Posted on 04/21/2021 7:03:39 AM PDT by Kaslin
A 69-year-old woman was walking her poodle in a public park in Northern California in late November. She was not wearing a mask.
She walked by groups of people who were.
A police officer, meanwhile, monitored her movements from the security of his squad car.
As she moved past the park into a middle-class neighborhood, he clandestinely trailed her. She walked past other people who were also out for strolls -- sometimes coming within three or four feet of them.
Being friendly neighbors, they nodded and smiled.
Then this dog walker turned into a driveway. The police officer turned on his overhead lights and pulled up as fast as he could to the front of her house.
By the time he got out of his car, she was already moving through her front door. Before she could completely shut it, however, he slammed his boot into it and knocked it open.
He then entered her foyer and asked her if she had even been carrying a mask on her walk. She said no.
He said, "You are under arrest."
This is not a true story. It is hypothetical. But is it so fantastical it could never happen?
Consider a true story now being pondered by the Supreme Court in the case of Lange v. California.
"One evening in October 2016, petitioner Arthur Lange was driving home in Sonoma, California," said the petition Lange's lawyers submitted to the Supreme Court asking it to take up his case.
"He was listening to loud music and at one point honked his horn a few times," said the petition.
"A California highway patrol officer, Aaron Weikert, began following Mr. Lange, 'intending to conduct a traffic stop,'" it said. "Officer Weikert later testified that he believed the music and honking violated Sections 27001 and 27007 of the California Vehicle Code.
"Those noise infractions carried base fines of $25 and $35," it said.
In other words, the officer was following a driver he suspected may be committing $60 worth of traffic violations.
"Officer Weikert initially followed at some distance and did not activate his siren or overhead lights," said the petition. "He neared Mr. Lange's station wagon only after Mr. Lange turned onto his residential street. Approaching his house, Mr. Lange slowed and activated his garage door opener. As Mr. Lange continued toward his driveway, Officer Weikert turned on his overhead lights, but not his siren or megaphone.
"At that point, Mr. Lange was about as far from his driveway as first base is from second," said the petition.
Lange pulled into his garage. But he did not make it safely home.
"As the garage door began to descend," said the petition, "Officer Weikert left his squad car, stuck his foot under the door to stop it from closing, and entered the garage."
The officer then discovered Lange might be responsible for more than just playing loud music and honking his horn.
"Upon entering the garage and questioning Lange, the officer observed signs of excessive intoxication, such as slurred speech," said the brief that then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra submitted to the Supreme Court asking it not to take up this case.
Lange was given a blood test.
"Here, the Sonoma County District Attorney charged Lange with two misdemeanor violations of driving under the influence of alcohol ... and with an infraction for operating his car's sound system at an excessive level," said Becerra's brief. "Lange moved to suppress the evidence obtained after the officer entered Lange's garage, arguing that the officer had no justification to enter without a warrant."
Now, think of the hypothetical 69-year-old woman who walked her poodle without a mask. Was she a criminal?
On June 18, 2020, the California Department of Public Health issued a mask mandate under the authority of Gov. Gavin Newsom that said, in part: "People in California must wear face coverings when they are in the high-risk situations listed below: ... While outdoors in public spaces when maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet from persons who are not members of the same household or residence is not feasible."
The Los Angeles Times reported then: "Under state law, residents who violate the new requirement could be charged with a misdemeanor and potentially face a financial penalty, according to a representative for the Newsom administration."
On Nov. 16, 2020, the Newsom administration published an updated -- and somewhat stricter -- mandate.
"People in California must wear face coverings when they are outside of the home unless one of the exemptions below applies," said the November update.
"Individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings," it said, "in the following specific settings: ... Persons who are outdoors and maintaining at least 6 feet of social distancing from others, not in their household. Such persons must have a face covering with them at all times and must put it on if they are within 6 feet of others who are not in their household."
The hypothetical dog walker violated this mandate.
But did the government law enforcement agency that entered her hypothetical home -- or Lange's actual garage -- violate the Fourth Amendment? It says: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
In a brief in Lange v. California that was joined by the American Conservative Union Foundation and the Cato Institute, the American Civil Liberties Union says: "By categorically permitting police officers to enter a home without a warrant whenever they pursue a suspect they have probable cause to arrest for a misdemeanor, the California Court of Appeal violated petitioner's Fourth Amendment rights."
This is the right position.
If a law enforcement officer suspects someone is driving under the influence -- as opposed to playing loud music and honking his horn -- he should pull him over immediately to protect both that person and the public.
But when a law enforcement agency wants to enter someone's home -- other than to protect people there from a life-threatening emergency -- it should get a judge to give it a warrant.
Just allow intruders to be shot on the front lawn.
When he gets past the front gate in one piece.
Popo knocking on the door is a much different thing than popo kicking in the door.
Any freakin time they want?
Popo knocking gives you a chance to tell them to come back with a warrant.
Popo knocking down your door means your dead if you try to defend your home.
We live in dangerous times.
I remember in high school when I first got my license, riding my motorcycle home, a cop followed me and then pulled into the driveway behind me. No ticket or arrest, just a stern lecture about speed on the city streets, 30 or something on in a 25 mph zone. Worst was my mom standing at the window watching.
Happened all the time when I was younger.
If a law enforcement officer suspects someone is driving under the influence -- as opposed to playing loud music and honking his horn -- he should pull him over immediately to protect both that person and the public.
They still need probable cause to pull them over.
Uh I’m sure the loud music stopped when the car is turned off. And the cops aren’t allowed to enter your house without knocking and asking you to open the door. And the surely aren’t allowed to stop you from shutting your door.
Cop probably figured you were a bigger danger to yourself than anyone else.
“If a law enforcement officer suspects someone is driving under the influence — as opposed to playing loud music and honking his horn — he should pull him over immediately to protect both that person and the public.”
How many DUI arrests are made because the cop pulled the driver over for something small like loud music or honking the horn? I have a young relative who was pulled over for a right turn on red violation (didn’t come to a full stop) and got a DUI arrest (just barely over the legal limit). To make matters worse, the county courts are still shut down for COVID, the violation was 13 months ago, and the court date keeps getting kicked down the road. It is now scheduled for AUGUST, 17 months after the violation. This is really messing up this person’s life.
The officer broke into the man's house for loud music. There are so many laws that you can violate without even knowing it that allowing police to do what this officer did would entirely gut the 4th Amendment.
You think like a Karen.
...” just a stern lecture about speed on the city streets”
...the good old days. That’s because he used his common sense and could tell you were a decent person and didn’t necessarily deserve all the damages caused by a ticket. A true servant of the people.
I got pulled over when I was 21 for drunk driving. I couldn’t walk the line, do ABC’s, nothing. He asked where I lived (about 2 miles) and he drove behind me. Watched me get out and go inside. That’s an extreme case. I should’ve been up a creek but I’ll never forget it and haven’t driven while drunk since.
That was exactly my curiosity. By delaying and following rather than immediately stopping him the officer endangered the public. Drinking and driving aside but the abuse of the load music. lol
I’ll go off on a tangent but one that I hear a lot of noise over. The disparity in charges & jail time between “powdered” and “crack” cocaine.
The People demanded the government do something, the people demanded new, stronger laws against “crack”.
The People wanted more government and they got it.
This. This is also why I could really care less what happened at the Chauvin trial.
Meh. My solution to this sort of thing was to simply move from Seattle to rural Kentucky. And I made that decision in 2008. I saw where we were headed. It was obvious.
Indeed we do.
I'm all for law enforcement, as long as the enforcers are playing by the rules. Lately it seems that many of them don't feel the need to do so.
I have a feeling that change is coming. It remains to be seen if that change will be for the better.
How far is your Neighbors house from yours? Although I don’t visit and talk to my neighbors; I did that when I was younger. I have to have houses around me.
They can knock on the door, but cannot enter.
That is the basis of this case. I read through the oral arguments the day of, and was not entirely hopeful from the questions being asked by any of the judges that they understand this.
I suspect the ruling will enhance the police state’s power just a little bit more, a process that only moves in one direction.
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