Look, the guy may be a sterling Republican and an upstanding guy but he's barking up the wrong tree with this legislation.
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Notice the bill says that a person must give name, address, birth date if that person is either arrested or lawfully detained.
One's name, address and other info is evidence that can be used against you. The Constitution PROHIBITS one being coerced into give anything to the government.
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It requires that in order to temporarily detain a person the officer have reasonable suspicion that the person has or is about to commit a crime.
There's a legal term called presumption of guilt before establishment of legal fact.
The law can only arrest you if you HAVE done something.
Allowing them arrest you for what they perceive you MIGHT do makes criminals of us all.
“There’s a legal term called presumption of guilt before establishment of legal fact. The law can only arrest you if you HAVE done something. Allowing them arrest you for what they perceive you MIGHT do makes criminals of us all.”
Are you familiar with the term “Terry stop,” meaning a temporary detention based on reasonable suspicion? It happens all the time, by necessity.
For example, say you are a store owner, and you get robbed. You call the police and describe the robber as “white male, about 6 foot, wearing blue jeans and a red shirt.” [Did you like my PC example?]
Ten minutes later, a cop sees a white male matching that description, running in a direction away from your store. The cop may temporarily detain that person. This is a “Terry stop.” The detention can not be for a longer time than what is necessary to do a quick investigation—say, look around the area to see if this person hid things stolen from your store. Currently, under Texas law the cop can’t require this person, who has been temporarily detained under reasonable suspicion of committing a crime, to give his name.
The Supreme Court in Hiibel clarified that the 4th Amendment allows a state to have a law requiring a person who is the subject of a Terry stop to give his name. That’s all that Partick’s bill does.