Question re: 4th ammendment rights...

ddss6_99 · #1 09-04-2005, 04:47 AM

So a bunch of people including myself, all of whom are under 21 went to a party on at my college tonight. To get to the party we need to take a trail through the back of campus. Everyone takes the trail because it's the quickest way to get to the off campus appartments, so it's usually filled with 200+ college students at any given time. So as we're walking down the trail, a cop who is just chilling on the side of the trail shines his flashlight at my friend and asks to see what's in his backpack. He reveals his backpack which has approx 30-40 beers in it. So this is later used as probably cause to search his person, which there was less than 4oz. of marijuana on. Question is this, since we were'nt breaking the law or being suspicious in any way, we were just walking as were hundreds of other kids, did the cop have the right to just pull someone aside and search their belongings. I realize that he opened his bag for them
, which probably wasn't the best idea, but if he were to say no when asked to open his bag, would the police have been able to do anything about it or would that have been the end of it?

webmonarch · #2 09-04-2005, 05:27 AM

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Everyone takes the trail because it's the quickest way to get to the off campus appartments, so it's usually filled with 200+ college students at any given time.

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So, first things first, you were probably tresassing.

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He reveals his backpack which has approx 30-40 beers in it.

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Oops. Never voluntarily consent to a search. Your bad.

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So this is later used as probably cause to search his person, which there was less than 4oz. of marijuana on.

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Yep. The cop now has probable cause. He finds a group of kids on a path often used by college kids to get to parties, has a kid consent to opening his backpack with 30-40 beers, puts two and two together, and figures he might have someone with another substance found at parties.

Let's just say, if I were licensed, I wouldn't take your case. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

If you had not consented the cop probably would have let you go, but he also could have arrested you, and then searched you incident to arrest or upon being brought to the station.

I am a law school graduate that has taken the bar, but am not licensed to practice law. This is NOT legal advice, and I am not a lawyer. Consult an attorney for your particular situation.

jba · #3 09-04-2005, 05:28 AM

i think that since you are already breaking the law (having beer underage) they have probable cause to search you.

Deftoner · #4 09-04-2005, 05:32 AM

Run next time, its that simple.

PoBoy321 · #5 09-04-2005, 05:32 AM

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i think that since you are already breaking the law (having beer underage) they have probable cause to search you.

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Not true. However, by consenting to a search, you are waiving your 4th amendment rights and are therefore those protections are no longer applicable.

There may, however, be a case to be made that the officer, in his position as a law enforcement officer coerced you into allowing the search.

However, it is unlikely that that would hold water in court and I would say that your best course of action would be to just cop a plea and try to ge toff as lightly as you can.

edfurlong · #6 09-04-2005, 05:34 AM

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He reveals his backpack which has approx 30-40 beers in it.

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Oops. Never voluntarily consent to a search. Your bad.

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I have a couple cop friends and this is key. Just say no. Don't be a penis about it, but don't let them search you unless forced to.

ddss6_99 · #7 09-04-2005, 01:19 PM

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So, first things first, you were probably tresassing.

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Yea, but I doubt that would hold up as probable cause when there are literally hundreds of others trespassing at the same time. And I'm not 100% that it was even private property that we were on.

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i think that since you are already breaking the law (having beer underage) they have probable cause to search you.

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True, once they found the beer he was screwed because they had probable cause to search his person. But if he never consented to a search of his bag then they'd have no probable cause to look in his pockets.

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I would say that your best course of action would be to just cop a plea and try to ge toff as lightly as you can.

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Yea, I don't think he's going to get in any severe trouble (not to say that getting arrested isn't severe). He's had no priors, never been arrested before, hell I don;t even think he's ever had a parking ticket. He isn't looking to fight it or anything, just hoping to get maybe a fine and community service. Once convicted he's going to have to pay the $500 bond which sucks.

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Run next time, its that simple.

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you know we probably could have, but I don't think that evading police is something you want to get charged with either.

#8 09-04-2005, 01:27 PM

as a lawyer, it's funny reading the responses to your post. i would give them zero weight.

cardcounter0 · #9 09-04-2005, 01:43 PM

Misplayed on every street.

Next time, fold preflop.

PITTM · #10 09-04-2005, 01:47 PM

wait wait wait. 4 ounces? good [censored] lord. i smoke every day and it would take me like 6 months to smoke that. you shouldnt have opened the bag in the first place, stupid stupid. however, if you were trespassing, which it sounds like, he can now search you. lame. its too bad you werent me and in california, then it would have been legal for you to have the chronic [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

rj