Supreme Court limits warrantless vehicle searches

Supreme Court limits warrantless vehicle searches

seattletimes.nwsource.com

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police need a warrant to search the vehicle of someone they have arrested if the person is locked up in a patrol cruiser and poses no safety threat to officers.

The court's 5-4 decision in a case from Arizona puts new limits on the ability of police to search a vehicle immediately after the arrest of a suspect, particularly when the alleged offense is nothing more serious than a traffic violation.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is great news for US citizens. The police in this nation have overstepped their boundaries for far too long. While it doesn't stop one from getting arrested in the first place, it does hinder the police from invading the private property of a citizen. I know of several people who were arrested for pointless, baseless 'crimes', only to have their vehicle searched which led to police planting drugs or weapons in the vehicle so they'd have a legitimate excuse in court to prosecute them.

seattletimes.nwsource.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

WOW this is GREAT!!

Lets say I have been a subject of this one time, with a dog.

Now let me say.. when a cop bangs repeatedly hits his hands on your car in the same spot and the dog jumps up finally... well you can figure out the story from there...

I'm not particularly thrilled with a 5-4 decision, but at least they made the right one.

Police work FOR us, not against us; everyone needs to be reminded of that. If they feel a search needs to be done they can get a warrant, or they can piss off.

[edit on 4/21/2009 by eNumbra]

Originally posted by A L T A I R


This is great news for US citizens. The police in this nation have overstepped their boundaries for far too long. While it doesn't stop one from getting arrested in the first place, it does hinder the police from invading the private property of a citizen. I know of several people who were arrested for pointless, baseless 'crimes', only to have their vehicle searched which led to police planting drugs or weapons in the vehicle so they'd have a legitimate excuse in court to prosecute them.

seattletimes.nwsource.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

So they told you that stuff was planted and you believed them why? Could it be that you know of people who carry weapons and drugs? What was the baseless and pointless crimes they were arrested for?

Personally I rather them check it out on the side of the road rather them tearing my car apart in a garage back at the precint. But thats just me.

edit to add.

Any time I'm pulled over in my wifes vehicle and they ask if they can look in my car I give them the go ahead. I have nothing to hide and out of the hundred or so times I have been pulled over I have yet to get a ticket or arrested. Also, nothing has ever been planted in my car.

[edit on 21-4-2009 by jd140]

reply to post by jd140


Then you can give them consent to search. I would rather they not use putting me in cuffs as an excuse to rummage through my personal life. I am sure that if you requested they search your vehicle on the side of the road that they would be happy to

reply to post by eNumbra


Have you not noticed the 'weighted' bias of the Court, especially when Sandra Day O'Connor stepped down to care for her sick husband, during the Bush Admistration....and 'bush' was able to appoint a right-wing ideologue????

Scalia and that 'puppet' Thomas are virtually joined at the hip. I actualy fear that Thomas isn't fully cognizant....I wish there was some mechanism to evaluate the mental state of the Supremes.

I mean, Transportation Workers all have to undergo regular and random Drug and Alcohol screenings. WHY not the members of the three branches, as well?????

Every Public Servant should be subjected to the same criteria....maybe this is fodder for a whole thread....just need a category......

Originally posted by jd140


Any time I'm pulled over in my wifes vehicle and they ask if they can look in my car I give them the go ahead. I have nothing to hide and out of the hundred or so times I have been pulled over I have yet to get a ticket or arrested. Also, nothing has ever been planted in my car.

I'm sorry to say this, but people like you are the reason we have no civil liberties anymore.

I don't carry illegal things in my car. I don't drive around with weapons. I don't drive under the influence. If a police officer asks to search my car, I politely tell him to # off. We have the bill of rights for a reason, lets not go voiding our rights just because we are innocent.

True story: I was with a friend of mine, he is Colombian (100% legal immigrant), but because of his darker skin color he is constantly hassled by the police. We were being harassed by a police officer at a campsite, who insisted on searching our tents and cars. We refused, so they called drug dogs. Fine with us. The dog "alerted" to something in his car (100% bull#). The cops proceeded to tear his car apart looking for drugs. Of course their search turned up empty. The officer found an empty flask in the back seat of his car, and tried to get my friend to admit that he was driving under the influence. He was not.

I should also note that they pretty much left me alone the entire time, without asking me any ridiculous questions or searching me (I'm white).

We need to start letting police officers know that just because we are innocent does NOT mean they are allowed to poke their noses in our business. Needless to say these officers must have felt pretty foolish wasting an hour of their time with us, but they also wasted an hour of our camping trip and really ruined our moods for the night.

It's time we started standing up to the police state.

reply to post by A L T A I R


This is interesting. Would this supreme court decision also apply to the border patrol as well? Any lawyers out there who can answer that for us???

reply to post by drwizardphd


That sounds like you had a bad time. Now imagine how it might have gone if you said sure go ahead have a look around. The car would have been in better shape and you would have had a better time on your camping trip.

My primary vehicle is my motorcycle, it is a nice HD roadking and I drive that 99 percent of the time. When I drive my wifes vehicle I tend to drive faster because there isn't any wind resistance. When I get pulled over for speeding I apologize and inform them of this. I usually get a laugh and a few even talk motorcycles for few minutes. If it is on a weekend(which is usually the case when I am driving the car) they politely ask me if I had been drinking, I inform them that I had not. Sometimes I get a sobriety test and most of the time they politely ask if they can take a look around. I agree and am on my way in about 5 minutes. The cops sometimes informs me of a poker run and invites me to ride in it and the only one I catch crap from is the wife.

Like I said I have been pulled over atleast a hundred times and have yet to get a ticket or been held on the side of the road for more then 10 minutes. I attribute that to not having a bad attitude and treating them with the respect I would want to have shown to me when I am doing my job.

If you feel that me treating them as working people instead of the enemy attribute to you losing your civil liberties then I guess next time I get pulled over I will help you lose more.

This decision does not matter at all. Evidence collected in illegal search and seizure can be used in court. Another ruling awhile back by the justices. So why does this even matter? police do not get into trouble for searching you against your wishes.

Originally posted by jd140


Like I said I have been pulled over atleast a hundred times and have yet to get a ticket or been held on the side of the road for more then 10 minutes. I attribute that to not having a bad attitude and treating them with the respect I would want to have shown to me when I am doing my job.

If you feel that me treating them as working people instead of the enemy attribute to you losing your civil liberties then I guess next time I get pulled over I will help you lose more.

I don't know how you manage to get pulled over so often, but I can assure you that I ALWAYS treat police officers with the utmost respect. I have only had the pleasure of being pulled over a handful of times in my life, but the police always treat me with respect. However, they did not treat my friend with respect, which I personally believe was because he is South American.

I also respectfully ask police to respect my fourth amendment rights. The situation above was the only instance in my life where I was searched by a police officer, and it wasn't even my vehicle.

I do not condone treating officers as "the enemy". I simply ask that, even though you're completely innocent, you do not give up your constitutional rights. When we elect to give up our constitutional rights simply because we feel we are safe from prosecution, we show that we don't respect our own privacy, and makes officers feel they are empowered to search anyone. And they most certainly are not.

The next time you are pulled over and the officer asks to search your motorcycle, politely remind him that the fourth amendment exists. You can find its wording here. In my experience, most people seem to forget that we have these rights, but our forefathers struck them into law for a reason.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by eNumbra

 

I wish there was some mechanism to evaluate the mental state of the Supremes.

I mean, Transportation Workers all have to undergo regular and random Drug and Alcohol screenings. WHY not the members of the three branches, as well?????

Every Public Servant should be subjected to the same criteria....maybe this is fodder for a whole thread....just need a category......

Ever since I woke up ... That's been a main theme of mine. Drug test and psych-evaluate all of those mutha-#'ers! LOL

It really gets me angry when I've taken countless drug tests over much of my working life (at least since the late 90's).

And I'm not even responsible for #'ing TRILLIONS of dollars. I never worried about failing them... Guess why? I'll give you one boneheaded guess.

Anyhow, I can't agree with the first ½ of your post... but thanks for trying.

Separate thread? I'm not sure how ... BUT I think it should be on everyone's list of things to do ... They are talking about drug testing welfare recipients (hopefully not unemployment benefits, that's just wrong) not sure if it made it through yet or not.

Definitely spot check our fearless fearfull leaders.

reply to post by drwizardphd


I explained why I get pulled over so much. Go 70 on a bike all week then hop in a car and try to do the speed limit.

Like I said my way has kept me from being ticketed atleast a hundred times and your way got your friends car messed up and you probably have been ticketed.

But hey atleast you protected your civil liberties.

reply to post by jd140


Yup this is why we are headed on a downward spiral as a nation. Because people would rather have convenience than civil liberties.

Oh do whatever you want to me officer, i'm yours. As long as you don't give me a ticket.

Like the Dead Kennedies say "give me convenience or give me death"

Thats the attitude of most Americans today.

Originally posted by drwizardphd

Originally posted by jd140


Any time I'm pulled over in my wifes vehicle and they ask if they can look in my car I give them the go ahead. I have nothing to hide and out of the hundred or so times I have been pulled over I have yet to get a ticket or arrested. Also, nothing has ever been planted in my car.

I'm sorry to say this, but people like you are the reason we have no civil liberties anymore.

I don't carry illegal things in my car. I don't drive around with weapons. I don't drive under the influence. If a police officer asks to search my car, I politely tell him to # off. We have the bill of rights for a reason, lets not go voiding our rights just because we are innocent.

True story: I was with a friend of mine, he is Colombian (100% legal immigrant), but because of his darker skin color he is constantly hassled by the police. We were being harassed by a police officer at a campsite, who insisted on searching our tents and cars. We refused, so they called drug dogs. Fine with us. The dog "alerted" to something in his car (100% bull#). The cops proceeded to tear his car apart looking for drugs. Of course their search turned up empty. The officer found an empty flask in the back seat of his car, and tried to get my friend to admit that he was driving under the influence. He was not.

I should also note that they pretty much left me alone the entire time, without asking me any ridiculous questions or searching me (I'm white).

We need to start letting police officers know that just because we are innocent does NOT mean they are allowed to poke their noses in our business. Needless to say these officers must have felt pretty foolish wasting an hour of their time with us, but they also wasted an hour of our camping trip and really ruined our moods for the night.

It's time we started standing up to the police state.

Thank you for that.

What a great statement, when you let them mentally take advantage of you, and start buying into their game, its already too late b/c they are planning the next wave that is already being pulled over your eyes

Originally posted by theendisnear69
reply to post by jd140

 

Yup this is why we are headed on a downward spiral as a nation. Because people would rather have convenience than civil liberties.

Oh do whatever you want to me officer, i'm yours. As long as you don't give me a ticket.

Like the Dead Kennedies say "give me convenience or give me death"

Thats the attitude of most Americans today.

I haven't noticed any of my civil liberties missing. They ask and I say sure knock yourself out. It has probably saved my liscense from being taken away and I have made a few new riding friends.

I have yet to encounter a rude officer or have had my car torn apart because a dog hit on something in my car. I don't have a bad attitude toward the police and so far I haven't had a bad run in with an officer.

I'm sure if I treated police officers the way you want me to that I would view them as you people do. But the question is why would I? For some of you, your bad attitudes toward them has done nothing but give you grief. Why would I want to be miserable along side of you?

Nope. I rather have a good attitude, make some new friends and riding partners.

Come to think of it I did have one officer give me a problem when I was 18. I was speeding on a Saturday night and my buddy had an open container. He asked me for my liscense and I couldn't find my wallet that day and informed him I had misplaced it. I was told that I couldn't drive without my DL and since my buddy had been drinking that I was going to have my car towed. I was placed in the back of the cruiser with my buddy and he proceeded to search my car without asking. That upset me, but about 5 minutes later he came back to his cruiser with my wallet in hand. It had been under the back of the driver seat. He ran my DL, found nothing and let me and my buddy go with a warning.

If that is impeding on my civil liberties then I am glad he did. Saved me from impound fees, buying a new DL, buying a new wallet and saved me from losing the hundred dollars I had in my wallet.

Bad attitude= trouble

Good attitude= friends and no fines.

reply to post by GreenBicMan



I would think that if they are planning the "next wave" then they are severly behind schedule when it comes to me.

100 pull overs for speeding without any tickets and going strong.

What a strange thread...

Most people think that police should not be allowed to search a car without a warrant. They cite the Constitution, and the fact that our founding fathers gave us these rights for a reason.

The one person who thinks that we should just let the police do whatever they want, is the only person in this thread who has actually admitted to be caught breaking the law over 100 times (yes, speeding = breaking the law). As a testament to the fact that we should fail to exercise our rights, the serial-speeder cites the fact that he has never been given a ticket.

So all of us can get away with breaking the law if we ignore our Constitution?

I kid, I kid...



[edit on 22-4-2009 by theWCH]

reply to post by jd140

I explained why I get pulled over so much. Go 70 on a bike all week then hop in a car and try to do the speed limit.

Brother I am assuming your wife's car has something called a SPEEDOMETER?

Here you are a perpetual law breaker insisting the rest of us allow our civil liberties to be compromised because you like to play silly games?

I hate to say it, but that's all it is, is a silly game. Once I could understand, twice I could maybe forgive, by the third time you are just demonstrating you are as irresponsible a motorist as you are a citizen.

How about you live by the rules.

How about the cops live by the rules.

Enough said.