Q: if I was held in holding for 5 days and and then jailed for a week before seeing a judge or knowing the charges.
I was detained for more then 72 hours (4-5 days) in a holding cell with no court and never told of my charges, followed by 1wk in general population before being told I was being charged with felony impersonation of a cop or bails bonds man and then spent another month or so in jail. The real charge was 2years before using my sisters name in traffic stop in Lansing Kansas. I didn't want to risk being jailed for not having a license and I was the only one taking care of my dying mother. She later passed away in a house fire with our family pet and on her 2 or 3 year exact death day is when I was arrested in front of aunts who had also passed away,years prior. I was sleep in a truck that belonged to a sheriff. A month or so later I was told by a close friend that she was leaving work and got slammed down a few blocks away from me earlier that day by bounty men thinking she was me. She was life flighted and lost her baby. The bondsman tried to pay the father of the baby 1,000 to go away.
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A:
It sounds like you went through a very difficult and unfair experience. If you were held for more than 72 hours without being told of the charges against you or given a court appearance, that could be a violation of your rights. In most cases, after an arrest, you should be brought before a judge within 48 to 72 hours. Being detained for days in holding and then jailed for a week before seeing a judge can raise serious legal concerns.
Your situation seems even more complicated by the fact that the original charge stems from an incident two years prior, and you may not have been aware that a warrant had been issued. The fact that your friend was mistaken for you and severely harmed adds another layer of concern about how the situation was handled by law enforcement and the bondsmen.
It may be important for you to consult legal help as this experience likely includes issues related to wrongful detention, possible misconduct by law enforcement or bounty hunters, and a potential violation of your constitutional rights.
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