Landmark Supreme Court ruling
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that passengers in traffic stops ARE allowed to challenge the constitutionality of searches and seizures, per the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Evidentally there was a case of this in California where the defense sought to have evidence dismissed on the grounds that it belonged to the passenger, and he had no ability to walk away from the situation. He felt obligated to go along with the officers' search, even though he was not suspect himself.
Although this is good news for us who are lovers of liberty, there are some general guidelines you can always follow to minimize your risk of intrusive searches by law enforcement. I like to review these from time to time. The ACLU has created a great CD that is about an hour long. It shows traffic stop scenarios, what to do, and what not to do. It advises you about your rights, *in general*, but of course you never REALLY know where you stand until you land in court.
So, here are my 10 commandments for traffic stops. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. It's just my observations and interpretations of the law as a citizen.
1. Ask early and often, "Am I being detained, officer, or am I free to go?". The U.S. Supreme court has ruled that once the initial traffic stop is completed, and you receive a ticket, you are under no further obligation to discuss ANYTHING with the officer. Many times the officer will even tell you this, then beging questioning you. Your answers WILL be held against you in court because you offered them voluntarily. If you ask this question, and the answer is, "you're free to go", turn around and walk away / drive off without further comment.
2. If you are asked any intrusive questions, that appear to be phrased in such a way as to get you to imply consent to search, say, "I don't consent to any searches, officer". This makes it clear you don't agree with any search, either implicitly or explicitly.
3. When pulled over, only roll your window down as far as necessary to communicate with the officer, unless he asks you to roll it down all the way of course. This prevents him from sticking his entire head in your vehicle and nosing around.
4. Keep everything out of plain sight. If there is nothing at all in plain sight in your vehicle, no smell of alcohol or drugs, etc. then there is probably no probable cause for a search.
5. Allow the driver to do ALL the talking. Don't offer any more information than is absolutely necessary to answer the question. "Yes", "no", and "I don't know" are perfectly acceptable answers. If in doubt about your rights, ask the officer if you are required to answer a question, and if you are allowed to consult legal counsel before doing so. Always remember that the cops are not your attorney, nor are they on your side. Their job is to find you doing something wrong. Don't believe promises that your life will be made easier if you just go along with them.
6. Know that often, law enforcement will delay arresting you to avoid reading you your rights. If they see something, they may continue to ask questions rather than arrest you immediately. This is another good time to ask, "Am I being detained, or am I free to go?".
7. Remember that attitude is 90% of any situation. Politeness goes a long way. Conversely, if you seem nervous or rattled, law enforcement will sense it and will push as hard as they can to find something to pin on you. Never argue, and certainly never resist with force. Resist the urge to smart off. Save your arguments for the judge, as difficult as that may be.
8. Answer questions, but follow up with a question, such as the ones listed above.
9. If you are stopped, and asked to step out of your vehicle, roll up your windows and lock the doors behind you. This makes it clear that you are not inviting any officer into your car by default. It makes searches much more difficult to defend in court.
10. Don't do anything illegal to begin with. Use the above tactics to avoid harassment, and to strengthen our legal system. It will cause law enforcement to respect our rights, and be much more careful when violating our privacy.
Evidentally there was a case of this in California where the defense sought to have evidence dismissed on the grounds that it belonged to the passenger, and he had no ability to walk away from the situation. He felt obligated to go along with the officers' search, even though he was not suspect himself.
Although this is good news for us who are lovers of liberty, there are some general guidelines you can always follow to minimize your risk of intrusive searches by law enforcement. I like to review these from time to time. The ACLU has created a great CD that is about an hour long. It shows traffic stop scenarios, what to do, and what not to do. It advises you about your rights, *in general*, but of course you never REALLY know where you stand until you land in court.
So, here are my 10 commandments for traffic stops. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. It's just my observations and interpretations of the law as a citizen.
1. Ask early and often, "Am I being detained, officer, or am I free to go?". The U.S. Supreme court has ruled that once the initial traffic stop is completed, and you receive a ticket, you are under no further obligation to discuss ANYTHING with the officer. Many times the officer will even tell you this, then beging questioning you. Your answers WILL be held against you in court because you offered them voluntarily. If you ask this question, and the answer is, "you're free to go", turn around and walk away / drive off without further comment.
2. If you are asked any intrusive questions, that appear to be phrased in such a way as to get you to imply consent to search, say, "I don't consent to any searches, officer". This makes it clear you don't agree with any search, either implicitly or explicitly.
3. When pulled over, only roll your window down as far as necessary to communicate with the officer, unless he asks you to roll it down all the way of course. This prevents him from sticking his entire head in your vehicle and nosing around.
4. Keep everything out of plain sight. If there is nothing at all in plain sight in your vehicle, no smell of alcohol or drugs, etc. then there is probably no probable cause for a search.
5. Allow the driver to do ALL the talking. Don't offer any more information than is absolutely necessary to answer the question. "Yes", "no", and "I don't know" are perfectly acceptable answers. If in doubt about your rights, ask the officer if you are required to answer a question, and if you are allowed to consult legal counsel before doing so. Always remember that the cops are not your attorney, nor are they on your side. Their job is to find you doing something wrong. Don't believe promises that your life will be made easier if you just go along with them.
6. Know that often, law enforcement will delay arresting you to avoid reading you your rights. If they see something, they may continue to ask questions rather than arrest you immediately. This is another good time to ask, "Am I being detained, or am I free to go?".
7. Remember that attitude is 90% of any situation. Politeness goes a long way. Conversely, if you seem nervous or rattled, law enforcement will sense it and will push as hard as they can to find something to pin on you. Never argue, and certainly never resist with force. Resist the urge to smart off. Save your arguments for the judge, as difficult as that may be.
8. Answer questions, but follow up with a question, such as the ones listed above.
9. If you are stopped, and asked to step out of your vehicle, roll up your windows and lock the doors behind you. This makes it clear that you are not inviting any officer into your car by default. It makes searches much more difficult to defend in court.
10. Don't do anything illegal to begin with. Use the above tactics to avoid harassment, and to strengthen our legal system. It will cause law enforcement to respect our rights, and be much more careful when violating our privacy.
posted by Jason E. Peck at 7:17 AM
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