If you are walking in a neighborhood late at night (no curfew) and the police stop you. They say 'there is a lot of vandalism occuring lately' and ask for your i.d. and begin to pat you down and tell you to pull out everything in your pockets without consent. Is that breaking the 4th amendment? and if they find anything(drugs), would it be admissable in court/ could you get the charges dropped?
2007-10-10 10:11:47 · 24 answers · asked by dstum 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Yes, if you consent, they can search you. Otherwise, all they have to do is have "Probable cause", and they can procede further. Anything found during a consent search is admisable in court. If they can prove "Probable cause" , anything found under that can be used in court. If they ask and you refuse, things can get complicated, but without "Probable cause" they cannot immediately procede with a search. If you are a juvenile, and you refuse, your parents will immediately be contacted and things will procede from there. In the case you describe, they have a thin case of probable cause.
2007-10-10 10:22:32 · answer #1 · answered by Stephen H 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Get some basis down: We live in a nation state which by definition is one where the government is the monopolist of force. Police (at all levels) are legal thugs.
Police can and do anything they want for the most part (See Jude case in Milwaukee). They can stop you on suspicion of WPWT (wrong place wrong time), WWNW (walking while not white). If a state has a law requiring you to carry "papers", as in "Ihre Papiere, Jude") then you must supply them on demand ---
Note --- these procedures have been on the books since the civil war in one place or the other --- Since 1933 --- the federal government with the full cooperation of the "free" media has removed your rights to travel anonymously (Slaughterhouse case?), to redress your grievenance (pen records on phones, writing fiction on the internet (COPA and others). The refusal to hear the case to not be have airline travel recorded. It will be quite soon when the government will have access to your DNA via your medical records that will be searched (ought to be seen as a violation of the 4th and 5th amendment). You cannot even carry "too" much cash -- (police hate cash --- can't be traced -- does not tell how you either earned or spend your money).
So, yes --- rule of thumb --- avoid all situations when possible. Carry a name of your attorney with you at all times (it helps to actually know one) and Speak politely,clearly, and without emotion --- Answer only direct questions --- NEVER PROVIDE INFORMATION.
If you are in a school situtation --- have an attorney interrogate you as a law enforcement official would --- so that you can learn why you need to keep your mouth shut, your ears open. Say nothing until you have your attorney presents. Never help out with some "paperwork" after your attorney leaves.
2007-10-10 17:50:06 · answer #2 · answered by KarenL 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Most of the answers were wrong. Terry v Ohio. Declared, that an officer with reasonable suspicion can conduct a search of a person with out the need for a warrant. This is also known as a terry search, or stop and frisk. Yes it is reasonable to be stopped in an area known to have a high vandalism rate, if you are walking at night in that area. At the time they stop you , you are considered a suspicious person. Yes the Supreme court did back the police in that if a police officer asks you for I.D. you are obligated to present such i.d. or be detained until such time that police can make positive identification of you. A good majority of the people that answered you need to research better before they can say it was a violation of your 4th amendment rights.
Experience: U.S. Navy Law Enforcement specialist since 2002.
2007-10-10 17:31:46 · answer #3 · answered by GIOSTORMUSN 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes they can and do.
It's called probable cause.
They are supposed to have a reason why they are stopping you,BUT they don't always need to explain that reason to you.Generally they actually do have a reason and generally they also have good reason not to explain that reason to you.
Real police investigative work is not like TV or like what liberal society "believe " it should be like.Real cops generally know what they are doing and do it well and just as often do it better than anyone could,given the way citizens perceive law.
If you want respect form police learn to be respectful,direct,honest and not to be foolish enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
As for drug possession.If your dumb enough to be holding, you deserve to be arrested and put in jail ,and not to hid behind the 4th amendment.
2007-10-10 17:29:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they have probable cause, yes. If not, then no. They would basically have had to see you walking away from a fresh wall of graffiti to do that legally without your consent. Otherwise you're probably going free when your attorney brings this up in court. That said, if they stop you for graffiti and have probable cause, and they happen to find drugs, you're busted. It all will break down to why they specifically stopped you at that time and moment.
2007-10-10 17:16:17 · answer #5 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
more than likely, the evidence would stand up in court. Probable cause is a wide open term and is used in many situations such as this. The term profiling is used to describe this behavior by the police. Good luck, and if this happened to you, contact an attorney. Chances are that charges will not be drooped, drug crimes are usually prosecuted.
Cops routinely search individuals and also handcuff them to protect not only their own safety, but that of the person they are interviewing on the street.
2007-10-10 17:15:56 · answer #6 · answered by mad embalmer from the north II 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The supreme court upheld the notion that you must provide Identification upon the request of the police or other law enforcement personnel. However you do still have your 4th amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure. They must either have probable cause (i.e. they saw you or a person of your description flee a crime scene) or a warrant.
EDIT: I'm amazed at all the Americans on this board, presumably proud of their freedom and the U.S. Constitution that ensures it - just roll over like beat dogs with attitudes like "the police get away with everything" etc. Unwilling to even encourage this kid to stand up for his rights.
Nothing says proud American like that.
2007-10-10 17:15:42 · answer #7 · answered by slushpile reader 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Probable cause is sort of a gray area when it comes to this scenario. The police have probable cause to detain you based on what they said.
If you give them permission to search you and they find something illegal, you'd be subject to prosecution.
If you did not give permission, and you were not told you were under arrest or told your rights, you might have some legal grounds to ask the judge to dismiss the case...
Definitely need a lawyer to make something like that happen in court.
Good luck.
2007-10-10 17:19:05 · answer #8 · answered by deepseaofblankets 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Technically yes, it is a violation of the 4th amendment and 40 years ago, the conservatives on the Supreme Court would have backed you up. Now they are all lapdogs of the Administration.
So the key word on searches is: Probable cause.
Even if they are looking for vandals and find drugs, they can always say that you appeared to be under the influence of drugs and they had probable cause.
And good luck in over-ruling the word of a cop in court.
2007-10-10 17:17:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
If you consented to the search, then yes they can do it. If you were in this situation they probably asked you first. If they didn't ask, then it's your word against theirs, and if they found someone on you, you'll have "guilty" written all over your face unless you can retain an expensive lawyer
2007-10-10 17:15:27 · answer #10 · answered by It's the hair 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋