Cop: I'm arresting you for remaining silent. You have the right to remain silent. (legal, attorney)

[Roadking2003]

LE gives us lots of entertainment on a daily basis;
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After New Jersey state troopers arrested Rebecca Musarra for remaining silent, they informed her, "You have the right to remain silent." That should have been a clue that something was amiss with their legal justification for hauling her off to jail.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by Musarra, a Philadelphia attorney, and dashcam footage recently obtained by NJ Advance Media, Trooper Matthew Stazzone pulled her over for speeding on October 16 and asked for her license, registration, and proof of insurance. She handed over the documents but did not respond when Stazzone asked her a question. He repeated the question several times, becoming increasingly agitated and warning her that she would be arrested if she did not answer. Here is the vitally important question that Stazzone kept asking: "Do you know why you're being pulled over tonight?"

In other words, Stazzone was trying to get Musarra to incriminate herself. She declined to do so. Mind you, she did not say, "I decline to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me," or "I am asserting my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent." But she did eventually identify herself as an attorney, saying she was not legally required to answer Stazzone's question. Unimpressed, he proceeded to handcuff and arrest her with the assistance of another trooper, Demetric Gosa.

After Arresting Driver for Silence, Cops Tell Her She Has a Right to Remain Silent - Hit & Run : Reason.com

[westcoastforme]

Although I have never had that happen to me you can't arrest someone for "not talking"

[whogo]

Originally Posted by westcoastforme

Although I have never had that happen to me you can't arrest someone for "not talking"

Actually this case proves you can.

[ohhwanderlust]

She's lucky the cops didn't beat her up.

[momonkey]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

LE gives us lots of entertainment on a daily basis;
------------
After New Jersey state troopers arrested Rebecca Musarra for remaining silent, they informed her, "You have the right to remain silent." That should have been a clue that something was amiss with their legal justification for hauling her off to jail.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by Musarra, a Philadelphia attorney, and dashcam footage recently obtained by NJ Advance Media, Trooper Matthew Stazzone pulled her over for speeding on October 16 and asked for her license, registration, and proof of insurance. She handed over the documents but did not respond when Stazzone asked her a question. He repeated the question several times, becoming increasingly agitated and warning her that she would be arrested if she did not answer. Here is the vitally important question that Stazzone kept asking: "Do you know why you're being pulled over tonight?"

In other words, Stazzone was trying to get Musarra to incriminate herself. She declined to do so. Mind you, she did not say, "I decline to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me," or "I am asserting my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent." But she did eventually identify herself as an attorney, saying she was not legally required to answer Stazzone's question. Unimpressed, he proceeded to handcuff and arrest her with the assistance of another trooper, Demetric Gosa.

After Arresting Driver for Silence, Cops Tell Her She Has a Right to Remain Silent - Hit & Run : Reason.com

It`s also none of ***wipe cop's business where she is "coming from tonight".


What we are witnessing is nothing less than the civil rights movement of the twenty-first century.


This attorney deserves a ****ing medal for fighting to defend our fundamental freedoms.


As for the cop, he deserves to have a pineapple shoved up his *** while being asked, "Do you know why we are shoving this pineapple up your ***?"

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by westcoastforme

Although I have never had that happen to me you can't arrest someone for "not talking"

They can arrest you for any reason whatsoever or for no reason at all because they have a gun AND a badge. Your only recourse is to fight it in court.

[GregW]

How do our Constitution and cop supporters posters think about this. Would it have made a difference if the driver was a minority?

[momonkey]

Originally Posted by GregW

How do our Constitution and cop supporters posters think about this. Would it have made a difference if the driver was a minority?

Well, the stop was for speeding and we know from the NJ study that blacks speed twice as frequently as whites and as the speeds recorded increase, the driver becomes more and more likely to be black.


Ann Coulter - September 3, 2014 - SPEED KILLS RACIAL PROFILING STUDY

[Gtownoe]

^^What?? Couldn't that just be a result of profiling??


If we know we're getting profiled wouldn't we be less likely to speed? Most of the speeders I see are white.


Anybody else want to confirm this?

[marigolds6]

Technically the cop was right. She never asserted her 4th or 5th amendment rights (and, something I disagree with, you are required to assert those rights to end questioning), so he could continue questioning and she was obstructing.

Technically right might make it through court, but he was wrong in what he did. If he could build probable cause in the stop, then that is what he should have done despite her obstructing and without any answers from her. If he could not do this, then he should have let her go (or written the appropriate ticket and hash out the evidence later in court). I think the ruling requiring assertion of the right to remain silent needs to go away.