| Your Rights |
| Thr following information is intended as a brief summation of your constitutional rights and is meant to offer helpful hints at how to effectively assert and protect those rights within the context of a police encounter. Of course this information is no substitute for consultation with an experienced attorney. |
| The Fourth Admendment to the Bill of Rights of The United States Constitution states: The right of the people to be secire in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unresonable searches and seizure, shall not be violated, and no Warrents shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath and affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person and things to be seized. The Fifth Admendment reads in part: "Np person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." These admend ments provide the foundation for the rights that protect all U.S. Citzens from intrusive law enfocement practices. If an officer violates your rights than any evidence disvovered as a result of that violation. Must be suppressed from the evidence at trial. This is accoplished by filing a motion to supress with the trial judge. Even if an officer obtained a warrant prioe to searching, if that warrant is defective or not supported by probable cause, than the evidence must be suppressed. Often times after the fruits of illegal detention, interrogation, or search are suppressed, the government is left with very little evidence and the charges are dismissed. 1. Don't Leave Contriband in Plain View: Although law enfocement officers must obtain a warrant before they can conduct a privacy invading search, any illict material that can be seen by any person through a non-instrusive vantage point is subject to confinscation. An arrest an valid warrant to search the rest of the area is likely to ensue. A "roach" in the ashtray, a pipe or baggy on the coffee table, or a joint being smoked in public are common mistakes which all too frequently lead to arrests. 2. Never Consent: Many indviduels arrested on marijuana charges could have avoided the arrest by excersising their Fourth Amendment rights. If a law enfocement officer asks your permission to search it is usually because 1) there is not enough evidence to obtain a search warrant. 2) The officer does not feel like going through the hassel of obtaing a warrant. Law enforcement officers are trained to intmidate people into consenting searches. If you do consent. You waive your constitutional protection and the officers may search and seize items without further authorization. If an officer finds cantraband they will arrest you. If you do not consent to the search the officer must either release you or detain you and attempt to get a warrant. The fact that you refuse to consent does not give the officer grounds to obtain a warrant or further detain you. An officer can obtain a search warrant only from a judge or magistrate and only upon showing of "probable cause." Probable cause requires an officer to articulate information that would cause a resonable person to believe that a crime has or is being commited and that the evidence in that envolvment can be found withing the object of the search. There are exceptions to the search warrant requirment which permitt an officer to search an area without a warrant or consent under certain circumstances. The important thing for you to remember is never consent to a search or talk to an officer if you want to perserve your rights. If an officer asks to search you or an area belonging to you or over which you are authorized to control you should respond: I do not consent to the search of my (person, baggage, purse, luggage, vehicle, house, blood, ect.) I do not consent to this contact and I do not want to answer any questions. If I am not under arrest I would like to go now (or be left alone) 3. Don't Answer Questions Without an Attorney Present: Whether arrested or not, you ahould always excersise the right to remain silent. Anything you say to law enforcment officers, cell mates, friends, reporters can be used as evidence against you. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. Your right to remain silent should always be excerised. |