Luke Highwalker

eh...you might be surprised about that one. in virginia in order to get your license you have to sign a piece of paper stating that the law can search your car at any time for any reason. it is your right to refuse this search, but you will be detained the car impounded until a warrant is issued and it will be searched anyway. your mere unwillingness to want to be searched and harrassed is enough cause for them.

gqmetalhead

I'm almost positive that if that is true, the right organization and lawyer could take that to the supream court and get that found unconstitutional. They would really have no lawful right to detain you (false imprisonment) and therfore no right to impound your vehical (illegal search and seisure). Thats almost like torturing someone to get a confesion. They don't want to be hurt, so they do something they might not normally do under normal circumstances, WTF is this, the gestapo? they are basically forcing you to give up your rights, what's next, they make you sign something that says if you want to buy food in this state, you must submit to random urine screens? SOmeone should do something about that law, that really is a blatent violation of the constitution. I guess nobody is willing to take the time to try to fight it, that's why shit like that exists and the constitution ends up getting watered down over time. Fight For Your Rights! There was a lawyer in the county I used to live in, who after a city ordinance bieng on the books for 5 years stating you get a mandatory 3 days in jail for MJ possesion, took it to the supreame court and they found that it went against the states constitution and made em get rid of it. I'm just saying, that shit is small potatoes, what your talking about is seriously fucked, someone needs to do something about it, or next they will come up with a law that allows them to do similar thing to your house and your property.

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SkierGuy23

However, the search would be deemed legal if it was done in order to protect the country then you would be SOL. I live near a "terrorist hot spot" (an area that is always on the warning list as possible targets) and you constantly have to deal with cars being searched if you drive onto state owned property (parking lots/garages).

It is amazing at the number of contracts that are unconstitutional.

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gqmetalhead

YEah, but what consitutes "protecting the country"? they can't just say they think your a terrorist, they have to have reasonable cuase to think that, if if they pulled that on you, ended up busting you for something, you could probably fight it in court and win, depending on the situation.

People have to stand up and fight for thier rights, tons of people died just so we could have em. And people will continue to try to take em away, like they've always done, its just a shame its our own people doing it to us. Cops break the law and violate people civil rights every day, so many people get busted doing stuff on the sole basis that the police broke protocol and violated the law in order to get the arrest, and most of the time, the people they bust don't even realize it.

Personally, i wouldn't let a cop search my car, even if i didn't have anything, they can go get a drug dog if thats what they want to do but I don't need big brother digging around and looking thru my shit, its a huge invasion of privacy.

Smaller towns tend to be more redicoulos with they way they handle stuff becasue they want to bust anyone for anything. Bigger cities tend to have more important things to to then to be trying to find people to bust cuz they are bored.

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SkierGuy23

Well, actually they don't. Look at all of the people, who are harassed daily, because their name is on a watch list. Some people are loosing their jobs, their families, and their lives over it. I'm not saying that this would happen; I am just throwing out possibilities.

It is very hard to fight for your rights when the reason you are being held also strips all of your rights away.

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Skip Intro

This sounds like much the same arrangement as an automatic suspension of your license if you refuse to blow in a breathalyzer or allow a blood sample to be taken. Sure, you still have and may exercise your 4th (and 5th, for that matter) amendment rights, but the state strips you of the 'privilege' of a driver's license just for doing so. Another legislative cheap ass shuck-and-jive.

But unwillingness to be searched does not constitute sufficient probable cause for a warrant, no matter what agreement is signed. This is a case where federal law, specifically the constitution, would walk all over a state law such as the one you describe. You can NOT sign away your constitutional rights (although the state may revoke certain 'privileges', as above, if you choose to stand by them). Also, a quick look through the Virginia DMV forms repository failed to show an agreement such as you describe.

Although not perfectly on-point, a quick search found this case from Virginia. In summary, the cop saw what he thought were pirated CDs in plain sight inside a vehicle he pulled over. Based on these 'pirated' CDs, the car was searched, without permission, and several ounces of MJ were found. Ultimately, the appeals court reversed the trial court and tossed the indictment, as the evidence presented by the officer re: the CDs (LOL @ "labels on them were real blurry") was insufficient to support a search and the subsequent discovery of the MJ.

You might say that if the cops had just waited to get a warrant, they would have gotten the conviction. But a warrant requires the police to prove probable cause to a judge (as opposed to using their own assessment) and a wrongly issued warrant may also be later quashed and the results thrown out.

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gqmetalhead

the whole no fly list is a seriously flawed thing. there mothods for getting people off it are rediculous. nevertheless it is not purposfully done. even still, if you fight and it doesn't get you anywhere, fight harder. odviously you can't win every battle but I will garuntee you that the squeeky wheel always gets greesed. Sometimes you just gotta sqeek till someone pays attention.

I've delt with injustices in my life, inside a courtroom and out, and I learned that fighting may not always get you all of what you want, but it will usually get you some or most of what you want. Better then nothing at all. And hopefully it helps keep those people from trying to pull stupid shit on other people in the future.

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SkierGuy23

It's hard to get what you want when what you want is classified and can't be unclassified by court order.

Again, I am just giving an example. If you don't like it then you can ignore it but, it is a valid example.

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Luke Highwalker

yeah the cops in the commonwealth are total dickheads... its been quit some time since i got my license so i cant remember the exact piece of paper. i do know they bank heavily on the driving is a privilidge b.s. they dont need any real or legal reason to pull your license. its there right and they give or deny licenses to anyone they damn well please. what the paper actually says, and how the pigs explained it to us {a class of half stoned high schoolers} im sure wasnt exactly correct.. they always try and toss in some b.s. scare tactics as well. anyhow this is why i got the hell out of VA. i once got tossed in jail for driving on an EXPIRED {not suspended} license. my bday is between christmas and new years, and i dont drink or smoke so i only use my license when i get pulled over. i got it reissued the second dmv reopened but that didnt matter. they COULD throw me in jail for the charge so they did. instead of just letting it go as an honest mistake.


More on point of this thread the drug checkpoint thing is totally true. i was driving to florida and before a bridge on i95 there was a big sign warning of impending DEA drug check point ahead. i found it really odd there was this big lit up sign warning us of a check point, but the farther we got there was nothing ahead. i also wondered wtf, whenver i get stopped in a DUI checkpoint there is never any warning. never really pieced it together until now.

Good tip, i appreciate the heads up!

gqmetalhead

Why can't the cops just leave people the hell alone. A drug check point is something they do when they have nothing else going on. F'n cops, can't live with em, can't live without em.

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I just ask questions and write stuff on here so people will think I'm cool. I am a liar and a phony. Anything I post on here is fictional and at the very best, complete nonsense. As a matter of fact I don't even really exist, I'm just a figment of your Imagination...magination...gination....ation....on.......