If a police officer pulls me over, stops me while walking down the street, whatever, with what information am I required to provide him, and when? If I’m pulled over, does he have to tell me what he stopped me for before I am required to turn over my license and registration? When is he required to read me my Miranda rights if he is “taking me in?” I’ve had a few small problems with the law in the past (namely speeding tickets and public intoxication), and COMPLETE cooperation didn’t seem to get me anywhere. So I’m wondering what options do I legally have to refuse information?
Well, isn’t the first “Miranda Right” the right to remain silent?
I’m not a lawyer, but that sounds to me like you don’t HAVE to tell them anything… however, I doubt you’ll get far by remaining silent. Seems to me that you’d just piss them off that way!
You do have to identify yourself. They tend to get pissed-off if you don’t have any ID, but I don’t think it’s required if you’re not driving.
Peace,
mangeorge
If you’re driving, you’ll have to provide them with your license and registration, but otherwise you are not obligated to tell them anything.
First, IANAL, but miranda rights only apply if you are under arrest and the police want to question you further.
According to this site you don’t have to answer any questions at all although you do have to provide your driver’s license during a traffic stop.
You DO have to identify yourself. You do NOT have to carry identification. IF you are driving, you DO have to show a driver’s license.
You mean you don’t have to identify yourself, right? The American Civil Liberties Union has a pretty good, portable summary of what you need to know if stopped by the police. It says: “It’s not a crime to refuse to answer questions, but refusing to answer can make the police suspicious about you. You can’t be arrested merely for refusing to identify yourself on the street.”
I saw a young kid try to refuse to provide ID once (he was apparently stealing a $1 ride on a streetcar).
Don’t know what the 2 big, burly cops did with him after they took him off the vehicle.
Be nice to cops - they can make your life very difficult.
and do try to behave, 'K?
I thought you did have to identify yourself. Thanks, Achernar, for the link.
So what are the rules on “detain” vs “arrest”? How long can a cop keep you (without “cause”) standing there on the street if you exercise your right to not ID yourself?
Peace,
mangeorge
With regards to Miranda: they happen independently of the arrest.
The police can arrest you without Miranda as long as they don’t question you until they have read you your rights. If you start talking while on the way to the police station, it’s fair game.
Also, the police can read you your rights before an arrest if they have a reasonable suspicion you did something but not enough evidence to actually arrest you.
Finally, the police can question you without Miranda if they’re looking for background information and don’t suspect you of anything. If you do incriminate yourself, they must then stop and read you your rights. Anything you say beforehand is fair game though.
“So did you see the building burn down?”
“See it? I set the fire!”
“OK sir, at this point I’d like to inform you that you have the right to remain silent…”
IANAL, yada yada yada…
i thought that, while you had no legal responsibility to provide identification, refusal was sort of a de facto admission of loitering or vagrancy, hence, you are heading to the pokey. am i correct or no?
that is, while afoot.
IANAL, last I heard, IIRC, etc. -
Vagrancy laws have largely been struck down on constitutional grounds.
30 years ago, lawyers were advising people to ID themselves if asked.
If you are into serious crap, see a lawyer before the cops come.
If you are into public intoxication, reckless driving, clean up your act - it’s not worth getting busted.
Great advice, if you’d like the police to walk all over you. What, they beat the shit out of him? If so, they’re breaking the law, and deserve to be stripped of their badges.
Oh, and I’ll offer one piece of advice – when a cop asks to search your person or vehicle, don’t consent. If they have to ask, they aren’t authorized to do so without your permission. This question may come in a breezy, nonchalant manner – but the cop’s quite serious. Answering “No” to “You mind if I take a look in your vehicle?” will likely result in a thorough, no-bullshit search of your car. If they find anything illegal, you’ll likely be arrested.
last I heard, the police could hold you in custody until ID was provided (IANAL, YMMV, Law varies by location, etc).
My point, (ignoring the fact that police do get away with all kinds of stuff when there are no witnessess) is: pick your fights - trying to smart-mouth a cop over a $1 transit fare isn’t a wise decision.
No, do not submit to searches - if they ask, they are looking for something, anything on which to bust you. don’t give them ammo.
That is very different from withholding ID - which you must do if stopped while operating a motor vehicle on public streets/roads, and should do even while afoot (at least if they are really interested in you).
rule: once a cop does something, it is going to be real hard to get a court to rules his/her actions unlawful - they will find “just cause” in almost every circumstance
So if they’re not authorized, and I say “No” to decline my permision, I take it this thorough, no-BS search will only come after they detain me long enough to get authorization do do a search w/o permission? Given the legalites about such things as privacy and probable cause, the way you’ve worded it, doesn’t make much sense.
Somebody at work told me that they heard on the radio:
In Baltimore, an answer of NO to the question, may I search your vehicle, IS probable cause!?!?!?!
In Texas you will goto jail if you are caught with out a current Id. This means driving or not.
sorry too lazy to look up a cite to back up this claim.
Unless that’s new, or they just didn’t feel like taking the time to haul me in, they don’t do that often. I am a huge procrastinator, and have been known to go for a couple of months without a current ID. I’ve been pulled over once with an expired license and once with no license in the car, and although they almost took me to jail the time where I didn’t have the license with me (I remembered my DL number at the last moment. I still don’t know how, since I’d made no attempt to memorize it before.), the time that it was expired only got me a written warning to get it updated ASAP.
I’m not particularly cute, and I don’t flirt or cry to officers (You know, those handy things they tell women to do to get out of tickets :rolleyes: ), so I don’t know how I managed that.
The police are allowed to search with either your consent or a search warrant (and a few other situations, such as incident to an arrest,or an inventory search).It is possible that they will ask for your consent to search in a situation where there isn’t enough evidence to get a search warrant.
IANAL either, but people often say this in NY, and it’s only somewhat true. The police here cannot keep you in custody until ID is provided except that if you’ve violated a law for which a summons would usually be issued (such as smoking in the subway) and don’t provide ID, they can keep you in custody long enough to run your fingerprints instead of just issuing the summons on the spot. But there has to be a violation.