Quote:
|
Originally Posted by B-Line
come on Kev,
Surely you must realize the abuse that will come from police abusing this new opportunity they have to harass the law abiding public.
Did I mention a meter maid give me a ticket yesterday because one of my tires was parked a .5 inch outside of a white line that was barely visible on a broken curb.
Where there is power, there will be abuse. I have seen police pulling people over like crazy over the past few days, more so than usual, arresting people, etc. My guess is, the new cell phone law is going to be taken advantage of and there will be a change to the law that will either:
a) Not allow police to pull over a driver for only being on a cell phone.
b) Not allow any evidence that is seized during a cell phone stop to be used in an unrelated crime case.
Again, I'm not an attorney, but lawyers love laws just like this because of the abuse police depts exhibit when new laws come in.
ACLU will be along soon I'm sure cause people like me don't consider it an extra added benefit. I would consider it a potential abuse of my civil liberties.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Quicksilver
 With B-line on this one. Look for a certain amount of abuse for sure and a challenge regarding probable cause. |
I cannot rule out abuse in all cases but I must say that cops don't pull over law abiding citizens just to harass them. If someone is pulled over for talking on a cellphone then they deserve to be pulled over. That's not harassment, that's enforcing the law. It's just as if someone were pulled over for not having a front license plate. It is petty but it's the law. (I have been pulled over for that.) What appears to be abuse to some is actual strict enforcement. To be honest with you, most cops can't be bothered with hassling the law abiding public on something like this. If you saw people getting arrested during the traffic stops then it certainly wasn't for talking on a cellphone. That does not allow for arrest unless the person refuses to sign the promise to appear (ie. the ticket). The concept is called a
pretext stop and they've been held to be legal. If I had to say what population would be subject to the use of the cellphone law as a pretext to stop would be population already known to the police.
The ACLU will not take any action because they have no legal basis on this issue. It's been law for a long time that so long as police have reasonable suspicion that a crime is afoot, any crime, however small, they can detain a person. That includes traffic stops. This is a firmly rooted legal principle. Some people hate it but that's the way it is. If you can, I highly recommend you go on a ride-along with a police department. I don't know if you know some cops in your area but it could be a very interesting experience. I highly encourage it.
Sorry about your meter maid ticket. They are merciless. I think that sometimes the meters run fast on purpose, just like red light cameras have shorter amber phases. We all know that cities don't make money on the quarters being fed in to the meters. It's the tickets that make the real money.