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I know these stories are a little dated, but the lessons and publicity are still needed. Lawyers will tell you 100% of the time. NEVER consent to a search and NEVER tell LE anything. NOTHING you tell them can be used for your benefit and EVERYTHING you tell them might be used to put you through hell even though you are innocent.
Our LE Drug Warriors are so obsessed with the war on drugs that they will go to ridiculous extremes to find a few drugs.
The only good news with these two stories is that one innocent man got $1.6 million and another got $900,000. Why aren't the taxpayers of this New Mexico town up in arms about LE abuse of power and wasting their tax dollars?
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Don't get charged over using illegal drugs. That way the next time the cops stop you, they won't have reason to think you have got to be hiding drugs from them in your anus.
Also refusing to consent to a search will make cops think you're trying to hide drugs from them, whether you got a drug charge on your record, or not. At least if the cops search against your consent and find drugs, your lawyer will have something to go by in your defense.
Any innocent citizen can appropriately refuse government intervention in their lives... That's ok by me
Any crook can refuse a search..that's ok by me
Neither of the above would effect the manner in which a professional does their job. When I have stopped people I rarely have ever relied upon a consent search. . and amazingly I have had some very guilty people provide legal and knowing consent for a search of their persons places and things.
By the time I decide to make a search I either have sufficient probable cause to make one that will withstand court challenge...or I will have one of the exceptions... Or finally..I'll have a search warrant
This all makes me wonder... How many times have you been stopped searched arrested and convicted of a crime? Are you a illegal user of drugs that would subject you to police scrutiny? Do police regularly and aggressively target you?...
If you answer yes to any of the above then I suppose your life prescription is well justified
Saying no is fine...I would list this statement in an arrest report... I think this has happened only a couple of times where i felt compelled to get an immediate telephonic search wsrrant... And so you know it's not kings x.... You don't get to go home... We wait right there on the street or front porch securing the warrant
Lawyers will argue it out...I have lost a handful of searches in my life... Literally... And it was usually a technicality that was obscure
Goes with the job...so..the reality is that a refusal might feel good as a self avowed social justice warrior raging against the omnipotent government.... It has little effect in the real world
Don't get charged over using illegal drugs. That way the next time the cops stop you, they won't have reason to think you have got to be hiding drugs from them in your anus.
Also refusing to consent to a search will make cops think you're trying to hide drugs from them, whether you got a drug charge on your record, or not. At least if the cops search against your consent and find drugs, your lawyer will have something to go by in your defense.
that depends on the cop. some re suspicious regardless of whether or not you consent to a search but usually wont push the issue, others are laid back about it, and still others will call up a K9 unit if available, and still others will call in for a warrant to search your car.
if you refuse consent for a search, unless there is good reason to push the issue, most cops wont to prevent a good case from being tossed out of court.
I know these stories are a little dated, but the lessons and publicity are still needed. Lawyers will tell you 100% of the time. NEVER consent to a search and NEVER tell LE anything. NOTHING you tell them can be used for your benefit and EVERYTHING you tell them might be used to put you through hell even though you are innocent.
Our LE Drug Warriors are so obsessed with the war on drugs that they will go to ridiculous extremes to find a few drugs.
The only good news with these two stories is that one innocent man got $1.6 million and another got $900,000. Why aren't the taxpayers of this New Mexico town up in arms about LE abuse of power and wasting their tax dollars?
-------------------
Don't get charged over using illegal drugs. That way the next time the cops stop you, they won't have reason to think you have got to be hiding drugs from them in your anus.
Also refusing to consent to a search will make cops think you're trying to hide drugs from them, whether you got a drug charge on your record, or not. At least if the cops search against your consent and find drugs, your lawyer will have something to go by in your defense.
It is not just drug laws
I have heard a cop say they can get you with anything they want given time.
Does it not make sense though?
When they mess up, don't discuss the current situation at hand, lets dig in the past to justify it.
"I know I shot the guy, but lets not talk about that, look what he did 2 years ago"
James Duane, a professor at Regent Law School and former defense attorney, notes in his excellent lecture on why it is never a good idea to talk to the police:
image: http://static.prisonplanet.com/slideshow/221013law.jpg
Image: Do you break the law?
Estimates of the current size of the body of federal criminal law vary. It has been reported that the Congressional Research Service cannot even count the current number of federal crimes. These laws are scattered in over 50 titles of the United States Code, encompassing roughly 27,000 pages.
Any innocent citizen can appropriately refuse government intervention in their lives... That's ok by me
Since your an officer, and retired for that matter, it goes without saying you are going to support your profession, otherwise you would not have done x number of years, just like a Politician or Wall Street Banker that have good and bad members......, what abuses and over reach to the general public would you like to see rectified?
I mean, we all see where improvements could be made in our professions, so what is your views?
Make all drugs legal. Tax them enough to pay for rehab. Don't do them and you wont have a problem.
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