Pulled Over?? *must Read*
Pulled Over?? *must Read*
A little reminder on who has the powers...dont be intimidated by the cops
Authority and Rights are granted from the top down.
Creator
Created
We The People
Created
Constitutions
Created
States
Created
Federal Government & Corporations
(cities are municipal corporations)
The federal government created
Federal corporations (IRS, FDIC, etc.)
The state constitutions and federal constitution grant no rights to we the people.
The constitutions merely secure and protect the unalienable rights endowed
to we the people by our Creator.
This chart shows the Master/Servant relationship in descending order. As you can see,
the Creator is at the top of the authority ladder, the federal corporation is at the bottom.
Know who is the master and who is the servant!
How to Flex Your Rights during Police Encounters
In any given police encounter, with a few notable exceptions, the below rules will help protect your civil rights and improve your chances of driving or walking away safely—so you don’t have to be a legal expert to say and do the right thing.
1). Keep Your Private Items Out of View
This is common sense: Always keep any private items that you don’t want others to see out of sight. Legally speaking, police do not need a search warrant in order to confiscate any illegal items that are in plain view.
2). Be Courteous & Non-Confrontational
If you are pulled over, the first thing you should to do is turn your car off, turn the dome light on (if it’s nighttime), roll down the window, and keep your hands on the steering wheel. Don’t immediately reach into your glove compartment for your license and registration. Officers want to be able to see your hands for their own safety. Wait until the officer asks to see your paperwork before retrieving your documents.
The first thing you should say to the officer is, “Hello officer. Can you tell me why I am being pulled over?” The officer may give you a hard time or say, “Why do you think I pulled you over?” Tell the officer you don’t know. Most importantly, do not apologize after you get stopped, because that can be considered an admission of guilt and could be used against you later in court.
Show your identification if it’s requested. Be respectful and non-confrontational. Refer to the police as “Sir,” “Ma’am,” or “Officer.” Remain calm and quiet while the officer is reviewing your documents. If the officer writes you a ticket, accept it quietly and never complain. Listen to any instruction on paying the fine or contesting the ticket, and drive away slowly.
3). Just Say “No” to Warrantless Searches
Warning: If a police officer asks your permission to search, you are under no obligation to consent. The only reason he’s asking you is because he doesn’t have enough evidence to search without your consent. If you consent to a search request you give up one of the most important constitutional rights you have—your Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
A majority of avoidable police searches occur because citizens naively waive their Fourth Amendment rights by consenting to warrantless searches. As a general rule, if a person consents to a warrantless search, the search automatically becomes reasonable and therefore legal. Consequently, whatever an officer finds during such a search can be used to convict the person.
Don’t expect a police officer to tell you about your right not to consent. Police officers are not required by law to inform you of your rights before asking you to consent to a search. In addition, police officers are trained to use their authority to get people to consent to a search, and most people are predisposed to comply with any request a police officer makes. For example, the average motorist stopped by a police officer who asks them, “Would you mind if I search your vehicle, please?” will probably consent to the officer’s search without realizing that they have every right to deny the officer’s request.
If, for any reason you don’t want the officer digging through your belongings, you should refuse to consent by saying something like, “Officer, I know you want to do your job, but I do not consent to any searches of my private property.” If the officer still proceeds to search you and find illegal contraband, your attorney can argue that the contraband was discovered through an illegal search and hence should be thrown out of court.
You should never hesitate to assert your constitutional rights. Just say “no!”
4). Determine if You Can Leave
You have the right to terminate an encounter with a police officer unless you are being detained under police custody or have been arrested. The general rule is that you don't have to answer any questions that the police ask you. This rule comes from the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects you against self-incrimination. If you cannot tell if you are allowed to leave, say to the officer, “I have to be on my way. Am I free to go?”
If the officer says “Yes,” tell him to have a nice day, and leave immediately. If the officer’s answer is ambiguous, or if he asks you another unrelated question, persist by asking “am I being detained, or can I go now?” If the officer says “No,” you are being detained, and you may be placed under arrest. If this is the case, reassert your rights as outlined above, and follow Rules #5 and #6.
5). Do Not Answer Questions without Your Attorney Present
There is no reason to worry that your failure to answer the officer’s questions will later be used against you. The truth is just the opposite: Anything you say can, and probably will, be used against you.
In just about any case imaginable, a person is best off not answering any questions about his involvement in anything illegal. Assert your Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights by saying these exact words: “Officer, I have nothing to say until I speak with a lawyer.”
6). Do Not Physically Resist
If the police proceed to detain, search, or arrest you despite your wishes—do not physically resist. You may state clearly but non-confrontationally: “Officer, I am not resisting arrest and I do not consent to any searches.” Or you may assert your rights by simply saying nothing until you can speak with an attorney.
Authority and Rights are granted from the top down.
Creator
Created
We The People
Created
Constitutions
Created
States
Created
Federal Government & Corporations
(cities are municipal corporations)
The federal government created
Federal corporations (IRS, FDIC, etc.)
The state constitutions and federal constitution grant no rights to we the people.
The constitutions merely secure and protect the unalienable rights endowed
to we the people by our Creator.
This chart shows the Master/Servant relationship in descending order. As you can see,
the Creator is at the top of the authority ladder, the federal corporation is at the bottom.
Know who is the master and who is the servant!
How to Flex Your Rights during Police Encounters
In any given police encounter, with a few notable exceptions, the below rules will help protect your civil rights and improve your chances of driving or walking away safely—so you don’t have to be a legal expert to say and do the right thing.
1). Keep Your Private Items Out of View
This is common sense: Always keep any private items that you don’t want others to see out of sight. Legally speaking, police do not need a search warrant in order to confiscate any illegal items that are in plain view.
2). Be Courteous & Non-Confrontational
If you are pulled over, the first thing you should to do is turn your car off, turn the dome light on (if it’s nighttime), roll down the window, and keep your hands on the steering wheel. Don’t immediately reach into your glove compartment for your license and registration. Officers want to be able to see your hands for their own safety. Wait until the officer asks to see your paperwork before retrieving your documents.
The first thing you should say to the officer is, “Hello officer. Can you tell me why I am being pulled over?” The officer may give you a hard time or say, “Why do you think I pulled you over?” Tell the officer you don’t know. Most importantly, do not apologize after you get stopped, because that can be considered an admission of guilt and could be used against you later in court.
Show your identification if it’s requested. Be respectful and non-confrontational. Refer to the police as “Sir,” “Ma’am,” or “Officer.” Remain calm and quiet while the officer is reviewing your documents. If the officer writes you a ticket, accept it quietly and never complain. Listen to any instruction on paying the fine or contesting the ticket, and drive away slowly.
3). Just Say “No” to Warrantless Searches
Warning: If a police officer asks your permission to search, you are under no obligation to consent. The only reason he’s asking you is because he doesn’t have enough evidence to search without your consent. If you consent to a search request you give up one of the most important constitutional rights you have—your Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
A majority of avoidable police searches occur because citizens naively waive their Fourth Amendment rights by consenting to warrantless searches. As a general rule, if a person consents to a warrantless search, the search automatically becomes reasonable and therefore legal. Consequently, whatever an officer finds during such a search can be used to convict the person.
Don’t expect a police officer to tell you about your right not to consent. Police officers are not required by law to inform you of your rights before asking you to consent to a search. In addition, police officers are trained to use their authority to get people to consent to a search, and most people are predisposed to comply with any request a police officer makes. For example, the average motorist stopped by a police officer who asks them, “Would you mind if I search your vehicle, please?” will probably consent to the officer’s search without realizing that they have every right to deny the officer’s request.
If, for any reason you don’t want the officer digging through your belongings, you should refuse to consent by saying something like, “Officer, I know you want to do your job, but I do not consent to any searches of my private property.” If the officer still proceeds to search you and find illegal contraband, your attorney can argue that the contraband was discovered through an illegal search and hence should be thrown out of court.
You should never hesitate to assert your constitutional rights. Just say “no!”
4). Determine if You Can Leave
You have the right to terminate an encounter with a police officer unless you are being detained under police custody or have been arrested. The general rule is that you don't have to answer any questions that the police ask you. This rule comes from the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects you against self-incrimination. If you cannot tell if you are allowed to leave, say to the officer, “I have to be on my way. Am I free to go?”
If the officer says “Yes,” tell him to have a nice day, and leave immediately. If the officer’s answer is ambiguous, or if he asks you another unrelated question, persist by asking “am I being detained, or can I go now?” If the officer says “No,” you are being detained, and you may be placed under arrest. If this is the case, reassert your rights as outlined above, and follow Rules #5 and #6.
5). Do Not Answer Questions without Your Attorney Present
There is no reason to worry that your failure to answer the officer’s questions will later be used against you. The truth is just the opposite: Anything you say can, and probably will, be used against you.
In just about any case imaginable, a person is best off not answering any questions about his involvement in anything illegal. Assert your Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights by saying these exact words: “Officer, I have nothing to say until I speak with a lawyer.”
6). Do Not Physically Resist
If the police proceed to detain, search, or arrest you despite your wishes—do not physically resist. You may state clearly but non-confrontationally: “Officer, I am not resisting arrest and I do not consent to any searches.” Or you may assert your rights by simply saying nothing until you can speak with an attorney.
Last edited by Nforce1; Oct 12, 2004 at 10:44 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 773
Likes: 0
From: Dayton, OH
Re: Pulled Over?? *must Read*
Very good stuff there indeed. What spurred you to post this? I just hope for your sake that you were just posting it to be helpfull.
I hope you havent had to use those rights lately!!!!
I hope you havent had to use those rights lately!!!!
Trending Topics
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: Memphis Tn
Remember if he ask you to step out of the car roll up your windows and LOCK your doors behind you. They can not enter your car if its locked & secured wo/ a search warrant and or your permission . If you do let the officer search your car they can access anything that is not locked. If your glove/storage box is locked it must have a warrant to be searched, it is not included in the open search that you give permission too.
One thing you didn't mention was a small loophole. If you have any visible modifications to your car... i.e. exhaust, turbo.... they can search your car of any illegal modifications hence opening you up for a full search.
Plus laws vary from state to state. For example in Louisana they can do a random drug search on any car on the highway. So watch out for a black jeep cheroke with blacked out windows.
And yes you have to give a officer your name.
Plus laws vary from state to state. For example in Louisana they can do a random drug search on any car on the highway. So watch out for a black jeep cheroke with blacked out windows.
And yes you have to give a officer your name.
Last edited by SizongZ; Oct 14, 2004 at 01:55 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 818
Likes: 0
From: Santa Cruz, CA
Everything you posted is absolutely correct and good to know however you also must understand that if you are carrying contraband i.e. anything that is illegal to own or possess and the officer finds it, whether through a legal or illegal search, your whole day, and possibly your future will be F... up and fighting the case will cost you a lot of money even if your are successful in getting the evidence thrown out of court due to an illegal search.
The point I'm making is that if you are a law abiding citizen in the first place you wouldn't be carrying contraband and you wouldn't be acting in a suspicious way that made the officer suspect that something was wrong and that he should conduct a search of your vehicle. Even if he he did he wouldn't find anything because nothing was there. I don't believe that police officers routinely plant evidence on average law abiding citizens no matter what OJ claims.
The point I'm making is that if you are a law abiding citizen in the first place you wouldn't be carrying contraband and you wouldn't be acting in a suspicious way that made the officer suspect that something was wrong and that he should conduct a search of your vehicle. Even if he he did he wouldn't find anything because nothing was there. I don't believe that police officers routinely plant evidence on average law abiding citizens no matter what OJ claims.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 769
Likes: 0
From: Dayton OH
Originally posted by Zcool
The point I'm making is that if you are a law abiding citizen in the first place you wouldn't be carrying contraband and you wouldn't be acting in a suspicious way that made the officer suspect that something was wrong and that he should conduct a search of your vehicle. Even if he he did he wouldn't find anything because nothing was there. I don't believe that police officers routinely plant evidence on average law abiding citizens no matter what OJ claims.
The point I'm making is that if you are a law abiding citizen in the first place you wouldn't be carrying contraband and you wouldn't be acting in a suspicious way that made the officer suspect that something was wrong and that he should conduct a search of your vehicle. Even if he he did he wouldn't find anything because nothing was there. I don't believe that police officers routinely plant evidence on average law abiding citizens no matter what OJ claims.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Florida
Originally posted by BHOPPER 5
Remember if he ask you to step out of the car roll up your windows and LOCK your doors behind you. They can not enter your car if its locked & secured wo/ a search warrant and or your permission . If you do let the officer search your car they can access anything that is not locked. If your glove/storage box is locked it must have a warrant to be searched, it is not included in the open search that you give permission too.
Remember if he ask you to step out of the car roll up your windows and LOCK your doors behind you. They can not enter your car if its locked & secured wo/ a search warrant and or your permission . If you do let the officer search your car they can access anything that is not locked. If your glove/storage box is locked it must have a warrant to be searched, it is not included in the open search that you give permission too.
Generally speaking, a police officer has the right to ask you to step out of a vehicle for his own safety (Wilson v. Maryland). This is an extension of the stop and frisk doctrine from Terry v. Ohio, where an officer has the right to stop and frisk someone in the course of his investigation for purposes of his own safety without probable cause.
Additionally, a cop doesn't need a warrant to search a locked container in a vehicle. All he / she needs is probable cause that evidence of a crime is contained within. Additionally, if you are arrested any contraband that you have will be discovered by police inventories as part of booking. So even if the police illegally searched through you're locked container and found 'stuff' it will still be admited as evidence under the inevitable discovery doctrine.
----This is information should not be considered legal advice-----
----Reading this email does not create an attorney client privilege as I am not an attorney----
3). Just Say “No” to Warrantless Searches.
Wrong answer. I mean you could do that but then you create two problems.
One, You **** the cop off. No biggie but then two you sit there until he gets a warrant. This can take hours depending on how big of an a$$ he wants to be.
I had a buddy that said no to a warrantless search once.
Cost him about 2 hours in his time, On top of that the police dog jumped on his car and damaged the paint.
If he would have just said go ahead, Then he would have been out of there in 30 minutes top and they wouldnt have torn up his car. Just for the record, They refused to fix his car and sense it was his word against the cops and the other officers there was nothing he could do. Had to fix the car out of his own pocket.
You all can do what you want but as for me if i have nothing to hide then I wont waste my time with refusing him the search and having my car torn up.
Wrong answer. I mean you could do that but then you create two problems.
One, You **** the cop off. No biggie but then two you sit there until he gets a warrant. This can take hours depending on how big of an a$$ he wants to be.
I had a buddy that said no to a warrantless search once.
Cost him about 2 hours in his time, On top of that the police dog jumped on his car and damaged the paint.
If he would have just said go ahead, Then he would have been out of there in 30 minutes top and they wouldnt have torn up his car. Just for the record, They refused to fix his car and sense it was his word against the cops and the other officers there was nothing he could do. Had to fix the car out of his own pocket.
You all can do what you want but as for me if i have nothing to hide then I wont waste my time with refusing him the search and having my car torn up.
Originally posted by SvR350z
3). Just Say “No” to Warrantless Searches.
Wrong answer. I mean you could do that but then you create two problems.
One, You **** the cop off. No biggie but then two you sit there until he gets a warrant. This can take hours depending on how big of an a$$ he wants to be.
I had a buddy that said no to a warrantless search once.
Cost him about 2 hours in his time, On top of that the police dog jumped on his car and damaged the paint.
If he would have just said go ahead, Then he would have been out of there in 30 minutes top and they wouldnt have torn up his car. Just for the record, They refused to fix his car and sense it was his word against the cops and the other officers there was nothing he could do. Had to fix the car out of his own pocket.
You all can do what you want but as for me if i have nothing to hide then I wont waste my time with refusing him the search and having my car torn up.
3). Just Say “No” to Warrantless Searches.
Wrong answer. I mean you could do that but then you create two problems.
One, You **** the cop off. No biggie but then two you sit there until he gets a warrant. This can take hours depending on how big of an a$$ he wants to be.
I had a buddy that said no to a warrantless search once.
Cost him about 2 hours in his time, On top of that the police dog jumped on his car and damaged the paint.
If he would have just said go ahead, Then he would have been out of there in 30 minutes top and they wouldnt have torn up his car. Just for the record, They refused to fix his car and sense it was his word against the cops and the other officers there was nothing he could do. Had to fix the car out of his own pocket.
You all can do what you want but as for me if i have nothing to hide then I wont waste my time with refusing him the search and having my car torn up.
john
Nforce 1, where you get this info from? Its great, everyone should know this stuff, this coming from a police officer. And ghost6, thx for the correct info. However, during inventory search, you are not allowed to "search" for evidence of a crime. Where and how you can inventory all depends on the your dept. policy. the inventory is ONLY to protect the dept., officer, and the owner of the vehicle. (just in case the owner said he has 5 rolex watches or an offier steals your CDs). If we do come across something illegal, we can only take the item and dispose of it, but can't use it in court since its not a search. we may however, can now obtain a warrant now that we have proable cause that a crime exist.
When you are not detain by an officer, there are only 3 things that you must give an officer: 1) your name, 2) your address of residence, and 3) a reasonable story of what you are doing. Other than that, you don't have to give us anything else and you are free to leave at any time.
As for us chasing you and shooting you, ....all I can say is don't belive TV. The rules are very strict as to when we can shoot a suspect and even than we still get sued. I once had a guy run at me with a knife. I tazed him and arrested him, he latter sued me! He stated that he really didn't mean to hurt me, but just to "test" me to help me improve as an officer!
Important! when an officer pulls you over its consider an non-custodial arrest (he's preventing you from leaving by his mere presence but you are not physicaly detain which would be a custodial arrest), therefore, we can ONLY search your vehicle within your wing-span of EVIDENCE OF THE CRIME! and weapons for officer safety. Therefore, if I pulled you over for speeding, what I am going to search your car for?, a lead foot? If you are under custodial arrest, we can search EVERYWHERE including locked compartments (NY vs. Belton). It is highly recomemded that we still get a warrants so we do that anyways to be safe.
And it is absoulty correct that if an officer ask for your consent to search its beacase he doesn't have enough proable cause. If you say no and the officer makes you wait for the dog, just ask if you are free to leave. keep asking untill he gives you a direct answer. (remeber, you can always ask for his supervisor to come) Although 100% of the time cops back each other up, supervisor are very concern of liability, therefore, they will tell you direct answers since their job is to prevent law suits. If the dog scracthes your car, complian to the department and if all else fail, SUE!
I'm telling you all this because Law enforcement is not higher than anyone else. We are here to protect and SERVE YOU! Alot of officers put themself above the community and thats where trust is broken. Once the public loses trust in us, we can't effectively go after the REAL bad guys, murders, rapist, pedophila etc.... I love my job as a cop, but it bothers me to hear so many people hate cops, for the most part, i don't blame them.
Side note, if you think the goverment is the master and we are slaves, think about how Grey Davis got his *** kicked out of office and how much trouble Clinton and Nixon got into cause we the people stood up.
"If there are no stupid questions, than how do stupid people ask questions? They get smart right before they ask a question?"
When you are not detain by an officer, there are only 3 things that you must give an officer: 1) your name, 2) your address of residence, and 3) a reasonable story of what you are doing. Other than that, you don't have to give us anything else and you are free to leave at any time.
As for us chasing you and shooting you, ....all I can say is don't belive TV. The rules are very strict as to when we can shoot a suspect and even than we still get sued. I once had a guy run at me with a knife. I tazed him and arrested him, he latter sued me! He stated that he really didn't mean to hurt me, but just to "test" me to help me improve as an officer!
Important! when an officer pulls you over its consider an non-custodial arrest (he's preventing you from leaving by his mere presence but you are not physicaly detain which would be a custodial arrest), therefore, we can ONLY search your vehicle within your wing-span of EVIDENCE OF THE CRIME! and weapons for officer safety. Therefore, if I pulled you over for speeding, what I am going to search your car for?, a lead foot? If you are under custodial arrest, we can search EVERYWHERE including locked compartments (NY vs. Belton). It is highly recomemded that we still get a warrants so we do that anyways to be safe.
And it is absoulty correct that if an officer ask for your consent to search its beacase he doesn't have enough proable cause. If you say no and the officer makes you wait for the dog, just ask if you are free to leave. keep asking untill he gives you a direct answer. (remeber, you can always ask for his supervisor to come) Although 100% of the time cops back each other up, supervisor are very concern of liability, therefore, they will tell you direct answers since their job is to prevent law suits. If the dog scracthes your car, complian to the department and if all else fail, SUE!
I'm telling you all this because Law enforcement is not higher than anyone else. We are here to protect and SERVE YOU! Alot of officers put themself above the community and thats where trust is broken. Once the public loses trust in us, we can't effectively go after the REAL bad guys, murders, rapist, pedophila etc.... I love my job as a cop, but it bothers me to hear so many people hate cops, for the most part, i don't blame them.
Side note, if you think the goverment is the master and we are slaves, think about how Grey Davis got his *** kicked out of office and how much trouble Clinton and Nixon got into cause we the people stood up.
"If there are no stupid questions, than how do stupid people ask questions? They get smart right before they ask a question?"
Originally posted by the7ferret
I never understood the not giving the cop your name, he can just take your DL to see it.
I never understood the not giving the cop your name, he can just take your DL to see it.
I run into people on the street all the time that don't have any IDs. Its not illegal to not have IDs. Homeless people, they never have IDs or even some elders. People who just came to America, they don't have IDs either. Also, just because someone is driving a vehicle, doesn't mean they have any IDs on them. I once pulled over a 10yr kid! (He got mad at his parents so he took their car for a joy ride with his friends, personally, i think that's freaking funny!) I called his parents and had them deal with it, I didn't charge anyone. I came back to the home later to makes sure that the parents weren't punishing the kid too harsley, ie. beating him. Hope that answers your concern about the DL.
Last edited by bamyi; Oct 21, 2004 at 10:20 AM.