Posted on 12/26/2014 7:31:29 PM PST by TurboZamboni
In a blow to the constitutional rights of citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Heien v. State of North Carolina that police officers are permitted to violate American citizens' Fourth Amendment rights if the violation results from a "reasonable" mistake about the law on the part of police. Acting contrary to the venerable principle that "ignorance of the law is no excuse," the Court ruled that evidence obtained by police during a traffic stop that was not legally justified can be used to prosecute the person if police were reasonably mistaken that the person had violated the law. The Rutherford Institute had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hold law enforcement officials accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court's lone dissenter, warned that the court's ruling "means further eroding the Fourth Amendment's protection of civil liberties in a context where that protection has already been worn down."
"By refusing to hold police accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law, the Supreme Court has given government officials a green light to routinely violate the law," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of the award-winning book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. "This case may have started out with an improper traffic stop, but where it will end—given the turbulence of our age, with its police overreach, military training drills on American soil, domestic surveillance, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, wrongful convictions, and corporate corruption—is not hard to predict. This ruling is what I would call a one-way, nonrefundable ticket to the police state."
(Excerpt) Read more at freedomoutpost.com ...
Are you making a threat of physical violence to Deagle? You could be considered as engaging in criminal mischief.
Further to your verbal threats and violence you should be informed of one more, very significant, thing. While the State legislatures, Attorneys General and District Attorneys may make it clear to you that almost any criminal act on your part will not be prosecuted, there is a line drawn. If you, or your ilk, commit a FELONY crime against any citizen(s), all oaths of loyalty and homage between said citizen(s) and State are broken by your action. The Western Christian tradition and laws make clear that the citizen(s) who've suffered have the right even to go to war against the oppressive Ruler who permits this. It would be a just war.
Under current conditions you may be wise to be more circumspect in your behavior. Deus vult.
What was the PC that triggered the need for a search warrant? What did the warrant specifically say?
All that you say is correct except that is not what the court ruled.
The warrant specified that a known undercover operative had witnessed a drug transaction with two men in a white Jeep Cherokee, at the local gas station, and dated/signed. IIRC, not much more specific than that (i.e. year, model, type contraband, etc.).
Not a pleasant experience.
5.56mm
Perhaps you will explain what the court ruled, then.
“They cannot pull you over randomly for any invented reason.”
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Not sure this is true. New York City stops and frisks at random, and attribute this to dropping crime rates.
Ping me when he does. ;-]
Following a suspicious vehicle, Sergeant Matt Darisse noticed that onlyone of the vehicle’s brake lights was working and pulled the driver over. While issuing a warning ticket for the broken brake light, Darisse became suspicious of the actions of the two occupants and their answers to his questions. Petitioner Nicholas Brady Heien, the car’sowner, gave Darisse consent to search the vehicle. Darisse found cocaine, and Heien was arrested and charged with attempted trafficking. The trial court denied Heien’s motion to suppress the seized evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds, concluding that the vehicle’sfaulty brake light gave Darisse reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop. The North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the relevant code provision, which requires that a car be “equipped witha stop lamp,” N. C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §20–129(g), requires only a single lamp—which Heien’s vehicle had—and therefore the justification forthe stop was objectively unreasonable. Reversing in turn, the State Supreme Court held that, even assuming no violation of the state law had occurred, Darisse’s mistaken understanding of the law was reasonable, and thus the stop was valid. Held: Because Darisse’s mistake of law was reasonable, there was reasonable suspicion justifying the stop under the Fourth Amendment.
The headline misleads.
This ruling is what I would call a one-way, nonrefundable ticket to the police state.”
Or at least a one way ticket to CWII.
Whoops! Gotta go there goes an innocent speeder at 92 mph on our interstate ..
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Don’t bother ,, probably just a member of the blue gang making an emergency trip to WalMart for diapers and formula in his personal car ... you’ll just wave him off when you recognize him..
I WILL ADMIT THAT AS SOON AS WE DO GET TO POLICE FOR MONEY SOMEONE WILL BE COMING AFTER YOU. I ONLY WISH I GOT PART OF THE REVENUE I GENERATE A YEAR, THEN I WOULDN’T BE UNDER PAID AND BROKE AS I AM.
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Get over yourself ,, you have a simple public servant job and great pay compared to anyone else with the same level of schooling and experience.
As to your contention that you don’t get a cut of the revenues that’s complete hogwash ... In Florida the police get a percentage added to their retirement based on an auto insurance pool that pays out when a zip codes enforcement goes up ... cops are paid by insurers to trash peoples license points and create higher rates... http://www.floridaleagueofcities.com/Assets/Files/LeeVonasekPensionPaper.pdf
Add to that that the numbers of police relative to the crime rate is extremely high and the only conclusion you can logically draw is that the “war on drugs” and civil forfeiture is extremely lucrative... even if you don’t get extra pay it supports the salary of very high numbers of cops ,, far more than would be otherwise necessary...
DEAGLE , Some people. I guess you are right about me being the public servant. But I think you are the one that should get over yourself. Maybe you just think you know so much and with your attitude I see why you don’t play we’ll with others. Oh yeah that is BS about us getting a cut of anything except being under paid. I can see now that you fear is that of some simple public servant having power over you MR high and mighty. I can see that your fear of me is deep set and that you do need to worry about encounters with us. I also will no longer debate with you as an unarmed man. This could start a protest from people like you who have these unfounded fears. We have enough problems with race baiters and criminals. You have a nice day and remember, we’re watching you and I have the power over you to make you pay and obey. Lol And I’m not going to let you drag me into your mud hole, you seem to be quite comfortable there all by yourself. Lol so pitiful to be you ..............
I can see that we are a segregated nation and becoming a caste it seems. I am just a simple public servant with a degree and a dangerous job without thanks from either side. The lLibs don’t want to be Policed and now the conservatives doubt us and ridicule my profession.
I see people teach their children to fear us daily, there goes that mean ole Policeman he will lock you up! I hope that parent doesn’t find his child in need of one of us simple public servants and that his fear instilled by his father does not cause him to not come to me so I can save his life.. That would be so sad, but choices are made and people must live by there decisions.
I really thought this was a conservative forum that would support the good guys but apparently we aren’t considered so here either. You sit there safe in you abode and don’t worry where I am on the holidays or late at night while you sleep. I’ll be fine because I am the rough man who stands at ready to protect and serve. Sleep tight America, because some night the bad guys will eventually overwhelm the good guys and then, you will all be on your own.
God will vindicate those who protect the dumb sheep. Silence of the lambs may come soon as the thugs multiply and you ridicule your protectors. Be safe
We ARE on our own. Police do NOT protect me or my home. I do.
When the politically desired gun confiscation comes, on what side of that line will the police departments be? Not on the side of protecting the citizenries rights, I would wager.
Police are a necessary evil, to clean up after crimes. I’ve never been ‘protected’ by an officer.
A private message from someone:
>>>Are you making a threat of physical violence to Deagle? You could be considered as engaging in criminal mischief. <<<
LOL!
You might want to lay off the ‘shrooms.
Degenerating only into ad hominem argumentation demonstrates that you have no reasonable discussion to add here. Thus my positions are fully validated, including the need to investigate the legality of possible criminal behavior by peace officer PROSOUTH. You will notice that the text of PROSOUTH has gone from majuscule to miniscule, redolent of an improvement in attitude.
These are questions of law and logic. The email author does not need to pass the 'shrooms.
Now back to the original trend of discussion. The country is already breaking into pieces across divides of race (thanks Obama!), politics (thanks to all Alinskyites including Obama) and city versus countryside. (This is beginning to read like a dissertaion on Renaissance Spain.) It is not necessary to exacerbate further divisions. But if we backtrack a bit, it may be more accurate to understand the policing situation as the case of a political elite and "the powers that be" in giving a brutal green light to the Officer class for the purpose of oppressing the general run of the citizenry. In other words, the ruling elite has little need for the citizens of the USA. We are in the way of the greatness of the creeps upstairs. It is only necessary to coddle a pseudo-elite of enforcers to continue the type of democratic rule our elite prefers. In other words, PROSOUTH is as caught up in social imperatives as the rest of general population.
Another, last comment. The Imperial Chinese set their exams for the educated class, the Literati, to include both "the arts of peace" and "the arts of war". I consider it an error for the well educated of the USA not to study both. Perhaps this is due to the historical development of Universities from Medieval monasteries and so is deeply imprinted in Western tradition.
Some ancient scholar said "when you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and toss it into the Euphrates". Enough of writing. Good day.
I can see now that you fear is that of some simple public servant having power over you MR high and mighty
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No what I fear is being felony stopped three times in a 12 month period with guns drawn on me when I was parked each time reading a paper waiting for my phone to ring with my next assignment.
You have no idea what people in the real world outside of your little bubble think of you cowardly tax collectors with a badge.
Liberty is poisonous to those addicted to enslavement.
You and I both know that it is all about politics! Those in charge (your supervisors) have to meet standards and that includes money intake! It has always been so but lately has become the major effort. I know that you realize this as you have been part of their briefings..so quit trying to downsize the problem. It occurs in all places, small and large towns. Money collected by the police department is watched closely.
It use to be that they just asked you to pursue the lawbreakers, but these days, it is to meet a quota. Tell me that is not happening! Look at the Camera installations and the problems that they cause with rear-enders. Safety is not the primary objective here. If you still believe that than you are a good but naive policeman.
Most still rebel but the push politically by the top causes these problems. So, stop responding with all CAPS and we just might begin to believe you...
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