5 Reasons You Should Never Agree to a Police Search (Even if You Have Nothing to Hide)

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/rights/154253/5_reasons_you_should_never_agree_to_a_police_search_%28even_if_you_have_nothing_to_hide%29/

Do you know what your rights are when a police officer asks to search you? If you're like most people I've met in my eight years working to educate the public on this topic, then you probably don't.

t's a subject that a lot of people think they understand, but too often our perception of police power is distorted by fictional TV dramas, sensational media stories, silly urban myths, and the unfortunate fact that police themselves are legally allowed to lie to us.

It wouldn't even be such a big deal, I suppose, if our laws all made sense and our public servants always treated us as citizens first and suspects second. But thanks to the War on Drugs, nothing is ever that easy. When something as stupid as stopping people from possessing marijuana came to be considered a critical law enforcement function, innocence ceased to protect people against police harassment. From the streets of the Bronx to the suburbs of the Nation's Capital, you never have to look hard to find victims of the bias, incompetence, andcorruption that the drug war delivers on a daily basis.

Whether or not you ever break the law, you should be prepared to protect yourself and your property just in case police become suspicious of you. Let's take a look at one of the most commonly misunderstood legal situations a citizen can encounter: a police officer asking to search your belongings. Most people automatically give consent when police ask to perform a search. However, I recommend saying "no" to police searches, and here are some reasons why:

1. It's your constitutional right.

The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures. Unless police have strong evidence (probable cause) to believe you're involved in criminal activity, they need your permission to perform a search of you or your property.

[msongs]

1. police are not your friend nt

[Censor-Ready]

31. Essential Reading

Nice OP, but the FlexYourRights.org advice is flawed. Never voluntarily talk to a cop. Ever.
If confronted, there are only two things you should ever say to a cop:
1) Am I free to go?
2) I'm going to remain silent. I want to speak to my attorney.

Read on:
Beat The Heat: How to Handle Encounters With Law Enforcement, by Katya Komisaruk, is now online:
http://www.lawcollective.org/
Our Enemies in Blue: A Social History of Policing in North America by Kristian Williams
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/our-enemies-in-blue-kristian-williams/1101156459
On The Take: From Petty Crooks to Presidents by William Chambliss
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/On-the-Take-Second-Edition/William-J-Chambliss/e/9780253202987

[Morning Dew]

2. Thanks for bringing up this topic again - it can't be stressed enough.

Never talk to the police.

[xchrom]

9. great video -- but omg that guy talks fast. nt

[shanti]

27. valuable information

if you can get past this guy's annoying voice. i really wanted to hear it, but could only take a few minutes....

[WingDinger]

3. When cops dont care, it is moot what your rights are, till court, if you are lucky.

When I asserted my fourth ammendment right to be secure in my person and possessions, the four cops with guns in my face were undeterred.

As they left, one cop said that the reason they KNEW I was guilty, was I wouldnt waive my con right IMMEDIATELY. If they want to search you, they will. If you are busted, MAYBE the court will throw out the ilegally found evidence. BUT, they intend to learn enough, to prejudice the court against you.

[backscatter712]

20. It's court that refusing a search is for.

If you refuse a search and the pigs search anyways, the prosecutor cannot use what they find in that search against you in trial. Then you lawyer up, watch their case fall apart and walk free.

If you consent to the search, and the pigs find so much as a roach, you're fucked.

[99th_Monkey]

32. Reality Check: the operative phra$e i$ "lawyer up"

which take$ ... ah .. you know ... some buck$ to do; otherwise
you are fucked whatever you do.

[Zalatix]

33. BTDT

Was ordered out of my car, the cop searched, found absolutely zip, ticketed me for GOING TOO SLOW, 54 in a 65mph zone. The area was a construction zone with a sign clearly saying speed limit REDUCED to 55mph. Took it to court, cop wasn't there, judge threw it out. If I had lawyered up I might have gotten some loot out of it, too.

[DirkGently]

4. It would be a better world if we were all seeking peace & justice.

But we're not. If police and prosecutors could be relied upon to work for the common good, we could smile and be open and assist. But that's not where we are right now. Right now, you can be accused, silenced, and imprisoned for things you did that weren't wrong, and for things you didn't do.

It's an ugly fact of our civilization that some situations are automatically adversarial. Being suspected of, or even examined on the possibility of being supected of, some punishable offense, is one.

We can do better, but in the mean time, yeah. Shut up and lawyer up.

[Lint Head]

5. I was stopped one time by a highway patrol officer.

He asked to search my car. I politely said no and he said didn't search. It works.

[WingDinger]

13. It works if the cop doesnt search. Not so well if he does.

[backscatter712]

19. If he does, but you refused... they can't use the evidence in court.

If he didn't have a warrant, he can't use anything he finds in the search in court.

Even if you do get searched, refusing a search can save your ass from a long jail sentence.

[The Doctor.]

34. They can get around that.

All they ever have to say is that they had 'probable cause' and make some shit up.

I like the advice about saying you're in the ACLU though.

[backscatter712]

46. If you give permission to search, you waive your rights and you're screwed.

But if you say "I do not consent to a search". Sure they may argue probable cause, and they may even get a warrant.

Then your lawyer will start nitpicking the details, "You had probable cause based on what evidence? Oh, you smelled something? Do you have any additional witnesses? Did the driver appear intoxicated? What evidence can you present that gave you probable cause?"

And that's how cases get dismissed, or felonies get pled down to misdemeanors, and misdemeanors get pled down to stuff less serious than a speeding ticket.

Never waive your rights. Never consent to a search, and lawyer up!

[mainer]

6. Just tell them you (or your parents) belong to the ACLU, and you know your rights

That's we told our sons to say. The police are afraid of the ACLU, because they know their actions will be scrutinized.

btw, ACLU has a handy guide for students to remind them of their rights:

http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/your-right-privacy

[peacebird]

21. Thanks for this! Good to know!

[dhill926]

7. thanks.....bookmarked........

[Odin2005]

8. 6. They can plant fake "evidence".

[YellowRubberDuckie]

39. Not only that, they can get their dogs to signal on anything.

All it has to look good for is the camera on the dash cam.

[sofa king]

42. The dogs are the big one in Virginia.

In fact, the dog angle contradicts a good proportion of the positive outcomes mentioned in that article. If you refuse a search of your vehicle, and they think they're on to something, they will make you wait as long as they can for the K-9 car to show up, wasting your time, and the dog appears to be the instrument that can create probable cause out of nothing.

On a number of occasions I've seen people refuse vehicle searches. Virtually every time, the very next thing the officer says is, "okay, we'll wait until the K-9 car shows up." Apparently, a dog is allowed to search a vehicle even when a human police officer cannot.

However, that may be bullshit, because even though I've seen that play out at least three times, I've never actually seen a K-9 arrive on the scene.

My assumption has always been that "waiting for the dog" is a ruse designed to buy the officer time while he attempts to elicit probable cause through further questioning. But I've heard plenty of stories where the dog did show up.

Do we have any lawyers who can give some general outlines about dog searches of cars? Can one refuse one of those? What about someone like me, who is allergic to dogs? Can I refuse a dog search on health grounds?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

48. They walk the dog around the exterior of the car.

And if they hit on something, they can search, because at that point they have probable cause.

[sofa king]

49. Interesting!

One specific yarn I heard was that the occupants were told to exit the car and were told not to close the passenger door.

When the K-9 arrived, "the door was open," so I guess that's why the dog was permitted to hop in and sniff around (nothing was found, of course: it was a DWB).

I wonder, if the passenger had closed the door behind him in defiance of the officer on the scene, could he be cited for that?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

50. If you are asked to leave your car by a cop, take your keys, shut the door & make sure it is locked!

To not lock your door is to consent to a search.

[surfdog]

10. Number one isn't really accurate

One officer says to the other "you smell marijuana" the other officer replies "I think so"

And the search begins

The scam holds up in court

[RoccoR5955]

11. Then I tell them to pull my finger

to smell something REALLY interesting.
At which point, if they still smell Mary Jane, I will testify in court that they are brain damaged!

[BlueIris]

36. LOL--really?

This makes me amused.

[lapislzi]

12. Words I have made my daughter parrot back to me ad infinitum.

"I am sorry, but you may not search my purse/car."
"I am sorry, but I'm not allowed to talk to you until I talk to my mom first."
"May I go, please? Am I being detained? Please tell me why I am being detained."
"May I call my mom, please? Would you mind calling my mom?"

Followed by my rant, "I don't care if your friends are doing bong hits in the back seat, you don't talk to the cops!"

[Arkansas Granny]

14. This happened to a friend of mine. An anonymous tip to the police claimed that she

was selling drugs from her home. Knowing it was not true, she allowed the police to search her home. They found two roaches that her teenager had left in an ash tray and some old paraphanalia that she had forgotten she even had in a box of mementos. By the time all was said and done, she had been interrogated, ordered to pay large fines, lost her drivers license, voting privileges and so on. Had she refused the search, it's doubtful that they could have gotten a warrant with no evidence.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. Was that in Arkansas?

I remember when there was a head shop in Fayetteville that was selling paraphernelia legally. It was a favorite haunt of half of my high school class.

[Arkansas Granny]

24. Yes, it was in Arkansas. We used to be able to shop for paraphernalia way back when.

I forget what year it was made illegal to sell it. Some items, such as pipes and papers, can still be sold, but only if they are marked as being for use with tobacco.

[Art_from_Ark]

30. That is so screwed up

I've never been a big fan of MJ, but the penalties they are imposing for little shit like what you described are just plan crazy and outrageous. It sounds like they're designed just to extort money from people.

[HopeHoops]

15. There's always, "Dude, I really need to pee."

[COLGATE4]

16. Absolutely priceless advice! Everyone

should take it to heart.

[closeupready]

17. When I asked the cops to stop neighbors from trespassing on my rooftop, the 'cops' were my friends.

Sorry.

[backscatter712]

18. Reason #2 is the most important of all.

2. Refusing a search protects you if you end up in court.

Absolute truth here! If you refuse a search, the pigs are likely to toss your home/car/belongings anyways just to goad you into doing something stupid that they can arrest you for, but they won't be able to use anything from their search in court, and you can sue the piggies' asses.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

29. Wong Sun etal. versus the United States.

"Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine".

Backscatter is absolutely right.

And I am a lawyer but I do not play one on TV, unlike Shatner.

[LetTimmySmoke]

23. The War on Drugs has destroyed the 4th amendment.

[REP]

25. I wish I could rec this more than once.

[JNathanK]

26. They'll trick you with hypothetical sounding questions.

A police officer asked me, "Would you mind if we searched your car. You wouldn't have anything to hide would you?". I said "no, I wouldn't mind", and they told me to step out of the car. Don't fall for their indirect bullshit.

[1620rock]

28. What do cops care about anyone's rights. Bunch of dumb ass thugs.

[RoccoR5955]

38. You forgot to mention

That many of the cops, and prison guards are as bad as the people they are trying to, or actually incarcerating.

[truebrit71]

37. K&R

[Hotler]

40. k&r

Never ever talk to a cop without having a lawyer present. When you get pulled over, roll the window down just enough to hand them your license, registration, and insurance card and say nothing. If they ask "Do you know how fast you were going." plead the 5th and stay silent.

[LiberalAndProud]

43. "I smell pot" = probable cause

Cops can and do make up probable cause all the time. Our constitutional protections translate to exactly zip.

[backscatter712]

47. Shaky probable cause. Some judges have ruled that's not good enough.

And your lawyer will create enough doubt in court that the cops had sufficient probable cause to search, try to get the evidence suppressed, threaten to explain that to the jury, and the DA's will be begging to dismiss or give you a nice plea-bargain.

But if you say "Sure, search the car," you're fucked. You waived your rights, and they'll hang you with your consent.

Never consent to a search. You have little to gain and everything to lose if you do.

[AlbertCat]

44. I get to DISAGREE????

Not in NC.

[DefenseLawyer]

45. Music to my ears. n/t

[lapislzi]

51. Another good piece of advice: if you're going to break the law, don't break the law.

My daughter knows that the penalty for driving under the influence of anything stronger than Tylenol will be instantaneous, and draconian.

But, should it happen that her friends fire up a blunt in the back seat, or crack a bottle of tequila, she had better not be breaking any other laws. As in, no speeding, using turn indicators, always making sure all the lights are in good working order, etc.

I am not for a moment suggesting that anyone drink alcohol or take drugs while riding in a motor vehicle. But, if you're driving around with a baggie of pot, don't speed. Don't give them a reason to pull you over.

Especially if you're a kid and driving in either an old clunker or an "I dare you to pull me over" hot hatch like my daughter insists on driving...cops smell pay dirt.

I have seen tail light stops go horribly wrong.