Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
Posted on 05/03/2014 11:24:54 AM PDT by granite
NEW MEXICO — A federal appeals court has ruled that driving with one’s hands at the “ten-and-two position” is reason enough to pull someone over for further investigation. No traffic laws have to actually be broken. Additionally, the court ruled that facial acne is reason enough to suspect a driver is a drug smuggler.
The ruling stems from an incident that took place on April 18, 2012, at roughly 7:45 p.m. A border patrol agent driving down Highway 80 saw a white Ford F-150 heading the opposite direction. This took place roughly 40 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border — well inside the United States.
Although the truck was witnessed breaking no traffic laws, Border Patrol Agent Joshua Semmerling claimed he noticed several things that drew his suspicions, while passing the truck at 60 miles per hour.
First, was the driver’s upright posture. The female driver was sitting up straight with her hands located on the upper part of the steering wheel. This was viewed as suspicious activity.
Secondly, the agent claimed that the truck’s tinted windows were suspicious. It remains unclear how the agent saw driver’s posture through the “suspicious” tint.
Lastly was the truck’s rear license plate — which the agent claims to have observed in his rear-view mirror while traveling at a high rate of speed in the opposite direction. He claimed that he noticed it was from out-of-state; another suspicious characteristic.
The agent decided to make a U-turn and stop the truck.
The driver identified herself as Cindy Lee Westhoven of Tucson, Arizona. Agent Semmerling then used his keen crime-detecting skills to justify a search of her truck. He saw that Mrs. Westhoven had “acne” on her face and claimed that it was grounds for suspecting her to be a methamphetamine user.
Mrs. Westhoven had already proven she was a U.S. citizen. She had no warrants and had broken no laws, yet Agent Semmerling claimed that he believed she might be smuggling illegal aliens and/or drugs. When she refused to consent to a search, the agent used a drug K9 to sniff her truck. The dog turned up a small amount of cannabis. Westhoven was arrested.
Later in court, Westhoven’s defense tried to overturn the arrest due to the shaky ground upon which the stop was performed. Her attorney argued that the evidence was obtained illegally. The effort was unsuccessful; the court accepted all of the agent’s dubious tactics.
“Driving stiffly, having tinted windows, slowing down when seeing law enforcement, and driving in an out-of-the-way area may be innocent conduct by themselves,” Judge Scott M. Matheson, Jr., wrote for the appellate panel. “But when taken together along with driving a vehicle with out-of-state plates in a mountainous smuggling corridor 40-45 miles away from the border, we conclude Agent Semmerling had reasonable suspicion Ms. Westhoven was involved in smuggling activity.”
The 3-judge panel on the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the search, and rejected Westhoven’s motion to suppress the evidence.
The acceptance of such flimsy suspicions in court is the practical acceptance of zero need for any real indication of a crime occurring before any American can be stopped and searched by federal agents.
Source: PDF File US v. Westhoven (US Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 4/24/2014)
“I pulled you over today because your were paying attention to the road and driving responsibly.”
For all of that, we know the names of a handful of taxpayer supported nazi goons who have broken their oaths and are therefore no longer qualified to be employees of the people of the united States, and should be forcibly removed from their positions post haste.
This really chaps my hide as a four year resident of New Mexico who still travels on out of state credentials because for some reason I can not prove legal residency after living and working and paying taxes here all of that time, because extra proof is required of me as a native born and life long American citizen than would be required if I had a certain other national heritage (yes, I go in to DMV with exactly what is required of illegal aliens and I am denied every time). It makes me feel even better that I drive a white F150 with dark tinted back windows (because that is how they make them) and now that is good cause to be stopped anytime and anyplace.
It seems to me that a certain demographic is targeted for discrimination in some parts of this state (and by the state and federal governments and in all parts of it). I'm glad I don't live in those parts but still it would be nice to be free to travel in all of them unmolested (on all of the different levels in which it occurs).
I guess I need to work on my tan and my posture, and maybe get me some anti American bumper stickers or something, so I won't stand out as a law abiding American.
</rant>
Interesting thread.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
It only seems like yesterday that a MD State Trooper appeared on TV and said their ‘brilliant’ rate of capturing drug smugglers was they had a set ‘profile’ to follow.
They had claimed that the majority of smugglers (at that time) were young, black and usually driving expensive, fast cars.
They would attract the attention of Police because they were usually speeding and would normally have a ‘couple’ of vehicles seemingly with them, also citing lack of luggage and 2 young males in a $100,000 car was a ‘tip off’.
THAT WAS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL and I think MD had to throw out a lot of cases.
Unbelievable. Absolutely ridiculous!
Having gone through such training, we were taught to have hands on 4 & 8 when making response and/or defensive maneuvers. Better control for the steering wheel.
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
Isn’t New Mexico the state where if the cop believes your butt is clenched it justifies forcible sodomy in search of drugs?
I believe that is only applicable to Drivers Ed.
Ask yerself. Why is our Govt arming BOTH SIDES in the War on Citizens Drugs?
IOW, driving by the book is reason to pull you over, search you and your vehicle, shoot your dog, plant drugs, knock out your tail light, ticket you for who knows what, confiscate your cell phone, handcuff you and bash your head against the door, haul you off to jail, take your picture and book you, do a full cavity search and run you through the de-licer, put your name in the local newspaper under this weeks’ arrests, ruin your reputation, deplete your bank account for court costs, try you on trumped up charges, embarrass your family, cause you to lose your job and have rap sheet so you’ll never work again. All because you weren’t tossing out cigarette butts and Big Mac boxes or mooning the court house or texting or using the cell phone or flipping off the cops or flashing your lights to warn others of cops or drunk driving or not having a license plate or swirving into oncoming traffic becaue you can’t figure out all buttons on the dash or an expired inspection or spinning out in front of the sheriff’s office or tricking your vehicle out with cool lights or driving with your feet or tossing your smart mouthed kid out the door while doing 70 in a school zone.
I guess I am must be really truly screwed... well except for the acne part
The 10-2 taught us in our golden youth is alas, no more. Now it's the 8-4. "Reason," you ask? Well it seems that this way, your wrists and forearms will are less likely to be injured when the olde airbag goes off, you see?
Holding ones hands in this position it is recommended that you "feed the wheel" from one hand to the other, rather than make "sweeping motions that would cross the arms."
In the spirit of cooperation with the nanny state (even though nanny is more than a leetle fool'o'shiite on this, I am seriously considering removing the necking knob from my '49 Mercury steering wheel.
Recommend that you do the same. Always wear a helmet when bicycling, look both ways before crossing the street, and do not take hi-fat or sugary foods to school for lunch. Or, you will be shot.
Oh, sh!t! Now I'm in BIG trouble!
PING!
DANG!
Incredible.
Absolutely incredible.
And when you read the article, it gets Worse. States that because the person in question had acne, it could be surmised that she could use meth!
Dear Lord.
Strengthen and guide us in this fight.
Tatt
The drug war has destroyed our country.
“Isn’t New Mexico the state where if the cop believes your butt is clenched it justifies forcible sodomy in search of drugs?”
Yep. And sending you a bill from the hospital that raped you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.