226 arrests so far for one man...

[TxPhantom]

Test

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[DRZinn]

If you're found with a screwdriver in your pocket, that is not PCT. If you're found with a screwdiver in your pocket while standing atop a trash can, beside a window of a house you do not own, at 0-dark-30, you CAN be charged with PCT. The officer making the charge will have to substantiate why he had probable cause to believe that you were attempting to commit a crime with this tool, as opposed to charitably making a home repair for a complete stranger in the wee hours of the night, in his arrest paperwork in order to get an indictment, and he will have to prove the same, beyond reasonable doubt, to a judge or jury in order to get a conviction.

I more or less knew that, but why not just charge me with attempted burglary, and make the screwdriver in my pocket part of the evidence supporting that charge? Charging me for the screwdriver itself offers waaaay too much leeway for abuse of the law by unscrupulous officers and/or prosecutors.

 

[Coronach]

Some jurisdictions, I'm sure, have a PCT-like component of the underlying offense. For example, 'attempt burglary' might be a 5th degree felony, where attempt burglary while in possession of tools is F-4. Other places have it as a separate offense.

Also, consider the example. He was standing on a trash can, next to a house, with a screwdriver in his pocket, at 4:30 AM. Attempt burglary? Common sense tells us "heck yes", but it will be difficult to get a conviction on that unless someone actually observes him prying on the window, or there is physical evidence of same. You have him dead-to-rights for trespass, but anything more is going to be difficult. Proving simple possession of a tool while engaged in criminal activity (the trespass) in someone else's yard, however, is relatively easy. It's even easier when you can articulate that you basically had an attempt burglary that you just couldn't quite take to trial and win.

This then raises the next question: if you cannot get him for attempt burglary, how can you think you'll get the elements for PCT out of the same set of facts? The answer is that you might not be able to do so, but the cops are sure gonna try. PCT is also a lot more palatable to a career criminal than attempt burglary, and charging him with that (either in addition to attempt burg or in lieu of) might yield an easier plea agreement.

Does that suck? Yes. Is it ideal? No. But that's the way the law is written and the way the court system works. Believe me, the cops don't like it any more than you do. We'd prefer to charge a guy with attempt burg and have it stick than take a PCT with a trespass and call it a day. That's like driving down the field and only getting to kick a field goal.

Mike

 

[cordex]

Charging me for the screwdriver itself offers waaaay too much leeway for abuse of the law by unscrupulous officers and/or prosecutors.

Agreed.

For a long time I've picked locks for fun. I own a couple sets of SouthOrd picks and still have the first one I ground myself in high school. I'm not great, but I can crack a typical door lock pretty easily and depending on the padlock I can sometimes break them in a matter of seconds. It's fun and challenging, and has even come in handy at home and at the office (swapping lock cores for cubicles and such).

So far, I haven't found any Indiana regulations on buglary tools and I've never had to explain the picks to an officer before, but somehow I don't think "Yeah, it's a hobby of mine." is going to cut it. I don't know if the picks are technically illegal to carry outside the home, but I know that if I'm ever caught transporting them there will likely be problems.

It's like so many other laws. If judiciously applied to bad people, it can be beneficial. If applied literally and evenly it has a huge potential for abuse.