"Stop, Don’t Consent to that Search!”
Carrie Latabia Jones
Guest Columnist EdNews.org
How many times have we seen it? Someone is pulled over for a traffic violation, or maybe just a routine traffic stop, and the next thing you know his or her car is being searched. Nevertheless, most of the time, it is with the consent of the of the person being stopped. Why are you consenting to a search when there is no probable cause for one? The answer is simple, people are not aware of their rights.
The Constitution and the protections that it guarantees can be a bit daunting to "just regular ole' folks," but the gist of it goes something like this:
·Police may initiate a conversation with any citizen for any reason, however they may not detain you without "reasonable suspicion" that you are engaged in criminal activity. When you are stopped, you should ask the officer, "Why am I being stopped?" If the officer does not indicate that you are suspected of a specific crime, then this is a casual stop and you should be allowed to terminate the encounter at any time, but if the officer indicates that you are suspected of criminal activity, you are being detained.
·If a police officer asks your permission to search, you are under no obligation to consent. The only reason he is asking you is may be he does not have enough evidence to search without your consent. If you consent to a search request, you give up your Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, Scheneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S., 93 S. Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973).
Generally, 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 generally can be used to convict the person.
Do not expect a police officer to tell you about your right not to consent. Generally, police officers are not required by law to inform you of your rights before asking you to consent to a search. If, for any reason you don't want the officer digging through your belongings, after you have consented to the search, you should tell himthat you don't want him searching through your private things and If the officer still proceeds to searchand finds illegal contraband, generally your attorney can argue that the contraband was discovered through an illegal search and that evidence could be thrown out of court, this is not always the case though.
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, ask the officer, "Am I free to go?"
I hope that this article informs people of their basic rights as far being stopped and the protections that are afforded to us by the Constitution. The goal of this article was to generally inform about the laws of consent and search, this article in not way is meant to be specific, for a more specific break down, I would advise to look at your state statutes, becaue they sometimes provide for more protection than the constitution does.
Carrie Latabia Jones is from Bunn, NC. and a 2nd yr law student at NCCU, enrolled in a wrongful conviction course. The Professor required an article about something that affects our community. She is also enrolled in a Criminal procedure course, where they were talking about searches and consent and how most people consent to searches because they don't know their rights, hence her inspiration for my article.
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http://ednews.org/articles/20236/1/q...rch/Page1.html
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Now, some people believe that once one refuses consent, the officer performs the search anyway, because the refusal is a part of the grounds for "probable cause". But, the fact is the SCOTUS has ruled that a refusal is NOT probable cause.
Here's my question, how many of you would refuse a request to search, perhaps just on principle? Of course, if you would refuse based on something in your car, please feel free to tell us what it is.
I would refuse the request - I don't like anyone going through my personal stuff.
Also, it sure in interesting how, in TVLand, practically everyone allows searches and just will not shut up when being questioned by the police - especially in the Law and Order series - that is, by the way, a totally liberal platform - all versions.