I’m locked up!!! Help me beat the case… - Page 2

fish2plus2 · #11 10-23-2006, 06:20 PM

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Eat 10 cloves of raw garlic and then go to the police station and offer to take a lie detector test. Complex chemicals in the garlic will render the unit ineffective, and then you can lie your way right out of trouble.

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hmm....

theweatherman · #12 10-23-2006, 06:23 PM

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guids,

the class of crime below misdemeanor is called a violation

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Not all states have violation level crimes though.

I'm pretty certain that DC doesnt.

theweatherman · #13 10-23-2006, 06:26 PM

Cop can ask to brethalyze you for any reason. IF you say yes then you are an idiot and deserve to get busted. But I'll assume this isnt the case.

Otherwise the officer needs probable cause that you are intoxicated. He can do this based on standarized test (walking lines, finger to nose etc. ) Or he can do this based on experience. A cop could go to court and say "based on my X years of experience I believed he was intoxicated" and it will work.

No, littering is not probable cause for him to breathalyze you, however Im sure your slurred speech, stagger and smelly breath sure were.

Basically, you lose.

Plus littering is awful anyways. You deserve to be cited for being an inconsiderate prick.

guids · #14 10-23-2006, 06:27 PM

Why is littering not probable cause for him to get searched.

aceupthepants · #15 10-23-2006, 06:28 PM

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Let's see...
- Littering
- Public intoxication
- Underage drinking

Naaaaaahhhh, there's nothing there worth arresting you over.

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Pretty much he had no reason to think I was drinking or publicly drunk.

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(13) PENALTIES: ENFORCEMENT

(a) Any person who dumps litter in violation of sections 1-10 in an amount not exceeding 15 lbs in weight or 17 cubic feet in volume and not for commercial purposes is guilty of a noncriminal infraction, punishable by a civil penalty not less than $50 and no more than $300. In addition the court may require the violator to pick up litter or perform other labor commensurate with the offenses committed.

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source: http://www.litterbug.org/litterlaws.htm

So if this is true how can he threaten to arrest me for something that is a "noncriminal infraction"?

jman220 · #16 10-23-2006, 06:44 PM

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Hi I was wondering if littering was a probable cause for a police officer to administer a breathalyzer. I know we are protected from unreasonable searches under the Fourth amendment, but would littering give a police officer reason to breathalyze someone? I ask because the other night while walking down the street I accidentally littered the top of a blow pop wrapper and a police officer saw this. He told me if he found the wrapper then he would “arrest me” he found it then took me to the station and breathalyzed me, where he cited me for underage drinking (I’ll be 21 in 2 weeks). Also since littering is not considered a misdemeanor as far as I know how could he make claims of “arresting” me? Wouldn’t this constitute harassment?

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What state are you in? Get a lawyer.

guids · #17 10-23-2006, 08:09 PM

You realize what you posted is from a .org, and is a "sample" letter for cities to draft that are wanting to enact some type of litter ordinance. This is in no way law etc.

Tony_P · #18 10-23-2006, 08:13 PM

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You realize what you posted is from a .org, and is a "sample" letter for cities to draft that are wanting to enact some type of litter ordinance. This is in no way law etc.

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lo, i was just about to post this. what a maroon

theweatherman · #19 10-23-2006, 08:23 PM

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Why is littering not probable cause for him to get searched.

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Why is it? In NY it would be a violation, non arrestable. Cops are allowed to check you for weapons (IE pat you down) but not search your person.

If you are arrested you are obviously open to search.

Legally they cant do anything even if they feel a bag of pot in your pockets. In teh real world cops do whatever the [censored] they want because it is your word against theirs.

This is my understanding taken from what I have been told by my father (a NY state trooper)

FortunaMaximus · #20 10-23-2006, 08:24 PM

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Why is littering not probable cause for him to get searched.

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Why is it? In NY it would be a violation, non arrestable. Cops are allowed to check you for weapons (IE pat you down) but not search your person.

If you are arrested you are obviously open to search.

Legally they cant do anything even if they feel a bag of pot in your pockets. In teh real world cops do whatever the [censored] they want because it is your word against theirs.

This is my understanding taken from what I have been told by my father (a NY state trooper)

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Fair enough. Is this a bad thing for a society that wants to be safer?