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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,494
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 Police Need More Than 'Hunch' for Disabled Vehicle Search [NJ]
#7240913 - 07/30/07 07:03 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Police Need More Than 'Hunch' for Disabled Vehicle Search
July 30, 2007 - 1010wins.com
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Police must have a reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing before asking for permission to search a disabled car, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The 6-1 ruling by New Jersey's highest court extends protections against a warrantless search of a vehicle and its occupants in cases where the vehicle wasn't stopped by police.
The decision means that marijuana and cocaine found by state trooper under the hood of a car in 2004 cannot be used as evidence against its occupants, who were charged with drug trafficking.
The case now returns to a trial judge, who had reached the same conclusions as the Supreme Court. An appellate panel of judges determined the evidence should be allowed.
The Supreme Court decision broadens a 2002 ruling in which it found an officer cannot seek consent to search a lawfully stopped vehicle unless the officer has "a reasonable and articulable suspicion'' that criminal activity is involved.
The majority found that there was credible evidence to support a finding by the trial judge that no such suspicion existed.
"The driver of a disabled car facing police officers whose offer of assistance quickly turns into a 'fishing expedition' based on a 'hunch' that criminal activity is afoot is subject to no less compulsion to accede to a consent search than the driver subject to a typical motor vehicle stop,'' Justice Barry T. Albin wrote for the majority.
The lone dissenter was Justice Robert A. Rivera-Soto, who objected to the decision based on how much weight he thought should be given to the trial judge's decision.
No decision has yet been made on whether to drop the drug-trafficking charges, but the outlook for continuing the case is dim, said Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Marcia L. Silva.
"Without the drugs that were seized from the vehicle, any other statements or facts that arose from that are clearly suppressed,'' Silva said. "It doesn't really leave me much with the case.''
Silva said the ruling was disappointing, asserting, "It inhibits the police even further.''
The decision was welcomed by the state Public Defender's Office, which handled the appeal for the six people charged in the case.
"I think people should be glad that if they are (broken down), the police will try to help them, not sit around and try to figure out if they are drug dealers,'' Assistant Public Defender Mark H. Friedman said.
The case began about 2:50 a.m. Sept. 17, 2004, when troopers came upon a Lincoln Town Car and Honda Accord on the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike in Edison. The Lincoln's gasoline tank had come loose. The cars carried six people who were returning to North Carolina from New York City.
Two men were working on the tank, two people were sitting on a guardrail, and two were sleeping in the Honda. State police Sgt. Ronald Klem and Trooper Sean O'Connor said several of the people appeared nervous. Klem wondered if drugs were hidden beneath the car.
After individuals gave different reasons why they had been in New York, and because none of the six owned the cars, the troopers got consent to search from one person. After he balked at signing the form, O'Connor said they would wait until a drug-sniffing dog arrived. A half-hour later, the person signed the form.
O'Connor found over a pound of cocaine and less than two ounces of marijuana in the Lincoln's engine compartment. The trooper also found $8,000 in cash on one person, and $3,000 on another.
State Superior Court Judge Frederick P. DeVesa determined that the drugs and money stemmed from an unconstitutional search and could not be admitted as evidence. The search stemmed from ``nothing more than a hunch'' -- an insufficient basis for seeking a search -- the judge found.
In addition, DeVesa said the consent could hardly be called voluntary, since the person had been detained and was not free to leave, and because his request for a lawyer was either ignored or not heard.
The troopers never called for roadside mechanical assistance.
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 Ziggen
Bludgeon Yer Eye
 
Registered: 06/27/05
Posts: 420
Loc: Parts Unknown
Last seen: 1 day, 15 hours
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Re: Police Need More Than 'Hunch' for Disabled Vehicle Search [NJ] [Re: veggie]
#7242062 - 07/31/07 12:55 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
The troopers never called for roadside mechanical assistance.
Typical. My brother once had his Cherokee slide off the side of the road, partially into a ditch, one snowy day. A cop drove by, wrote my brother a ticket for careless driving (This despite the fact that this was a winding, hilly road, and what happened certainly was not necessarily the result of careless driving. The roads where horrendous from the snow. And the cop didn't even see it happen. Maybe he swerved to avoid hitting a deer, or a dog, or a kid.), and drove off, never once offering to assist my brother in returning his car to the road, or even to call for help.
Serve and protect my ass.
--------------------
The United States is a nation of laws, badly written and randomly enforced. - Frank Zappa
If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free. - P.J. O'Rourke
Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. - P.J. O'Rourke
A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them. - P. J. O'Rourke
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. - Mark Twain
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shr00m3r
[]xxx[]:::::::::::::>
Registered: 06/26/07
Posts: 224
Last seen: 1 month, 15 days
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Re: Police Need More Than 'Hunch' for Disabled Vehicle Search [NJ] [Re: Ziggen]
#7242646 - 07/31/07 06:34 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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serve and protect the donuts from going stale maybe...
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dedjam
Electro Penguin
Registered: 12/14/05
Posts: 2,138
Loc: Moralton, Statesota
Last seen: 6 days, 6 hours
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Re: Police Need More Than 'Hunch' for Disabled Vehicle Search [NJ] [Re: Ziggen]
#7242680 - 07/31/07 06:54 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Ziggen said:
Serve and protect my ass.
Do they even try to give this impression anymore? Even in high school, the kids that wanted to grow up and be cops didnt want to do it to "Server and protect". I assume there are a few people that do the job for that reason...but I honestly believe it is the minority.
I had a similar incident happen. A car pulled out in front of me on a snowy road and I slid into a ditch to avoid the collision. The guy that pulled out in front of me drove off (the fucker, i was so pissed). Cop shows up and requests my license and insurance...i try to explain what happened and he didnt even listen...told me to sit in my car and wait. He brings back my information, told me everything checked out, and that I should call a tow truck to get some help. How nice of him to let me know I should do that. He then drove off without offering any more help, or even checking that I had a cell phone. I had a cell, it didnt work though. Luckily a few minutes later a guy in a truck with some rope helped pull me out.
That happened a few years back, I almost forgot about it. Damn pig.
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