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Considering how many of us had legal problems in the past, and want to avoid them in the future. The main way to avoid legal issues is to not break the law. Pretty easy thing to do. However, what do you do if you are questioned by police or social workers? What if their questions are invasive or their tone turns hostile? Do you have to talk to them at all? What if they come to your home? Do you have to let them in?



First off, read the Bill of Rights, get familiar with it. You should understand your rights as this is your first tool to use against harassment. The First Amendment makes it very clear that you have a right to speak your mind even if those thoughts may be considered obscene by some or offensive by others. You have a right to practice your religious beliefs, regardless of whether or not Billy Bob next-door happens to like it or not. Even though you have these rights, there are some out there who will try to violate them because they don’t believe that those rights cover you. Unfortunately, some of those idiots who will attempt to violate your rights are police. Most cops are great people who do their jobs well, however there will always be those few bad apples.



So first things first, the police knock at your door. What do you do? Do you have to let them in your house? No, you do not, unless they have a search warrant. If they asked to enter your home, asked to see a search warrant. The police may threaten to go get one and say that it's not a problem to do so, you shrug your shoulders and say “See when you bring it”. If the police show up with a search warrant, asked to see it. The search warrant must be specific in stating what it is the police are searching for. No matter what, keep a copy of the search warrant for your attorney.



Now let's say that the police decide they want to question you. Do you have to talk to them? If you have ever watched any cop show, you will be familiar with the term “Miranda warning”. It sounds like “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning, if you wish. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements.” In other words you have a right to remain silent, use it! Just tell the police you have nothing to say. If they pressure you on the issue, tell them you have nothing to say without an attorney present. If you do say anything, the police can take it; twist it around to say anything they want to. If you feel like you do need to speak with the police, go to a public place, and if possible bring some sort of a tape recorder or digital voice recorder. This will be able to help your attorney in the future, if needed. Do not go with the police down to the police station. If they suggest this, ask "am I under arrest?” If the answer is no, then don't go.



No matter what, at any time during questioning, you have a right to stop answering. If the police become rude or disrespectful to you or your beliefs, you can stop all questioning and leave. If they tell you that you have to stay, ask them (again) if you are under arrest. This is another reason you want to do this in public, they don’t want to be seen as violating your rights where all the camera phones will be recording.



If I am arrested, what do I do? Remember those Miranda warnings? Remember that you have a right to remain silent. You do not have to answer any questions. The police must provide you with an attorney, use it! Even a court-appointed attorney is better than no attorney. If you are in the police station interrogation room, don’t eat or drink anything (no matter how hungry you are). Reason being that once you are done with your soda, coffee, ect, the police can get your fingerprints or your DNA off of the cup/ can. Since it is considered trash, they do not need a warrant to do this. Don’t make their job easy for them! And don’t let them try to frame you (trust me; it’s happened in the past).



Now, let’s say that a social worker shows up at your home. What do you do? What can you do? First off, you do not have to let them in your home without a search warrant. They might try to show up with police in tow to try to intimidate you. Don’t let them do it! Best thing to say is “I’d love to let you in, however I don’t feel like giving up my fourth amendment rights. Thank you.” Whatever you do, don’t curse them out. Don’t give them a reason to have a vendetta against you (or be held in contempt of social worker). They may take such an approach as evidence that you are “unstable”. If they try to get you to answer any questions, remember you have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer any questions. If they push the issue, say “I’d love to speak with you; however I don’t feel like giving up my 5th amendment rights”. You can hand them your lawyer’s card through the crack in the door and refer the social worker to them.



I will say that in my experience with social workers, most of them have little to no training in civil rights (and what they can and cannot legally do). Most of them count on you being a “deer in the headlights”, panicking so much you forget what to do. No matter what, keep your head. I have seen them refuse to leave a home when being told to do so. I’ve gone as far as to call the police and have the social worker arrested for trespassing (funny how the charges were dropped). They may ask to see your child. Have the child come to the window where they can be seen.



What if you decide you must speak with the social worker? Keep a digital voice or tape recorder nearby, in fact, put it on the table. Let them know you are recording them. The newer digital voice recorders come in handy, since many of them have the ability to convert their files into mp3 (and you can post them online). Invite friends over as witnesses. I would also suggest having your attorney present. If they try to take anything from your home, without your consent (or a search warrant), remind them that doing so is theft under law. In Virginia, if they steal a gun, it’s a felony. If the social workers take anything, call the police and report it as theft, especially if it is a firearm. No matter what, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING! They may try to tell you that you have to take your child to church, ect. This is illegal.



Let’s say they get a warrant, and take custody of your child. Don’t fight them there, don’t make a scene. Call the attorney immediately! Tell them everything, and let them take it from there. Going to the press may sound tempting, however I advise against it. The press will take whatever you say and turn it around, if they even cover the story at all. Do what your attorney says, and more than likely the case will turn out to be nothing.



Do you have any legal recourse against social workers who violate your rights? Up until recently, social workers enjoyed sovereign immunity. This meant that the state (and all those who worked for it) could not be sued in a court of law. However, in 2005, the 5th circuit court heard Loudermilk vs. Maricopa County (as in Maricopa County, Arizona. Run by Sheriff Joe Arpio). I won’t rehash the case here, Google it if you want to. The 5th circuit court ruled that the social workers could be sued (along with the county/ state of Arizona) for blatant civil rights violations. I’m not sure if this is being appealed or how it would be applied elsewhere.



Hopefully this will give you some basic pointers on how to handle various situations dealing with Law Enforcement and Social Workers.

COMMENTS

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PAGAN
06:43 Feb 09 2011

A truly informative entry. Loved reading it :)

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As I’ve been working on writing some entries regarding recent events and revelations, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no way I can write just one piece to cover all the issues involved. So I may be posting two or three documents to address different concerns we face. Now, with that being said…

I guess the first area I want to discuss is the huge differences and challenges we face in Septum Civis (Virginia) Vs. Gotham (New York). I will state that I was never a part of the Gotham community. I did not live in NY at the time of its formation, or its heyday. I can’t go on and on about the way things were or should’ve been. All the information I have is second hand from those who were there at the beginning. Even those Elders have differences of opinion as to where it all went wrong. So I’ll go with the info I have from different sources over the years.

The ideas and teachings that later became The Sanguinarium, The Black Veil, and such were not the creations of one man, however one man seems to have taken credit for them. It was Father Sebastian who took these ideas and published them, later marketing them to bigger and broader audiences. Whereas growth in the community can be a good thing, in later years, the community put the almighty dollar above ethics. Some of those who became “Elders” misused their position and people were hurt. Some of those Elders did not enforce the Veil, or flaunted it, and admitted everyone and anyone into their households.

I’m not going to get into the argument about weather or not households and the community at large should be open to Otherkin. That’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. What I do take issue with is some households taking in anybody who applies for entry. It might be possible that the house did not define their purpose in the community, or just decided that their purpose was to party, I don’t know. Being a Vampire/ Vampyre in my eyes was always about learning, study, and self improvement. It was a community that didn’t fool around and took seriously the idea of being accountable for your own actions.

That doesn’t mean we don’t go out and have a good time when the time comes for it. As my father always said “When it’s time to work, work. When it’s time to party, party”. Gotham seems to have become the place for everybody who wants to party, not do the work, and even more so criticize those of us who do as fools. I’m not saying that’s true of all of Gotham, however it appears that the gaja have taken over. Many of the Elders have left for greener pastures. From what I’ve seen of it, there might not be anything left to save. Sometimes you have to destroy something in order to save it. Might just be time to let it burn?

In Virginia, Septum Civis was created by necessity (which is the mother of invention). We had a need that was not being met. We saw, time and again, cases of people claiming to be vampires who broke mundane laws, and put the rest of us in danger. In 96 we had to deal with John Bush and the tons of negative press from that situation. All was quiet for a few years, and then other problems showed up.

After Jonathan Barron was almost killed by members of his family, and the unwanted media attention it brought, we decided to cast aside our differences and meet. During this first meeting, it was clear that for us to continue as a united force, dedicated to serving the community (and each other) was the only way that we as a group would survive. We decided that a court would be formed for the sake of settling disputes, so that we would no longer have people resorting to violence to resolve their issues. In Septum Civis, we concentrate on the Vampiric community and the problems there. As much as we would like to involve Otherkin, we can’t help others until our own house is in order. We decided on a set of laws, The Black Veil and our local traditions. At this time, the Council has only exiled two members, one for sexual harassment, and another for breaking mundane law (statutory rape). The main household in the area is Noctem Aeternus (although we are welcome to have others join us).

Within 3 years we have managed to restore positive relations with the Pagan community and be somewhat tolerated within the local Goth community (both suffered in the press due to the actions of irresponsible people not connected to us). Word had gotten out that as a community; we do not tolerate those who break mundane laws. We do background checks, namely to keep out minors, sexual predators, and the media (since they are so damn pesky down here, lol). We also do this to check out those who show up claiming to know “so and so” and what not. Usually one of us will know the person they speak of, and we can reach them to confirm or deny the info. This is one of the advantages of a small community, we can keep in touch.

As much as we would love to have some sort of establishment where we can go and be ourselves, away from the eyes of mundanes, this has yet to be done. All in good time. Right now we are all concentrating how best to serve the community, how to better ourselves and spiritual matters. You can’t help anyone else if your own house is not in order. If you want to be an Elder, you must lead by example. We’re not looking for a bunch of guys living in mom and dad’s basement, and no dayside life. We have people of all walks of life, military, law enforcement, writers, housewives, college kids and retirees. We have people of all religions and spiritual backgrounds. I still ask myself how we draw such a variety of people to our ways and teachings. For me it’s the spirit of community and the drive to serve others, as I feel that is my responsibility as an Elder.

It’s somewhat difficult for me to put down how exactly Septum Civis was started. I have lived in the area since I was a small child. I grew up here. I knew the politics, the people, and the nightlife. I was a part of the Norfolk coffeehouse crowd since the age of 16. I became a part of the alternative scene around the same time, since everything tended to blend together here. Pagans and Wiccans rubbing shoulders with the Goth crowd, and the occasional Vampire in the mix.

In high school I had a close knit group of friends. Claudia was one of them. She got the nickname from the fact that she was short and looked like she was eight when she was 16. It was unclear if it was diabetes or genetics which caused her to be so short, either way; me and the midget had some fun times.

The Vampire community was something that was deep underground at the time. It was not easy to find. To some extent you had the LARPs and Gamers, but what of the real deal? You heard whispers, rumors, but we never found the people involved. More than likely they were good at hiding in plain sight.

Things stayed that way for a few years. We got out of high school and not soon after, the shit hit the fan. It was around 96 or 97 when John C. Bush got busted for statutory rape. This in and of itself wasn’t newsworthy, however the fact that he was a LARPer, who used “The Masquerade” as an excuse to form some sort of “Vampyric family” and try to get underage girls in his bed. Well, that was news, especially in a small minded, conservative area (televangelist Pat Roberson’s 700 club is within spitting distance). The coffeehouse I frequented had become part of an investigation, and the undercover cops stuck out like a sore thumb. The local press (or should I call them tabloids) didn’t bother to differentiate the difference between the Goth community and the Vampyric community, lumping both together. This unfortunately caused a lot of bad blood for many years. Anything and everything Vampyric went underground. It was difficult even for the Goths to get anywhere for a club night since no venue wanted the attention.

It took a couple of years for that to die down. I spent time in my college years mining the internet for information on the Vampyre community. There wasn’t much, but finally I found some information on the Sanguinarium. I was skeptical, but decided to read the teachings and make an informed decision when I was done.

In the meantime Claudia had died due to kidney failure. Her death was a great loss to all of those in the coffeehouse culture. In many ways, she was our Kitra. She was able to get many different groups to work together who otherwise wouldn’t speak to each other. She may have died, however it is said that her ghost haunted the coffeehouse and some people. I know she haunted me, and my dreams.

So I don’t drag this out for a long time, a few years later, the Goth scene had gown big enough for two club nights in the area. One on Tuesdays at The Wave, a gay bar that welcomed our business, the other was at Jillian’s at Waterside. One of those nights at Jillian’s, I was sitting on the balcony with a few of my friends. It was a warm night and I had a sense that something was coming in on the wind. I wasn’t sure what or who it was. I just knew something or someone was coming.

In walks a tall, skinny Puerto Rican wearing a set of fangs and a D’Drennan ankh. I had only seen it online, and from what I knew, the Sanguinarium was mostly centered in NY. So I figured the worst I could do was ignore this person, why not talk to him? Find out if he is one of ours, or just some gamer who knows where to shop. He introduced himself as Ryu, and we talked for a time. He spoke of Father Vincent, whose name I had heard in passing (always in a good way). We spoke of other things, various people we knew, and what not.

We spent a couple of months gathering at local coffee shops having discussions on various topics. Ryu spoke of his household Noctem Aeternus, and their teachings. I was able to send a friend of mine to him when he was seeking information and a teacher. Ryu and I discussed a general respect for the Black Veil and the need for some local laws to head off another John Bush problem. A lot of innocent people had been hurt, and the Va. Beach police had been sued for civil rights violations as a result of the investigation.

One cop in particular, Don Rimer, seemed determined to destroy anybody involved in the Vampyric community. He was convinced that all vampires were devil worshipping pedophiles who were going to come after your kids. A couple of years later he was charged with 2 counts of assaulting a female officer. He retired and the charges were dropped. Virginia Beach was always known as a good old boys club, so I was not surprised when one of their star detectives with 20 years on the force got a sweetheart deal.

Since then Don has spent the last few years giving lectures and seminars on “Occult Crime”, mostly to the fundy church crowd (which there is a lot of in Va), and occasionally to law enforcement. He’s been debunked by members of the local Pagan community and other law enforcement officers (Google “The Cycle Continues” by Kerr Cuhulain for more info on Don’s shenanigans) . The Lanning Report is another resource that completely contradicts Don’s silliness. He makes grand statements with no facts to back them up, such as “Occult Crime is growing” and “the Church of Satan is growing faster than ever”. Most of the time people don’t question these statements and when pressed, Don whips out a wild emotional statement such as “have you ever had a dead kid in your arms?” It would be easy to ignore this guy if it were not for the fact that innocent people have been hurt by his actions. Don is a fanatic who spreads ignorance and fear and makes no bones about it.

Eventually the inevitable happened. Someone who claimed to be a vampire was almost murdered by his household, at the behest of an ex lover. He survived, worked with the police and testified against his attackers. Some of those who attacked him got a deal to testify against the ringleader, Teresa Davidson. She is now serving 50 years in prison (she is appealing the case). The victim in this case, Jonathan Barron, continued to work with Don Rimer, and I have reason to believe he was a paid informant (I have no evidence to back that up, however I find it interesting what the police know about the community when we don’t speak with them).

Once I learned what happened, I had no choice but to shake my head. I’m an elder in this area, and because the crime itself happened not far from where I live, I should’ve stepped in. I was too wrapped up in my dayside life, paying bills and moving in to my first home, to know what was going on in my own backyard. As an elder, I had a responsibility to the others in my community to look out for it, to offer help to others when they were in need, and give guidance and advice when asked. I failed to do that, and I was ashamed that I had let the community down.

I felt that the only way for me and the other elders in the community to make this right was to come together as a group and set down some basic rules, structure, so that when we had a problem or dispute in the community, it could be dealt with inside the community. So I called together all the households and elders (including Lord Ryu and Lord Ramirez) and after long talks, we came away with an agreement. We agreed that we would follow the Veil, form a court, much like the rabbinical courts within the Jewish community. The elders would hear various disputes, such as breaking the Veil or other local traditions. We also made it clear that we would not tolerate breaking mundane law. Doing so brought too much attention to us and endangered others. If we had reason to believe that a serious breach of mundane law occurred, the court would contact law enforcement and hand over the offender to them.

Sometime later Jonathan was later exiled by the council for sexual harassment of a female member of his house. It appears that later on he attempted to stab Ryu at a local haven, and the establishment banned him from the premises. Rumor has it he might be moving to Florida to establish a household there.

Even with all of that, we’ve managed to show others that we have a system that works. If someone has a grievance against another, and said issue cannot be worked out between the two, they are welcome to bring it to the council and be heard. Whereas there have been a few minor disputes, most have been worked out on their own. Over the years, word of this court and how we work has headed off a few issues before they became a problem. This in and of itself is an accomplishment. Septum Civis is in an area that has a lot of transient people, usually in the military. It’s not hard for someone to come in, claim to be the king of all vampires (or other such silliness), and try to get in some girl’s pants. Now they know, if they drop names, we can usually call the people in question and find out if it’s true. Yes, we do background checks, namely to keep out minors, sexual predators, and the media. Rumor has it that local law enforcement has investigated us, and thus far not found anything to charge anyone with. Hopefully they will know that we don’t want problems, we want to fix them.