Originally Posted by duhrickjames
A lot of people on these boards seem to be misinformed or uninformed about their civil rights. Here's a run down of one of the most important amendments to the U.S. Constitution as a user of cannabis is concerned.
The Fourth Amendment - 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.
So what does this mean?
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated" - Anything you are carrying on you, or anything contained within your residence is your property, and may not be searched or seized without a lawful order to do so.
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause - In order to be searched, a judge must sign a warrant. It can only be signed if the judge believes there is probable cause to search a person and/or his or her residence. Probable cause means that, in the judge's best opinion, that issuing a warrant will lead to the addition of admissible evidence into a court. In Laymanâ??s terms, a judge has to believe that you are doing something obviously wrong, and that a warrant will, without any doubt, lead you to be convicted of a crime.
supported by Oath or affirmation - A police officer or other credible source must, under Oath, swear that in his or her best opinion, an illegal action is taking place, and there is evidence to prove it.
and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized - In order to issue a warrant, a judge must know where the evidence he or she is searching for is placed. If a police officer says "I think someone is doing something wrong," that does not satisfy probable cause. The judge must ask for a specific thing to be seized from a specific place. If a warrant orders one place to be searched for one specific item, and another, unrelated item is found, that is not admissible evidence.
Never 'invite' a police officer into your home!
When a police officer comes knocking on your door, the last thing you want to do is unlock it. Talk to them through the door or an unopened window. You never have to open a door for them. If they have a warrant, you can rest assured, that they will open the door for you!! (break it down)
Never let a cop coerce you. Lets say you were walking down the street blazed out of your mind and cop sees you. They are trained exactly how to screw with your mind. First, they're going to ask this beauty of a question, "Who's your dealer, who do you deal to?" The only thing you need to respond with is, "Charges?"
A police officer needs to press charges on you in order to lawfully detain you (unless he believes you are a terrorist and wants to apply the premises of the patriot act). If they don't tell you what you are being charged with then say "Officer, I am fully aware of my civil rights, I understand that you have no right to lawfully detain me unless you are arresting me for something, and therefore I am going to continue walking."
If they say they are arresting you for consumption of a controlled substance, that means they are going to pat you down before you're put in the car. They're going to say "You don't have anything that's going to stick me or hurt me on you, do you?"
You need to respond with, "Officer, I only grant you permission to search my person for the possession of a concealed weapon. I do not grant you permission to search for any other items." This means that if you have anything on you (drugs), it's going to make it a lot harder for the prosecutor to hold up the evidence in court.
Be aware what they are charging you with, and if possible, get a lawyer to come with you. You will always be thankful. A lot of courts are really deceptive. They will offer you a "drug diversion" program for first time offenders instead of being convicted of possession. A lot of times they offer this to you because they know that they have an insignificant amount of admissible evidence, and not nearly enough to convict you. Instead of pressing charges and you getting off not guilty, they trick you into taking the "safe" route. The trick is that you weren't going to be convicted in the first place. This is why you should always have a lawyer.
Hope this all helps.
:rasta:
