When you're caught...

[iamareplicant]

FWIW:

start here...there are many links, and most are very interesting. LEO use intimidation, period, to get people to give up their rights, and 99 percent of the time, it works. The LEO must have probable cause to detain AND search you. Of course, he/she can lie, just as you can, and you may end up in court. But if the cop is a liar, and you get a good attorney, you should win.

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3405

The ACLU has a video that shows exactly what to do when pulled over. I apologize; i cant find it online - maybe someone knows the link. But it is simple and direct:

-If not told, ask why you are being pulled over.
-let the LEO do his ticket thing/background check, etc, and if he asks to search, your answer is a very polite, "I respect that your are doing job , but i do NOT give consent to search my vehicle or belongings. " Then, and this is key , you MUST say something to the effect of:

"I do not consent to a search of my [person, baggage, purse, luggage, vehicle, house, blood], etc.

"I do not consent to this contact and do not want to answer any questions. If I am not under arrest, I would like to go now (or be left alone)"

If you are detained, LEO must have probable cause. As bad as this country has become, LEO cannot simply stop AND detain people just because he wants to (anymore than you can walk up to someone and detain them - which is called kidnapping or some variation of it).

He can certainly stop a car for any reason, real or conjured, but the law says he canNOT detain or search you without cause. The law is in YOUR favor if there is no probable cause.

I aint a lawyer, and i dont play one in TV, but i have researched this a bit.

If the LEO is gunna search, he best to have actual probable cause SO LONG as you do NOT give consent to search no matter what. And that means, even if you have an uzi at your side and a lit blunt hanging out of your mug, you STILL do not give consent, period.

Granted, in the case of the uzi, you may find that your RD is the least of your worries and you will extricated from your vehicle without a lot of fanfare, but alas, i digress...

One more thing: NEVER EVER give consent to search ANYTHING, EVER.

[Rick Lee]

This is the video you're looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA

[Rick Lee]

BTW, I've been pulled over at least five times now while carrying, a few of those times, the gun was visible, like in a holster stuck in the cup holder or center console. Cop never cared about it. Only once was I asked to show my CCW permit.

[iamareplicant]

Rick Lee, thank you. That is the exact video i was referring to. Watch the entire vid - dont be put off by the hoakiness of the first 2/3 of it - the end is what counts.

[Rick Lee]

The guy who made that video is a buddy of mine. The only thing I don't like about the video and some of the others his group made is that they mostly deal with trying to get away with illegal drug use and they glorify the ACLU. There are plenty of other situations where police harass law-abiding folks and I think such cases would have made for a more sympathetic and wider audience.

[MoH.vze.com]

Informing thread. Thanks guys!

[JDS]

I dunno, if you KNOW that you don't have anything illegal in your car (I for one have never put anything illegal in my car, ever), and you don't desperately need to be anywhere, might you not gain some points with the LEO by consenting to a search? I figure they might be willing to let you off with a warning or a reduced ticket if you show them that you're willing to help them.

[FlyinZX-10R]

I dunno, if you KNOW that you don't have anything illegal in your car (I for one have never put anything illegal in my car, ever), and you don't desperately need to be anywhere, might you not gain some points with the LEO by consenting to a search? I figure they might be willing to let you off with a warning or a reduced ticket if you show them that you're willing to help them.

Unless they are short on cars to use for stings and they wants yours. Maybe its a crooked cop and he needs a bust and he drops drugs in your car while he is searching it. its happened before. Most cops are probably honest, but why chance it?

[Rick Lee]

Rights are like teeth. Ignore them and they'll go away.

You do not gain anything with a cop by consenting to a search and you have everything to lose. You are already under suspicion if he asks you. Don't let him find something like an empty beer can someone left in there when they borrowed your car, an old roach clip, maybe loose ammo. You'd be amazed by the stuff I've found months or years later in old cars I've bought. Lord knows I probably have old bullet casings in some crevice in all my cars. Doesn't matter in VA, but it would land you in the slammer in NJ.

[Zurk]

Not a lawyer but I believe if they have reason they can search without a warrant in every state in the USA. A warrant would be required to search a trunk, but as far as I know, that is the only spot a warrant would be needed.

no. they can search the wingspan if they suspect weapons...its a very limited exception. best thing to say is -- im late officer and i dont have time for you to search my vehicle. is there anything else ? be polite and firm.