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Glassjaw
Bettysmith
Registered: 02/26/08
Posts: 181
Last seen: 14 years, 4 months
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Legal Advice
#10324198 - 05/11/09 08:36 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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Not really looking to take any sort of action, but I feel like my rights were violated and want the legal types opinion's.
I was pulled over because either the car in front of me, or my car, smelled of cannabis. At the time I was doing 40mph. The officer walked up, told me this, and then stuck his head inside of my car, looking and smelling. He then asked me if I had any drugs in my car, or if I had been doing drugs, and then to clear my pockets, and essentially frisked me at which point he pulled a bag of weed out from my pocket. He then told me to get out of the car, and stand at the rear of mine. I left my door open while getting out, and he then without asking me began to look through my car. He then found my school bag and asked if I had anything in it, which I said no to and he began searching it. I can't remember specifically whether or not he asked me if he could search it, but I do believe he began searching, then asked, and searched more. After this I was ticketed for disturbing the public by having marijuana. The ticket, he said, would most likely be only $100, instead of a possible highest of $300 if I ask for minimal fines, at which he said he would not object.
The police officer was very friendly, but there were some odd things about this. Were my rights to privacy by me not specifically telling him he could search my vehicle, or did I imply he could by leaving my door open?
Please, this is a serious thread. I'm not blaming anyone but myself for what happened, I know I did a few stupid things. I'm simply looking for advice.
Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section.
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DNKYD
Turtle!

Registered: 09/23/04
Posts: 12,326
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324202 - 05/11/09 08:38 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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If he found that bag of weed in your pocket it gives him the rights to search the rest of your car/bag/person. Sorry, you're pretty much fucked.
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memes
Blessed



Registered: 01/11/05
Posts: 27,785
Loc: In a Tree
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324203 - 05/11/09 08:39 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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If they were violated, nothing would come of it. Just be happy a cop found your weed and the only reprocussions are $100 worth of ticket.
This is for you.
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Boom
just a tester

Registered: 06/16/04
Posts: 11,252
Loc: Cypress Creek
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324206 - 05/11/09 08:39 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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ehh
If it's simply a 100 dollar civil citation...who cares
You'd spend wayyyy more pressing charges
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ROGER5676
truckload



Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1,478
Loc: niagara falls, ny
Last seen: 8 years, 9 months
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324211 - 05/11/09 08:40 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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i am pretty sure they can search anything they want once they found weed in your pocket. dont quote me though
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WakeboardrB
Pepe Silvia



Registered: 05/18/03
Posts: 13,678
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324213 - 05/11/09 08:41 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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Looks like he legally frisked you and used the illegal bag of cannabis as probable cause to search the rest of your belongings.
Nothing illegal there. Sorry.
-------------------- Same thing happened to me when I played Neil Armstrong in Moonshot. They found me in an alley in Burbank trying to re-enter the earth's atmosphere in an old refrigerator box.
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Glassjaw
Bettysmith
Registered: 02/26/08
Posts: 181
Last seen: 14 years, 4 months
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Alright. I wasn't too sure, and just wanted to have someone in a more 'right' state of mind to take a look. I'm real high, and still like nervous.
Thanks though.
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Spliffyfist
Stranger Danger

Registered: 03/29/09
Posts: 44
Loc: Oz
Last seen: 15 years, 2 days
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324269 - 05/11/09 08:58 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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does the ticket have any reference to a cannabis infringement?
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Glassjaw
Bettysmith
Registered: 02/26/08
Posts: 181
Last seen: 14 years, 4 months
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And I quote,
"Defendant did cause public inconvienence by possessing a small amount of marijuana.
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Boom
just a tester

Registered: 06/16/04
Posts: 11,252
Loc: Cypress Creek
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324278 - 05/11/09 09:00 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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what state are you in?
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Glassjaw
Bettysmith
Registered: 02/26/08
Posts: 181
Last seen: 14 years, 4 months
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324281 - 05/11/09 09:01 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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A few posts from another board, Thoughts?
"It is called "probable cause" once you were pulled over, and the suspected smell came from the car, the officer had the option to do a "casual search" to determine the source of the smell. As for being pulled over, you won what we used to call "highway bingo", a random stop for license and reg check and if he smelled the pot as he approached, oh well a double hit. For a full search he would have needed to ask permission or do a full arrest for possetion. A "casual search" is a normal police procedure on traffic stops if there is "probable cause" for drugs or alcohol. It is tough being young, and fitting into that profile."
"Where you driving around in a city or a neighborhood? I can't picture a cop getting a wiff of weed and being able to pin point which car it came from, or that it came from a car at all.
I think you could argue in court that he had no way of knowing that it came from your car."
Boom: PA.
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Edited by Glassjaw (05/11/09 09:01 PM)
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Polk_Audio3
Moon Cricket



Registered: 02/16/09
Posts: 7,163
Loc: Amsterdam
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Re: Legal Advice [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324525 - 05/11/09 09:47 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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Yup like everyone said he found the tree's he can do whatever then. Which IS fucked up but, Hey its the law lol.
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Entropymancer

Registered: 07/16/05
Posts: 10,207
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Yup. And his finding of the weed was also completely legal, it's called a Terry search.
Sorry dude, sounds like this will stick.
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Annapurna1
liberal pussy


Registered: 05/21/02
Posts: 5,646
Loc: innsmouth..MA
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just the smell alone constitutes a probable cause..even if they dont find anything...however..you could have still refused the search..in which case the pigs would have detained you until they obtained a search warrant...
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"anchor blocks counteract the process of pontiprobation..while omalean globes regulize the pressure"...
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sui
I love you.


Registered: 08/20/04
Posts: 32,765
Loc: Cali, Contra Costa Co.
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Re: Legal Advice (moved) [Re: Glassjaw]
#10324623 - 05/11/09 10:12 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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This thread was moved from The Pub.
Reason: better suited for security and safty
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Smackshadow
It's Time for Wild Speculation


Registered: 09/27/05
Posts: 575
Last seen: 4 months, 6 days
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Re: Legal Advice (moved) [Re: sui]
#10324844 - 05/11/09 10:58 PM (15 years, 11 days ago) |
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First, I am not a lawyer so this is not legal advice.
However, I believe in order to search they need probable cause. Probable cause is basically a legitimate reason to believe that evidence of a crime is present. What constituted probable cause was the smell of marijuana in your car. Thus he was probably able to search your car legally. This would also imply items in your car such as a backpack.
As for the pat down, police have the ability to pat anyone down even without probable cause because it ensures the safety of the officer. I believe it is a Terry search. However, it is suppose to be for weapons, and they are not suppose to take non-weapons out of your pockets. However, since they probably had probable cause already then the search of you personally was legitimate anyway.
I think you are stuck as far as the ticket, but you should look up the statute they charged you under to make sure that it was not a marijuana specific offense. You may want to get the police file pulled to see what the police officer wrote down, because if he did not write down the reason for the search or why he searched you than you might have a defense.
Also I have never heard of a person being pulled over because the officer smelt pot from the car. That seems pretty sketchy, and might have been the part where he actually violated your rights. If you ask them to pull the record it would be interesting to see if that is what he wrote down in his notes.
Someone once gave me some good advice which I will share with you now. "only do one illegal thing at a time" If you smoke when driving (a bad idea on its own) don't carry paraphernalia, speed, move weight. exc. because that is how people get caught. Just some friendly advice.
-------------------- The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. ~H. L. Mencken~
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fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 6,899
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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LOL you guys!
You're all forgetting the most basic and first thing that every lawyer worth his shit will challenge right off the bat........ Probable cause for the stop.
If he can't convince a judge that he can smell weed comming from a car in front of him traveling at 40mph then they have to drop the case.
Now I don't know about where you're at, but in my locale he'd be laughed out of court if he claimed that he smelled mj while crusing at 40mph AND could tell that it was comming from your car. Seriously, there would be laughter in the courtroom after some of the lawyers I've seen in action were done with the officer.
For $100 it really isn't worth fighting from most perspectives. But if you value your record and want to take a stand against the WOD radicals then by all means fight it!
-FF
-------------------- It drinks the alcohol and abstains from the weed or else it gets the hose again. -Chemy The difference between the substances doesn't matter. This is a war on consciousness, on our right to the very essence of what we are. With no control over that, we have no need to speak of freedom or a free society. -fireseed "If we are going to have a war on marijuana, the least we can do is pull the sick and the dying off the battlefield." -Neal Levine (MPP) I find the whole "my drug should be legal but yours should be illegal" mindset disgusting and hypocritical. It's what George Bush and company do when they drink a cocktail and debate the best way to imprison marijuana users. -Diploid
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,392
Last seen: 2 days, 23 hours
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As FF said, they had no legit reason to pull you over, so you should file a motion to suppress the evidence and the case should get dropped.
First, get the police report from the county clerk so you know what you are up against. It will be real interesting to see how the cop phrases "smelled weed at 40mph, I was sure it was him". Perhaps he will have another excuse for the stop written down (expired tags, etc) but hopefully not.
While you are there getting the paperwork ask the clerk how to file a motion to suppress. I'd hit the library real quick to find a book that tells you how to write one of those.
About the weed, did he pull it out of your pocket or did you pull it out of your pocket? If the officer did then you may be able to suppress the evidence. If he asked you to empty your pockets and you complied you are out of luck. Never consent to a search.
Its good that you got a ticket for disturbing the peace, at least you won't have a drug record.
No sense hiring a lawyer for such a small charge but I would surely fight it because you have a good chance of winning.
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