Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Gov't employee accused of 'soiling' supervisors work area

I am a twenty year civilian employee of a branch of DOD. A week ago I was called into the security office of the base I am employed at, and questioned by base security and later the local Sheriffs Office concerning fecal matter aplied to my immediate supervisors keyboard. I had received final notificaton of an upcoming one week suspension to serve that afternoon. This supervisor and myself have had problems in the past, including my reporting this supervisor to security for threating gestures made by him to me. I was not arrested but was told dna testing likely to follow. I fear I may have been set up by this supervisor as I have been constantly monitored and folowed by this supervisor, including the wash facilities for many months. I do have witness to this fact that are willing to write this down and or testify. 1)What may I expect next 2)What are my rights as far as dna submission etc. 3)Worst case scenario would include what and any redress/appeal rights availiable to me. Thank You


Asked on 4/17/02, 3:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Victor Hobbs Victor E. Hobbs

Re: Gov't employee accused of 'soiling' supervisors work area

You are not involved in a criminal matter. There are three areas of the law: criminal, civil, and administrative. You are in administrative. The regulations are available to you. Usually there is some sort of employee handout that is written in simple English. Your appellate rights would start with you writing a letter, and asking to appeal the administrative suspension. Then you'll ask for a brief summary of your appellate rights to include the point at which you can retain counsel and have an attorney represent you. The common practice is that at your second (informal) hearing you may bring a friend or co-worker to assist you, but not an attorney. The third hearing is normally before an administrative judge and witnesses and evidence is submitted. Do not roll over on this or the supervisor will try it again with someone else. You'll not care, because you'll be out of work waiting for the foreclosure sale of your house. There are sometimes attorneys that have worked in the various Federal Bureaus that are familiar with the practices, and advertise in the base newspaper, etc. There may be an ex-JAG officer that has worked in this area. So inquire around and seek a free consultation. I've not done a DOD matter. However, I've been involved in school districts, FAA, Social Security, State Unemployment Offices, and DMV administrative hearings. My wife retired from the State of California. And I'm retired from the Marine Corps. So what I told you above is not directly applicable to DOD but a collage of the regulations I've encountered in various administrative hearings I've participated in. If you did it do not give a DNA sample. If you didn't make sure the sample isn't contaminated, and is taken by a professional. The supervisor could have done the dirty deed themselves. And you want to make sure the sample isn't contaminated with their DNA.

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Answered on 4/17/02, 6:52 pm


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