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5th Amendment and Due Process Issues

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  • 05-11-2013, 10:21 AM
    Deerchick
    5th Amendment and Due Process Issues
    My question involves civil rights in the State of California, but is primarily a question about federal protections under the constitution:

    The county I live in is accusing me of zoning violations. I have read the codes in their complaint, and do not believe I am in violation: Their procedure does not allow me to defend myself and present evidence to support my innocence, and in fact, to get this resolved, I must sign an affidavit admitting to these violations, then go before a hearing officer to determine my punishment and see if I will be able to clear the violations.

    I think that by not allowing me to present evidence in support of my innocence, my right to due process is being violated. Also, by forcing me to sign an affidavit acknowledging my guilt, I believe the 5th amendment prohibiting forced self incrimination is also violated.

    Am I right, and if so, what do I do?
  • 05-11-2013, 10:35 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: 5th Amendment and Due Process Issues
    You will need to have a lawyer review the exact allegations, and the ordinances involved. I expect that upon review the lawyer will find the mechanism for review within the county, and also explain how you can take an unsatisfactory resolution to court.

    All we can do here is work with the information you share with us, and we don't have enough information to point you in any given direction. If we assume that you're correct that the county can simply declare somebody guilty of an ordinance violation and not allow for any review or appeal of that determination, your next step in defending yourself would be to litigate - but if you file a lawsuit without exhausting your administrative remedies you are unlikely to prevail (you should expect that such a lawsuit would be dismissed as premature) and will incur unnecessary costs and delays. The detailed facts and actual ordinances are important to a meaningful review.
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