Dec45 wrote:
Pug wrote:
Ok, this will help:
"If the officer can't form a convincing explanation for why you were pulled over, the seizure becomes illegal, and any evidence found during the traffic stop can't be used in court." However, this doesn't mean they CAN'T pull you over...it means they can if they feel like it. And if they can't tell you why they detained you...well you walk. However, in every case you must produce an ID.
http://www.flexyourrights.org/pretext_traffic_stopsThese people were all pulled over and given tickets. Illegal?
http://www.wftv.com/automotive/7847681/detail.htmlWashington State Troopers - what to do when you are pulled over. Not followed in the video.
http://www.wsp.wa.gov/about/pullover.htmHere's a good one where lawyers are debating. The point I'm trying to make follows the link. It's interesting as well, because it says charges won't hold up unless the reason why they pulled the guy over is the same as what they found...well, then no charges...
http://www.daviswiki.org/Police_Misconduct_StoriesBased on what cops tell me you don't have the right to refuse a police order. You basically do what the police officer tells you to do even if it is evasive. That said, it is most probable that the crime you may or may not have committed would be thrown out, the officer would be disciplined for his or her actions, and you would be free to sue a whole lot of people. I would cite Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada to back the comments I have had received from police officers.
I wouldn't recommend refusing to give your name to the police in order to take a tour through the legal system. Steven Ostrowski
#1. There is a difference between a checkpoint, and pulling someone over. That's why checkpoints exist. If they were the same thing, there'd be no reason for a regulated, approved area for checkpoints.
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I suppose you might be trying to say that a checkpoint where cars are slowed down and most or all are asked for their driving licence would be the same thing as sending some kind of huge army of police cars to pull each person who passes along a stretch of road individually... checkpoints are simply a matter of practicality allowed by the same law as pulling someone over to ask for the driving licence.
Dec45 wrote:
#2. Cops are not going to get any discipline for anything they do. Funny you mention Rodney King... How much time did those cops do? Oh, that's right...
Your logic seems to be suggesting that you're okay with cops pulling people over, because you're confident and at ease with the notion that if you haven't done anything wrong, the cops will let you walk. That's totally beside the point. You're excusing a cop harassing someone for no reason, just because you know that person won't get in trouble if they haven't done anything wrong. No shit! The point is not that the person will get in trouble, the point is people like you are fine with cops having the ability to arbitrarily pull anyone over, at anytime, without probable cause or reason. That's not American, in my book.
A) The legality of pulling people over is a legal matter, and while it may be unnecessary, it's not actually the cops who pass the laws which allow it.
B) The Rodney King officers got off the same way that the woman in the OP did... sympathy of their peers. A different jury would have almost certainly come to a different, just verdict. The jury decided that they didn't commit a crime, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary. Jurys are unreliable and stupid. But you can't have it both ways, either everyone gets a jury trial for serious crimes, or no-one does. This woman in the OP would
not have got off the extra charges if it hadn't been a jury trial. It goes to show that if people have the support of their communities in their actions, then they can get away with nearly anything, despite what the law says. It's this fact which let's the cops do what they want
in certain areas, as they know that even if it somehow got to trial, a jury wouldn't let it stick. Hence the problem isn't the cops, isn't the laws, isn't the legal system, it's the attitudes of people in these areas in America.