Posted on 03/23/2004 6:10:30 AM PST by wallcrawlr
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Do you have to tell the police your name? Depending on how the Supreme Court rules in a case before it Monday, the answer could be the difference between arrest and freedom.
The court took up the appeal of a Nevada cattle rancher who was arrested after he told a deputy that he had done nothing wrong and didn't have to reveal his name or show an ID during an encounter on a rural highway four years ago. Larry Hiibel, 59, was prosecuted under a state statute that requires people to identify themselves to the police if stopped "under circumstances which reasonably indicate that the person has committed, is committing or is about to commit a crime."
The case will clarify police powers in the post-Sept. 11 era, determining whether officials can demand to see identification whenever they deem it necessary.
Nevada Senior Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen told the justices that "identifying yourself is a neutral act" that helps police in their investigations and doesn't -- by itself -- incriminate anyone.
But if that is allowed, several justices asked, what will be next? A fingerprint? Telephone number? E-mail address?
"The government could require name tags, color codes," Hiibel's attorney, Robert Dolan, told the court.
At the heart of the case is an intersection of the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches, and the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Hiibel claims both of those rights were violated.
Justice Antonin Scalia, however, expressed doubts. He said officers faced with suspicious people need authority to get the facts. "I cannot imagine any responsible citizen would have objected to giving the name," Scalia said.
Justices are revisiting their 1968 decision that said police may briefly detain someone on reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, without the stronger standard of probable cause, to get more information. Nevada argues that during such brief detentions, known as Terry stops after the 1968 ruling, people should be required to answer questions about their identities.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor pointed out that the court has never given police the authority to demand someone's identification without probable cause that they have done something wrong. But she also acknowledged that police might want to run someone's name through computers to check for a criminal history.
Hiibel was approached by a deputy in May 2000 next to a pickup truck parked off a road near Winnemucca, Nev. The officer, called to the scene because of a complaint about arguing between Hiibel and his daughter, asked Hiibel 11 times for his identification or his name. He refused, at one point saying, "If you've got something, take me to jail."
Hiibel was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. He was fined $250.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Trivial. It does not apply to condition z.
What condition(s) Z did you have in mind?
*yawn* The last refuge of those with no real argument.
WELL!!!
Aren't you all TALKING BIG!
I'm talking like a free man. I can't say I'm surprised that this strikes you as shocking.
I notice that I seem to be the ONLY poster on this forum that uses a REAL NAME!!!
And, since it is so unusual, I would be easy to find!
Gee, that's swell. Too bad it has nothing to do with the debate at hand.
Any.
Trivial. It does not apply to condition z.
What condition(s) Z did you have in mind?
Any.
How is that relevant to the fact that the 7th, 8th, and 11th Circuit Courts have agreed with the 9th that "a person being detained because of an articulable suspicion of criminal activity may refuse to identify himself" without being legally punished?
No, that's only according to your deceptive editing. My not revealing my name on FR has nothing to do with the debate about being required to reveal one's name in the real world.
I reccommend seeing a sex therapist, as you have about the worst case of SDS I've ever seen.
While I recommend you learn how to spell.
...moron.
That's no way to talk to a fellow soldier, no less one who served in the 10th MP Brigade.
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