I think he was going by what I said before...I'm under the impression that they are suppose to let some throw and check at random. I might of been told wrong about that. I’m going to check it out and get back to y’all on that.
thats not what random checkpoint is referring to. whether they let every 3rd or 10th car go or check everyone is irrelevant. it means they are haphazardly (randomly) checking innocent until proven guilty people without cause. they need probable cause to do so initially, according to the constitution. if a cop busts down your door with no probable cause and finds drugs, prostitutes and anthony weiner giving you a hj, the case will still be thrown out. what do you mean all? they are all there specifically to write tickets and/or arrest people. he just chose not to do so. i read it correctly the first time and explained it clearly above why its a violation of the fourth amendment. unfortunately, the supreme court ruled although it does violate the constitution, this is a special case and the ends justifies the means. which is pretty crazy. just because they have a specific criteria doesnt mean they cannot or will not bust you for something else. its clearly left to their discretion. so it becomes irrelevant as to why they set up shop initially.
Pay better attention. I said if they see a violation (license plate expired, illegal lane change, no seat belts, etc) they can pull you over. They don't need probable cause if they have you on a violation. They need probable cause to search for drugs if they pull you over on a traffic violation. They don't need it to search the records for outstanding warrants. It means that not all checkpoints are shallow excuses to abuse you. Some are simply looking for insurance or something specific. You can shout it from the rooftops, but the courts are not ruling it that way, martin. Stating the obvious. Police have learned that they have a stronger case in court if they are following legitimate traffic stop procedures. Profiling is still illegal and they do this to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
i mentioned the traffic stops along i-35 here. i have absolutely no doubt that profiling goes on. but those drug busts are made on routine traffic stops where there is a legitimate reason to stop someone, not just profiling. every single one has passed any scrutiny for legality.
What's that have to do with checkpoints? What is disturbing is the number of people who drink and drive.
Because the end doesn't justify the means. I'm sure a lot of crimes could be discovered if government goons kicked in every door in America but is that how you want to live?
On the way to the deer camp in Mississippi I went through a checkpoint on hwy33. I had an icechest in the back of the truck with a 12 pack iced down. The wife had a carton of ciggs. Both were bought in Louisiana. The roadblock was in a dry county. They impounded my ice chest for having beer in a dry county. They impounded my wife's ciggs because they were bootleg. My beer was also. They were in Mississippi without a Mississippi tax stamp. Because they had a Louisiana tax stamp instead they were illegal. I got a ticket for alcohol in a dry county and lost my icechest in the process. The state trooper let me go without the bootlegging ticket but took the ciggs. Cost me over two hundred dollars , a forty dollar igloo and a forty dollar carton of ciggs. Cost me my 12 pack too.
Something ain't right here. :huh: In dry counties you can't buy or sell alcohol. There is no law I know of that prohibits a person from owning alcohol in a dry county. Bootlegging is another offense entirely than having a 12-pack in your pickup bed by all definitions that I know. I don't smoke, but it would seem that Interstate commerce laws would prohibit barriers to interstate traffic if the cigs were not a large quantity intended for resale. I hope you weren't robbed of your cigarettes and beer and ice chest by a cop . . . or a phony cop. :shock: I mean what right did he have to take the ice chest and the ice, if not to keep his new beer cold?
Isn't bootlegging generally a term that implies distribution? A cop can bust a guy who's got a little bag of weed for possession, but if he's carrying 10 bags, they get him for possession with intent to distribute. Someone carrying a 12-pack of beer in a dry county clearly is not looking to sell it.
