Stupid cop tricks
Pete notes that technology has bitten a cop on the butt:
Investigator Joseph W. Brown of the Massena village Police Department testified that he stopped the car the driver was using a cell phone. The judge rejected the testimony because account records for the men’s phones showed neither of their phones had been used between the time they received the marijuana and the time they were stopped. As a result, he ruled neither the marijuana or any other evidence gathered as a result of the traffic stop can be used against the men.
Now, I respect cops and most are decent people. But when they have to lie to try to get a conviction, they are no better than criminals.
Isn’t that perjury?
October 24th, 2005 at 10:14 am
You ever read Dershowitz’s Judiciary Committee testimony on “testilying”? It’s at http://www.constitution.org/lrev/dershowitz_test_981201.htm and is pretty interesting. It is about perjury generally, but has much to say about police perjury.
October 24th, 2005 at 12:59 pm
“But when they have to lie to try to get a conviction, they are no better than criminals.”
I just have to quibble with this: It is not that they are no better than criminals, it is that they are criminals.
October 24th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
Splitting Hairs 101
The alleged pot heads’ cell phone records not showing that a call was being placed or taken at the time does not prove that they didn’t have their phones up to their ears at the time the stop was made.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050415/NEWS06/504150531/1012/NEWS06
October 24th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
The Comedian Says: The alleged pot heads’ cell phone records not showing that a call was being placed or taken at the time does not prove that they didn’t have their phones up to their ears at the time the stop was made.
Which brings up the point about laws like; Seatbelt must be worn, headlights must be on if you are using your wipers, no cellphone use while driving, ban on darkly tinted windows, ban on license plate frames, ban on dirty license plates, must have front plate mounted on car, proper stickers must be affixed (even though we have computer lookup nowadays), 30 mph speed limit in an industrial park, etc…
There’s not enough BS laws on the book until the cops can legally pull over everyone, at any time, for any reason.
After being pulled over on a BS reason, in Maryland, can you imagine what the probable cause was for the warrant-less search of my buddy’s car? It was a copy of Shotgun News “in plain sight” on the back seat.
October 24th, 2005 at 8:25 pm
What makes anyone think the “perp” was using his own phone?
October 25th, 2005 at 12:17 pm
Billll: That’s easy to check. They were arrested, their possessions inventoried, the car searched and contents inventoried. How many cell phones were found?