Free Republic

The president of a North Carolina historically black university on Monday publicly called out Upstate South Carolina law enforcement officers after a traffic stop involving students and staff on a bus. In a statement, Paulette Dillard, president of Shaw University, a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, described the traffic stop that she said happened in Spartanburg County on Oct. 5. Dillard said 18 Shaw University students and two staff advisers were traveling on school business by contract bus to Atlanta when they were pulled over "under the pretext of a minor traffic violation." The statement said officers boarded...

It took Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers to reveal the staggering extent of the government’s spying on its own people as institutional checks failed.. ... Panic made us politically vulnerable... That vulnerability was exploited by our own government to entitle itself to radically expanded powers that had for decades been out of reach. ... The Patriot Act, which swatted away longstanding rules preventing the state from monitoring US citizens without “probable cause”, was passed .. lightning-fast ... granting domestic law enforcement agencies sweeping new powers. ... green light for the FBI and CIA to carry out “roving wiretaps” where agents...

Some media outlets have reported that this office has brought charges against Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Donald Trump. These reports are false. Our office has taken no action against Mr. Lewandowski. The matter was investigated and charged by the Jupiter Police Department, not this office. We will await the file from the Jupiter Police Department and make a decision on how to proceed in this matter before Mr. Lewandowski's May 4th arraignment. Law enforcement charges on a probable cause standard. The State has to proceed on a legally higher standard of proof, which is beyond a reasonable doubt as...

Today the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Navarette v California, a case in which a wrong decision will effectively repeal the 4th Amendment rights of the American people. The text of the 4th Amendment reads: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. In 1968, the Supreme Court ruled that “…law enforcement...

Mind boggling ignorance!

Oh my God, no wonder Allen Dershowitz is calling it a disgrace. This looks like something a 3rd grader would put together. It even makes a mistake as to what the Dispatcher told Zimmerman when he said he was following him. Remember: the Dispatcher said "You don't have to do that". Well in this affidavit, the State claims the Dispatcher said something else DESPITE IT BEING ON TAPE!

Dog's bad nose prompts judge to toss drug case By Todd Ruger Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. MANATEE COUNTY — Another circuit judge threw out evidence in a drug possession case, ruling that a narcotics-sniffing dog’s nose was not reliable enough to justify searching a vehicle. Matthew McNeal is the second Manatee County defendant to escape drug possession charges this year because Talon, a now-retired K-9 from the Palmetto Police Department, alerted to the odor of drugs in a car and officers used that to search it. Defense...

A federal court case in Pittsburgh could reach the U.S. Supreme Court for a "groundbreaking" decision about whether police officers need probable cause and search warrants to use GPS technology when tracking suspects, a local expert in constitutional law said. Across the country, detectives are using the sometimes-controversial technology to investigate cases. But Pennsylvania law doesn't clearly dictate rules, said University of Pittsburgh School of Law professor John Burkoff, author of the "Search Warrant Law Deskbook." "The law isn't entirely clear," Burkoff said. "There are many areas open to challenge, and to be safe, the best bet would be for...

My girlfriend and I were driving around the city of Las Vegas in the area bounded by Desert Inn Road and Tropicana Avenue, Decatur Blvd and Rainbow Road. We were looking for a particular battery shop to return a car battery that was erroneously purchased the day before. So we were both in rubbernecking mode trying to find this particular shop. We kept on seeing this particular police car as we basically drove around in circles for about 10 minutes. We pulled into a parking lot that we though might be where the shop was located (it wasn't). The police...

Son got his first ticket. Policeman said he didn't stop at a stop sign. It was dark, not even street lights in this area, but he saw this difficult-to-tell action in the dark, when Nathan says he had come to a stop. He didn't argue though. But then he wanted to search the car. We've always told son not to agree to that, there is no reason. (actually, his former-cop dad told him don't agree to it) Dad is not in the picture, so I have to ask you all. This was his first traffic stop and he was nervous....

(AP) FREDERICK, Md. A man reportedly stopped by Frederick County sheriff's deputies for having too many air fresheners on his rearview mirror says he suspects the real reason he is that he is Hispanic. Mauricio Arellano told The Frederick News-Post that the deputies "found an excuse" to stop him and check his immigration status.

Former "blogging pedophile" Jack McClellan has been released from jail, following his arrest last week for violating a restraining order in California. His release follows the prediction of observers in law enforcement, child advocacy, and the judicial system who think it will be difficult to take effective or even constitutional steps against McClellan to protect children. The 45-year-old self-professed pedophile was arrested August 13 for violating a three-year restraining order that required him to stay 30 feet away from all children. He was being held in jail with a $150,000 bail bond. But according to Associated Press, he was released...

http://www.break.com/index/sheriff-allows-illegal-trespass2b.html

NORTH VANCOUVER - A North Vancouver couple has complained to District of North Vancouver council and said they will sue the North Vancouver RCMP after officers responded to their hang-up 911 call by breaking down their door, making a forceful arrest and jailing them overnight when the couple refused to allow a house-search. The RCMP said, however, that in this case, federal policy commands a home-check, designed to ensure public safety. North Vancouver resident Marget Lieder said that in the early evening of Oct. 25 she was having wine with her partner and a guest when she misdialed the emergency...

The Fourth Amendment to our Constitution protects Americans against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and against warrants being issued without "probable cause" that they have done something wrong. While most Americans who might be familiar with this portion of our Bill of Rights probably consider its protections to apply only to criminals and therefore of little consequence to them, the Fourth Amendment actually provides vital protection to all Americans, not just "criminals." In fact, its prefatory language makes this clear, explicitly providing that its goal is to assure that the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,...

A Concord police officer who was fired a year ago for profiling Latino drivers next to a Mexican market is back on patrol with his old job. City officials approved Officer Jim Carroll's return last month following a favorable recommendation from an independent mediator. In 2004, the officer would park next to Mercado del Valle along Monument Boulevard and stop Latino drivers leaving the market for flimsy reasons to see if they had a driver's license, according to an internal police investigation. If they did not, he would cite them and have their cars towed. Former Police Chief Ron Ace,...

Dozens of Central Texas drivers got pulled over Thursday for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Travis County deputies kicked off what has become a controversial reward program. You know that heart stopping feeling you get when seeing the flashing red lights of law enforcement in the rear view mirror. Well, you won't see that if you're a good driver, but you may get pulled over. Getting pulled over for doing nothing wrong may not sound right to a lot of people. Travis County Deputy Derrick Taylor says his job is to not only look for bad drivers, but reward and encourage...

According to this Seattle Times Story the senior deputy attorney general of Washington State, Steve Reinmuth, says that the state constitutional prohibition against vehicle searches without probable cause was "pre-empted by an order the Coast Guard issued yesterday." "Rear Adm. Jeffrey Garrett, commander of the Coast Guard's 13th District, said the order requires Washington State Ferries to comply with all federal maritime-security requirements effective July 1 — including physical inspections, if necessary. He would not provide a copy of the order, again citing security concerns."[Emphasis added ed.]

The federal appeals court in Atlanta has found that a South Georgia deputy made an illegal search when he uncovered 10,000 pills of Ecstasy after a traffic stop. In a ruling issued Friday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said there was no lawful basis for the deputy to detain Jody James Boyce long enough to have a drug-sniffing dog brought to the scene. For this reason, the search that found the Ecstasy and two large containers of marijuana was illegal, the court said. "While we recognize that drug trafficking is a serious problem in this country and we...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --  Al Gore harshly criticized President Bush's push for war against Iraq, saying Monday that it weakens America's effort to combat terrorism and forever could damage the nation's standing in the world.</p> <p>"After Sept. 11, we had enormous sympathy, goodwill and support around the world," Gore said. "We've squandered that, and in one year we've replaced that with fear, anxiety and uncertainty, not at what the terrorists are going to do but at what we are going to do."</p>