arrested!!!?

Question

once i got arrested for traffic tickets that i hadnt paid on time. prior to being handcuffed, i was searched and asked if i had any contraband on me. i refused to answer. when we arrived at the jail, they found weed in my sock. instead of giving me a simple possession charge, it was enhanced to a felony for "carrying narcotics into a correctional facility"....this scene plays out 100 times everyday in america....this is a violation of my 5th amendment right, not to incriminate myself. police know this, yet they still play this game. i bear NO legal burden to snitch on myself. .... {{maybe not ALL police do this, but i believe the vast majority do}}
in my case, it only cost me more $. what happens to the poor, indigent ppl that cant afford decent legal representation? theyre given very lengthy jail or probation or jail sentences.
and then yall have the nerve to say "im one of the good guys"

kevw.....i broke a state law, the officer violated my constitutional right. and im the bad guy?.................you ppl are too busy labeling me to realize this can and will happen to a family member/loved one of yours. i dont advocate not paying tickets and i dont advocate using drugs. but weed is relatively harmless {{in 2 states its not a jailable offense}}. if youre such staunch advocates of law and order, REALIZE MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED. im not whinin at all. i happily served my misdemeanor jail sentence.{{it cost more $ because lawyers want more $ for felonies than misdemeanors. qualified lawyers simply go to court and the court reduces it to a misdemeanor}}.... my point is -- this happens everyday to regular people. it could happen to your son or brother or husband. dont stand up for me, but youll be standing up for ur loved one when it happens to them.

he searched me and asked me about contraband while his partner was in his car runnin my license........obviously i didnt know i had warrants or the weed wouldnt have been in my sock but thats not the point.

Answer 1

Get off the cross, and take the wood to build a bridge and get over it! Yes, we consider ourselves the "good guys" because we don't do the things that you do and get into trouble for.

Sorry, but your rights were not violated in any way. As one person pointed out you cannot be compelled to testify IN COURT anything that would incriminate yourself. Just think, if you'd have said, "yeah, I have some weed in my sock." the Officer would've gotten it and more than likely issued you a citation which would have been cheaper than the criminal charge you caught.

If anything try and learn from this.

Answer 2

Even though you feel your 5th amendment right was violated, in all honesty it was not. When the officer asked you if you had any contraband in your possession, it WAS your right to keep your mouth shut and not answer. Obviously doing so would keep you from incriminating yourself, however seeing as you were being arrested you should have had enough sense to spill the beans BEFORE you got to the jail-house.

However, since you knew that you were being arrested and taken to jail, it probably would have been the smart thing to confess when the officer asked.

I don't study the law nor does it interest me like a lot of other subjects, so when reading that the charge increased to a felony just because you brought an illicit drug into a jail was a new bit of information for me.

From now on...when you know that you can get a misdemeanor drug charge by confessing you have in your possession any illegal drugs, I'd do so. If you don't, you'll end up with another felony charge and who needs ANY (if only one) of those on their record?!

In all essence I really do not believe you'd get a judge and/or jury to believe your rights were violated in this situation because from a legal standpoint you should have known a higher punishment would come from entering a legal facility with an ILLEGAL substance in your possession.

Just my 2 cents worth... :) Hope everything pans out for ya and things turn out at least somewhat OK.

Answer 3

I fail to see any 5th amendment violation.
You were NOT forced to incriminate yourself - in fact, you proudly state you invoked your right to remain silent.

We all have choices everyday in life. Some of our choices have consequences. This is an example. The consequence of your choice to remain silent is the felony charge. You had a decision to make i.e. either waive your right to remain silent by admitting to the hidden weed, or remain silent & commit a felony when you carried the weed into a correctional facility.
I did note you did not whine about being not guilty or being arrested in the 1st place. Nor do you deny that you did actually carry narcotics (well, actually, not a narcotic but a controlled substance) into a correctional facility, a charge that happens to be a felony in I believe all 50 states. Even the states where (minor) possession of marijuana is not a jailable offense, it is still a felony to bring it into a correctional facility.
Though you did not whine about guilt, you do now whine about the consequences of YOUR choice. The police did not force you to choose that option - it was YOUR choice. And had the officer not asked the question at the arrest scene, the result would have been the same.

You just have a misunderstanding of the 5th amendment. I have included the relevant section of the 5th Amendment.
At what point were you "compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against" yourself?

Answer 4

You didn't incriminate yourself and all it got you was a felony. Why didn't you do the smart thing and Fess up as you Knew you were being arrested.

Don't make us the bad guys. We are not the ones not paying our tickets and smoking pot. Use the money you use to buy pot to pay your tickets.

They did not violate your right to self incrimination. They asked and YOU DID NOT ANSWER. BAM. What are they suposta do, ignore the fact you have it? The simple facts are:
1. you had an illicit substance on your person.
2. you were asked, you did not answer. your rights were not violated.
3. the officer missed the baggie in the sock on a pat down search for weapons, as the more thorough search would come at the jail.
4. you knew that you were going to jail and that the bag would be found.

Answer 5

You're lucky the charges weren't worse. That is why when you are being arrested you are asked, do you have any contraband? and you have the chance to fess up, if you did not fess up then yeah, you're going to get charged for possession of narcotics in a correctional facility. Instead of bad mouthing the people who have the guts to get criminals off the streets you should stop smoking the pot and pay your tickets. Next thing you know your brain's going to be too fried away for you to do something decent with your life.

Answer 6

Let's get this straight.

You were being arrested.

You were about to be handcuffed and taken to jail.

You knew you would be searched.

You had the opportunity to tell them about the weed in your sock OUTSIDE THE JAIL!

You declined to talk to the police

They found the weed and your charge got boosted.

Don't you feel like a dumba-s-s?

Don't you wish you'd used your sense to hand the stuff over before entering the jail?

I agree that the felony charge was bogus, but you really did act stupid. And if you'd get off your high horse, you'd realize it.

FWIW, I favor legalizeing drugs and calling off the "War on Drugs," it has long been apparent that we lost it.

Doc

Answer 7

that's heavily aint even humorous not greater. I have been given love for X and that i like his music yet, it rather is time for him to accomplish a little actual time. He HAS to get atleast a three hundred and sixty 5 days to set him in the present day. This probation ish needless to say isnt working. I have been given a three hundred and sixty 5 days in juvie for skipping skool too plenty and this ***** (along with his rap sheet) continues to be out and approximately after bail??

Answer 8

didn't you know that carrying can illegal substance into a jail facility was a felony!!! Ive never been arrested and I know that it was not any violation of your rights you knew they would see it eventually because you were being arrested you should have fessed up when they asked you

Answer 9

A lot of people always talk about their rights but forget their responsibilities. If you were responsible and told them about the weed that you should have known they would find anyhow, this wouldn't have happened.

Answer 10

Hey, maybe you shouldn't have had an illegal substance. MAYBE you should have been honest about it since they will find it anyway. MAYBE you should have paid the traffic tickets from breaking the law in the first place.
Next time you want to argue with the law, try being innocent.