This case has not been solved yet and the person you mentioned has not been convicted of any charge! How dare you! Don't you have any other news to amuse your readers ( if you have any!)with ?
I think this young man should come after you and sue you in court!

Tara-

Would you have been happier if they had a headline that said Amir Iranmahd was arrested for theft? I see nothing that is sue worthy in the article UNLESS Amir was not arrested? The judge who issue the search warrant obviously found the evidence valid. The article DOES NOT state he has been convicted. This is local news, it is common practice to state arrests prior to convictions. Why so defensive? Is he your son or boyfriend?

I didn't know that in this country you have to be related to someone to be able to defend him/her.I am a human right activist, I always was. What I am trying to say and I hope you understand, is that,you did wrong by writing his name in your paper.A person is innocent until he is convicted by law. It was not fair at all. Good-bye!

Arrest/. police records are public information. That is traditionally published in local papers. Human rights mean the accused is entitled to a trial. There is no legal right to privacy that prevents a matter of public record from being made public. Open records demand that such information is indeed public. This is not my paper, but you are certainly behaving in a very reactive, emotional fashion. The rights of this individual, unless you know more then is listed here, have not been violated. A search warrant was obtained, thus enough presumptive evidence was available to convince a judge that it was appropriated. The premises were searched and enough evidence obtained to justify arresting and pressing charges. The trial will be held. Being booked is a matter of public record. If you are arrested, not convicted, of dui, your name may well be published. You may not like it, but it was not libel.

being embarrassed publicly is just one of the many joys to look forward to when we as americans commit crimes. as the saying goes, if you can not do the time(emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually)then do not do the crime. it hurts. it should. you learn. change, grow, and then reach out and help others with your new found knowledge and wisdom.

Ummmm....not to mention the embarrassment some should have because they don't know what the shift key is for.

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Looks like factual reporting to me. Sorry, mom!

Maybe a lesson to be learned here.

Etiene- Sorry, I will use very tiny words so you can understand me. The facts are simple, if you don't want your name published, don't get arrested. If you don't want to be arrested, don't do stupid things. It is not libel to print the truth. It would make a better defense of your friend if you were able to present a case rather then a "clever" play on an obscenity.

Jacques, I am sorry that your feelings were hurt by my comment about your gasseous and fetid commentary [Portion removed due to disrespectful comment or offensive language]. You are certainly free to disagree with me on these points since I am told that this is a free country.

I look forward to seeing your name and photo in the news media when you have been rightly or wrongly accused of a crime, and whether or not you have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Etiene-

Actually, my feelings were not hurt, I am simply surprised that someone is accusing a paper of libel when they are not doing anything outside the norm. It is standard practice and has been for years, to list the arrest log of a police department, complete with names of those arrested. If you were to think back, the man who was arrested for exposing himself to school children was listed by name and address at the time of the arrest. The trial has yet to be held. At that time, none of you objected to his naming, it is only an issue for you when the person involved is a friend or relative of yours. The only thing I have said is that this is normal journalistic behavior, it is nothing new. If I were arrested and charged with a crime, my name would be public record as well. That is the way it works, even for our friends and sons, no matter if they live in Danville and are special.

Danville Express, Jan 1, 2010, Todd Hager listed by name as arrested (NOT convicted) of exposing himself to elementary school children. Neither Eteine or Tara objected to that "violation of human rights". This lends support to the Jacques theory that you are trying to protect your guy, not truly concerned about fairness.

In this issue of the Danville Express, three of the four teens arrested (not convicted) in the drug case behind Taco Bell are listed by name, the underage boy is not listed. Tara and Eteine only care about Amir being embarrassed, or they would have responded on that article as well. So, son, boyfriend or friend?

Arat - Oh, or is it Tara? Thank goodness these names are given. This should happen more. I'd like to see names given in the case of DUI's. It has been a very effective way to reduce certain crimes where the names are listed in the local papers.

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Just because it's legal and "traditional" doesn't make it right. Once upon a time it was "legal" and "tradional" to put debtors in prison, or to be sentenced to 19 years of hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread to feed your starving family. Publishing the photo and name of an accused (not convicted) person accomplishes nothing except to satisfy the prurient curiosity of the average tabloid reader, and to give the public the impression that the cops are actually doing their jobs.

I am quite certain that in a different age, Mr. Jacques would have been an Inspector Javert, because he confuses "legal" and "traditional" with "right" and "moral." Perhaps Jean Valjean should have made restitution for the bread he stole, but 19 years of hard labor is a bit excessive, not to mention cruel, even if the punishment was at the time prescribed by the law.

To those of you who think the way Jacques thinks, I pray that one day you can be placed in the limelight for being the accused. For the hard-hearted, sometimes being put in the same position as those you wish to humiliate is the only way to learn compassion.

Etiene -
Why do you only object when it is Amir but not in the other two situations listed? You did not post complaints on either of the two articles so it must be personal. I don't actually want anyone humiliated, it gives me no joy. The original response came about because some entitled person felt the need to sue the paper for doing what papers do, because it didn't suit her needs. There are not two sets of rules, one for those we like and one for everyone else Comparing a common thief who steals money from his employer to a character in a book who steals bread to survive is stretching it a bit, don't you think?
It is also a bit hypocritical to pray for calamity to strike someone else because they are not as "compassionate" as you are.

Again, it was a much more invasive issue to list the name man arrested for exposing himself to children and you did not object then. It is obviously personal for you. The original reason for listing arrests and not keeping them secret is to allow the public to keep on eye on the police and the courts. This keeps everyone honest and prevents people from disappearing. If someone simply disappears without a record, there is not accountability. Public accountability is the purpose of this process, not the embarrassment of a person.

I have to agree with Jacques on this issue. However, it would be great if the media would also do a subsequent story if and when a named criminal suspect in a case is acquited. In this particular story, based on what the video allegedly shows,does not appear that an acquital will be applicable.

Be careful with your assumptions, Jacques. There is no need, nor is it accurate to say that this is personal for me. It is not.

I look forward to seeing how you accept accountability when you are an accused person, as opposed to being convicted. We all know that "accountability" is not the issue. The issue is mean-spiritedness. You, sir, are mean-spirited and the true hypocrite here.

If it is not personal, why did you not object to the naming of the three men in the assault on the 15 year old behind Taco Bell or in the naming of the man who was listed as exposing himself to children, both cases were of arrested not convicted persons. Both cases were pointed out earlier by another poster. Why does only this one bother you. I also appreciate the change in the tone of your comments. Earlier they were all lewd and obscene, no real defense. A hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another...to insist on empathy and forgiveness for someone while wishing ill on another person is the definition. What have I done that is hypocritical other then insist that the paper here is operating within conventional standards and so Tara's statement that they be sued for libel was out of line. Your initial comment was vulgar and not at all applicable to the subject matter and was removed. There is nothing mean spirited in stating that all people should be treated in the same fashion. If you indeed believe there is never any public value in publishing police logs and arrest records then work towards changing the law.

Jacques, I already made a public apology for hurting your feelings, but I suspect that I struck a nerve. Let it go...

Perhaps I should apologize again because now you are obviously flustered; I don't think that you meant to identify yourself as me in your last post. Take a deep breath, Jacques, get counseling, then find a heart.

If it makes you feel better, I will let you have the last word on this topic. I suspect that I have less time on my hands than do you to continue with this nonsense.

Having been a customer at Diablo Gas & Mart i was wondering if the former employee is the same one who stood outside the office and SMOKED while on duty?

Caught on video tape. EOM

Interesting that a former employee of the store would not know that there was a video camera going all the time.

Also that a friend of the person would be so upset. Has she seen the video ??? Does she think someone else committed the crime??
Either it's him or it isn't. Cut and dry.

Jaques,

Thank you for your voice of reason; I would be happy to call you brother.....(frère, en Français).

And I could live with Sandra for a sister.....

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?