If I have MS and stumpble and happen to be drinking a beverage of any kind, does an offier have probable case to search me if I refuse?
At this point, the damage is already done.
[QUOTE=PBear42]
Except that the officer might arrange a medical intervention to deal with the MS (which you presumably will at some point have mentioned)./QUOTE]
What the hell are you talking about? Is it illeagle to stumble around in public? Could/would the state force me into a wheelchair against my will??
Neither. I’m just trying to determine what rights I have, and also what rights an officer has.
[QUOTE=copperwindow]
If I have MS and stumpble and happen to be drinking a beverage of any kind, does an offier have probable case to search me if I refuse?
At this point, the damage is already done.
You have the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. The officer has a privilege to search you as long as his search is reasonable (as the term is defined by a long line of cases). Unfortunately for you, the Supreme Court has already explored the issue of police investigative stops extensively, and has come out against your position. Similarly, it seems clear that if you filed a civil suit and had a jury made up of Dopers, you’d lose big.
What Gfactor said. Stated a little differently, as has been explained several times, a police officer does not have to be certain you are breaking the law before conducting a search. You pretend you are damaged by the mere smell of your bottle. Maybe you really are that prickly. If so, too bad. You live in a society which gives its police officers certain powers. But, as I’ve said all along, it seems much more likely that what this is all about is that you want to put something illegal in the bottle (as suggested in your original OP) and would like the rule to be that, if there is any possible innocent explanation of your behavior, the cops gotta leave you alone. Nope, that’s not the rule. Ignore the real rules at your peril.
I should add that you lack the right to prank, fool, or deceive the police. Under some circumstances you might be able to get away with it, but there is no constitutional “right” to do so. Just so we are clear.
Actually, the rule is closer to the opposite, copperwindow. If there is a criminal explanation of your behavior, you can probably be detained (briefly), questioned, patted down, and ultimately searched (based on the officers perceptions of your behavior and your answers). This is obviously an overgeneralization. If you want fine detail, I can recommend some good books and cases for you to read.
