goodgirl

Unfortunately under the law I believe that the officer did have the right to search. He did not need Bailey's permission because he had probable cause.


As has been stated in this forum a few times it has been determined by the courts that the smell of weed is probable cause. An LEO is considered an expert and his belief that there was the smell of marijuana is considered justification for a search.


The bust card would have done Bailey no good in this case because his consent was not asked for...because it was not needed.


I think the law is unfair and is too open to abuse but that is the way things stand right now. Any officer can of course claim to smell marijuana and there is no way to prove that he did not. Perhaps the officer was just hassling him, but under the law it doesn't seem to me that there is anything that could be done about it.


Always refuse if you are asked for permission to search..because if they have probable cause they won't bother asking. Do not however make it harder on yourself by obstructing the officer once he has determined that he has legal justification for the search.


It sounds to me like Bailey and his friend's took the only course of action available to them. Yes it sucks moose but that is how it stands right now. That is why we have to work to get the laws changed.

__________________
"No one is free when others are oppressed."

Bernie420

They may ask just to judge your response to their request. Once one of the passengers admitted to the police that they had smoking equipment on their persons that was all they needed.

Daniel

"Sorry dude, when I start writing, I just kind of forget (plus my brain is kind of spaced from this weekend, a much longer story involving a drug I'm not allowed to talk about on this forum, but it's a miracle one of us wasn't arrested during that)."

Don't you think that your behavior/the other drug(s) may have contributed to the arrest? You were on something that effected the post after the fact.... I just thought that was something to think about.

Another point you made was about the officer being able to smell it. You will never know if it was true or not. You saying "there may have been some lingering smell from" you baking in the car, and the cop saying that he smelled it, makes me believe the cop. Truth be known, you didn't know if the car smelled or not. The cop said it did.. Also, bongs, joints and pipes do smell (and if any of you have had resin on your hands you know that stink lingers)

I may get flamed again... But....


Recipe for a bust:

4 18 y/o college hippie types
1 Older car that refuses to operate in the rain.
Rain
A joint, a bong and a pipe.
1 cop.
Some other unknown substance that is still effecting them.

Take the 4 hippies, smoke them up for a weekend and give them the car that doesn't work in the rain to drive home in.

Add rain.

stir in the cop.

Watch the fun!!!!



I guess I just see the arrest as just (with our laws the way they are).

Truely, what did the officer do wrong?

BTW, I have nothing wrong with hippie types, but... You may just get looked at a little closer bye a cop. It may be wrong, but it is human.

Daniel

I am not trying to rip on anybody... I did just about the same thing once...

My recipe:

Open warrant (failed to pay fine for dui)
Crappy car (muffler was missing I think)
1 cop.


I was arrested, booked, jailed and transported (3 day proceess) to see a judge for $200.

Anyway... I was stupid, I didn't argue with the arresting officer. I did ask why he pulled me over. He told me that it was the vehicle and 9 times out of 10 he would have pulled it over. (I call that at least consistant, but not fair)

The cop found a bowl in the car and threw it away. He did not look for anything else that day though. (There wasn't anything in the car anyway).

Bernie420

What were you thinking? Did you think that if you didn't pay the fine they would just forget about it?

[Mod note : Posts in quick succession is considered turbo-posting and conflicts with the Posting Guidelines, please review them. Be sure to avoid this in the future. No warning issued this time.]

Bailey1138

I was just trying to make up a dumb excuse to cover up a grammatical mistake, it had been at least 16 hours since I had dosed and though I hadn't quite returned to normal, I was pretty damn. My thoughts were certainly coherent and rational. I hadn't slept yet though. But the only sort of sobriety tests I would've failed would've been a piss test for marijuana, and that would've been from the day before. And a spinal tap, but I thought I heard those were illegal in my state or something? Or at least illegal for the police to give in to look for drugsin your system

Your right, danial, when it comes to smell. If he says he smelled it I guess he did, I just am highly dubious of that. Beyond that, we've done a helluva lot of dumber things in the past and gotten away with it, I'm just more pissed that I got caught such a dumbass way with one joint and a couple pipes. It's not like we were screaming down the highway at 80 miles and hour with a half pound of weed rolling joints while loudly singing, "Truckin', got my chips cashed in. . ." ya know? The car just died. If we would've gotten a cooler cop, maybe he just puts us on our way, we're not big time drug dealers, I just wanna have a good time, smoke some herb and dance to some cool music, why should I be arrested for it?

I didn't think there was anything the officer did wrong either, I just wanted to check to be sure. Thinking back, I should have went ahead and let him search me before finding the pipes rather than volunteering them.

I wish being a hippie didn't automatically make me a target, but I guess that's what I ask for. It's unfair that this kind of profiling exists, but I guess I chose this for myself. BTW, none of this post was meant as a flame to anyone although some of it might come through that way. I'm just venting my frustration over this entire change of events. It's the system I'm mad at. Thanks for letting me rant a little
Peace

Brainrape

danial....

I know another good recipe for a bust/murder similar to yours:

Young black male
Night time
New York/Cincinatti/Chicago etc etc...

Are these recipe's justified in anyway? Please explain...

I don't know the situation enough at all to make an accurate assesment, but from the story given to us I believe that some profiling was made on the part of the officer that wasn't entirley ethical...who knows...

But, I do know the recipe for a cop:

A law abiding indivdual that carries out the duties of his public service without discrimination in any form.

I believe profiling in all it's forms, obviously exsists, and is discriminatory, but to simply define it as human, and thus make that an excuse for an officer's beavior is not acceptable...

Of course police officers are human, BUT they do a job that requires morals and ethics in regards to self and others, that are ABOVE those of the average citizen, thus thier position in our society...

Your recipe for an arrest shouldn't exsist, and I know many cops, given the same situation, where that recipe would not exsist and result in a bust, but moreover a need to provide assitance to the unfortunate people in the car...

Daniel

I cannot justify the situation that you described. I can say that I believe that it happens and there are reasons for it happening. Are those reasons right or wrong? You have to ask the cop on the street.

Profiling to me is association of behavior because of differerences or similarities. Is it right or wrong? Man, I just don't know. I believe that stopping somebody just because the fit into a "profile" is wrong. It happens.

Do police stop people for statistical and/or personal reasons? Probably. Is is right? Probably not. It happens, and will continue to happen until we have a non-human cop.

I will not excuse the cop for his behavior, but I would be able to appreciate the situation.


I don't believe that your recipe for a cop exists. I don't believe that human behavior is ever without discrimination.

If you are in a group of that is going to be discriminated against (that is just about everybody sometime) be smart. Know that looking like a hippie may bring some assumptions. Know that driving in a racially motivated area, may cause problems.


I hate it. But I think that it is here to stay. Not just with the police, but with all of us.

goodgirl

This is getting a wee bit off track for this forum. While it is an interesting topic if anyone cares to carry on this conversation they can feel free to do so in Contemporary Thought.

If we can just try to keep our mind on the ball of what our rights are under the law I would appreciate it

kracker420

if i remember right, if you weren't read your rights, the charges are out, i cant remember though