts and lawyers and can tell you first hand that half of them aren't competent enough to practice.  I've seen far too many cases drag on simply because of a bad atty.

Hope this helps you out.

[alwaysonjohn]

well, let the truth be told...

First off, like others said, this is a FEDERAL offense.

Second Off, federal cases have a minumum ammount of damages at 50,000 so unless you were selling the games to friends or over the internet, you are okay... if you were selling them then the companies can claim damages of up to 15,000 a game making your total over the 50,000 mark therefore being able to make this an actual case...

[Rohaq]

QUOTE (savagegerbil @ Oct 12 2003, 11:31 AM)

Your not going to prison

Agreed, but a fine would probably be in order.

Legally, they were not allowed to take anything away that isn't on the warrant unless you say they can, I think. It wouldn't surprise me if they took the items for their own use, or to sell on. There are some crooked cops out there who do this.

[regulater7]

)..

uhg.. im starting to worry... oh and by the way, i said nothing to the cop, i said ok, and u will be hearing from my laywer, bye. (same with the school)
so i will try to post on what happens tommorow... in a senior, if i get exspelled and dont gradute this year with my friends... thats going to be VERY VERY upsetting depressing w/e u want ot call it... i cant not graduate.......... uhg.. i know i can finish later, but i dont want to.. i will if thats what i need to do... but MAN!! god!

[acidskater]

hey man ive been going through legal troubles for a while now and first of all if they tell u they got u on tape video anything there lying(my mistake) second theres no way they can suspend u or expell u without reasonable cause if alls they have to go by is some stupid kids eyewitness denie it to the end and ull be good

[dmack_901]

All I have to say is if you didn't steal the parts don't confess to that. Your big problem is the backups. They can't pin the theft on you, one "i say so" isn't enought.  Also if you confess they will probably still charge you with the piracy. (unless you get it in writing that you will be pardoned / not charged / however they say it)

Just listen to your lawyer.

[SKoT]

ok i just read the fucking Constitution of the fucking united states, and i do quote directly from Amendment #4

    "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath and affrimation, and particulary describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

That CLEARY states they were NOT allowed to take those discs the first night they were there unless the warrant said they were looking for backups. Those backups they have now are still YOUR property and they had no right under law to take them and therefore CANNOT be used in the court of law, i know the cops dont care or any shit like that but the judge and jury will care, simply quote that sometime or to that effect and put a guilt trip on the judge and jury

and ALWAYS be respectable

hope this helps

SKoT

[bebrewer1]

well, what happened?  i hope you didn't confess to anything because if they would have really felt like they had evidence the cops and your school wouldn't have been begging you to confess, they would have just arrested you on the spot.

[Techmaster]

QUOTE (bebrewer1 @ Oct 14 2003, 03:31 PM)

well, what happened?  i hope you didn't confess to anything because if they would have really felt like they had evidence the cops and your school wouldn't have been begging you to confess, they would have just arrested you on the spot.

Well put.  This guy here has a point.  If they had true evidence against you, they would take you to court and use that evidence.  The fact is they only have word from an unreliable source, which makes you a "suspect".  To be able to take you to court for this, they are going to need more than one person saying "he did it!" or circumstantial evidence.  They will need hard evidence, such as finding the stolen goods in your possession (which they failed at), video tapes showing you committing the act (which if they had, that would give them their concrete evidence, and you would already be in court), or a confession.  Obviously, the last option is their only hope at pinning this on you, and that is why they are working so hard at getting it.  Do not give them what they want (a confession), or you will go down for the crime.

As for the software, that is a seperate problem, and they do have the concrete evidence against you, and the only way you might get off that is a technicality.  Even if they decide to go after you for that, as long as you simply POSSESS the software, and aren't distributing it, you will get a slap on the wrist and a relatively small fine.  (Which even that could possibly be avoided by actually going out and buying those games immediately, then you can go on the fact that they are backups of games you legally own)  The pirates that get big penalties are the ones that distribute (giving out copies, in person, or by uploading), and even worse for the ones that sell the stuff.

Honestly it's hard to do anything to the people that sell illegal copies, because it's not a big business in the US.  (way too easy to get caught)  Most of the people that do that are in Asia, where the laws aren't as strict about copyrights.  That's a different topic though, and won't help you here.

Main thing is, if you are innocent of the theft, then they don't have any concrete evidence against you, and it won't go anywhere in court.  Your lawyer basically has a strong enough hand in the law, that he can tell them "either shit, or get off the pot" meaning if they don't have the evidence they need to bring you before a grand jury, then they need to leave you alone, before it turns into harassment.  The lawyer can also get you back into school very quickly, because if they cannot prove you are guilty, then you can threaten to sue for impeding your education.  (this probably only holds true if it is a public school, which I assume is what you go to)

Like I said, the main thing you have to worry about is a possible fine for the piracy.  Other than that, you won't have a criminal record as you're a minor, and this ain't no capital crime.