I Exercised My Rights and Spent The Night In Jail

[Tod]

I just called the sheriff's office and they said they have no record of my arrest, nor my night in jail. I told them I was definitely arrested, and I was definitely in jail, and the woman said i'd just have to call back on Monday. I asked her why I'm not in the system and she said she didn't know and that i'd just have to call back Monday.

Wtf?

Sounds like that 85 yo lady who was strip-searched: vee haf NO rekords, unt if NO rekords, DEED NOT Happen.

 

[deadfish]

I admire your courage.

 

[Cleaner44]

I just called the sheriff's office and they said they have no record of my arrest, nor my night in jail. I told them I was definitely arrested, and I was definitely in jail, and the woman said i'd just have to call back on Monday. I asked her why I'm not in the system and she said she didn't know and that i'd just have to call back Monday.

Wtf?

Do not let this go. Hold them accountable.

+rep

 

[r3volution]

good for you for exercising civil disobedience toward an unjust and unconstitutional law . however , you have no legal recourse and possibly could even end up with a DUI (depending on your states DUI laws) . in most states refusal is considered a DUI .

Thanks supreme court !

 

[LibertyEagle]

The Michigan Supreme Court had found sobriety roadblocks to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. However, by a 6-3 decision in Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz (1990), the United States Supreme Court found properly conducted sobriety checkpoints to be constitutional. While acknowledging that such checkpoints infringed on a constitutional right, Chief Justice Rehnquist argued the state interest in reducing drunk driving outweighed this minor infringement.

Is it just me, or isn't this a pure contradiction?

 

[donnay]

So there was a drunk driving checkpoint that I came up to last night. The cop stopped me and motioned for me to roll down my window. I did. He stuck the breathalizer in my face and said blow. I asked the cop if I was being detained. He gave me a weird look and said it was a checkpoint.

"Please blow, sir."

Me: "Do you have probable cause?"

Cop: "This is just a checkpoint."

Me: "If you don't have probable cause, and I'm not being detained, may I go?"

Cop: "I'm not going to ask you again, son."

I then exercised my right to remain silent and just smiled at him. He asked me to get out of the car, so I did. He asked me to put my hands on the hood of my car, so I did. Then I went to jail.

I overheard a couple of the cops asking each other if checkpoints were illegal. One said he didn't know, but "that guy seems like he knows something we don't." The last I heard of their conversation was them wondering if I was a lawyer.

At that point I fully assumed I was going to be let go, but they kept me overnight. The cell was so crowded that even while sitting down hugging your knees, at least three people were touching you.

Wasn't a very pleasant experience, but I thought i'd share my experience with you guys.

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."
~Mark Twain

+rep

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Call a lawyer on Monday or the ACLU.

Yeah, you might want to talk to a civil rights lawyer of some kind. The question of whether this was a "properly conducted" stop and arrest will probably be very important. It doesn't sound like it was done in a proper manner. The only reason to take a stand is to follow up on it. This may be a good test case, you need to find out from the experts.

Some questions:

- Did they have the required warning signs out?
- Can they ask for a breathalyzer test with no probable cause?
- Can they detain and arrest you without any reasons or paperwork?

 

[RDM]

I just called the sheriff's office and they said they have no record of my arrest, nor my night in jail. I told them I was definitely arrested, and I was definitely in jail, and the woman said i'd just have to call back on Monday. I asked her why I'm not in the system and she said she didn't know and that i'd just have to call back Monday.

Wtf?

If you were not fingerprinted, there's a good chance you're not in the system.

 

[klamath]

Yeah, you might want to talk to a civil rights lawyer of some kind. The question of whether this was a "properly conducted" stop and arrest will probably be very important. It doesn't sound like it was done in a proper manner. The only reason to take a stand is to follow up on it. This may be a good test case, you need to find out from the experts.

Some questions:

- Did they have the required warning signs out?
- Can they ask for a breathalyzer test with no probable cause?- Can they detain and arrest you without any reasons or paperwork?

See post 20

 

[klamath]

Is it just me, or isn't this a pure contradiction?

Kind of like a drone strke on US citizens without trial. The public good outweighs the constitution.....

 

[Czolgosz]

Assuming you didn't say too much (taking the 5th), have a credible witness...definitely speak to a scumbag attorney. They'll likely take this case pro bono.

You did the right thing and this is where we need more people fighting the State. Please follow up and keep us posted.

+rep from me.

 

[Paul Fan]

Impressive. Congratulations for standing up for liberty and the Constitution!

 

[axiomata]

I just called the sheriff's office and they said they have no record of my arrest, nor my night in jail. I told them I was definitely arrested, and I was definitely in jail, and the woman said i'd just have to call back on Monday. I asked her why I'm not in the system and she said she didn't know and that i'd just have to call back Monday.

Wtf?

Congrats. You were disapearded for a night. Beware, the slope is slippery.

 

[puppetmaster]

drunk tanks....no charges no paperwork many times

 

[ShaneEnochs]

- Did they have the required warning signs out?

Not sure. Maybe, but not from where I got onto the road.

- Can they ask for a breathalyzer test with no probable cause?
- Can they detain and arrest you without any reasons or paperwork?

I really don't know.

I was fingerpinted and mug shot though. I was up on the jail's site up until about an hour before my release apparently, but they usually keep it up for a couple days.

 

[ShaneEnochs]

Am I the victim of a conspiracy? o_o

 

[american.swan]

In Korea, we have these checkpoints. They're ONLY for DUI. If you pass the breathe test, they don't care if you have NO LICENCE. They're checking for NOTHING but the DUI. Oddly, thought, the checkpoints disappeared. I've seen very few over the last few years.

 

[american.swan]

Because of the SCOTUS ruling, you'll have to talk to a lawyer and see what other things you can sue the police for. Revisit the sight. See if there was a way to avoid the place. Call the ACLU and ask them for help.

 

[KCIndy]

Shane, first of all let me offer my condolences for what must have been a really miserable night.

Here's my unsolicited two cents:

While Klamath's post (#20) is correct and sobriety checkpoints have been deemed (quasi) Constitutional by the Supreme Court (lousy verdict, IMHO) I am not at all sure that what happened to you fits the bill. Remember, the Supreme Court said the checkpoints must be "properly conducted" - their words - and I *THINK* that the cops are still required to have probable cause in order to ask you to take any sort of sobriety test. Even at a checkpoint, they're supposed to notice things like slurred speech, the smell of alcohol on the breath, impaired movement, erratic driving, etc BEFORE they're able to force you into blowing into a BAC machine.

I would highly recommend calling the ACLU if you intend to pursue this matter. They'll have the legal firepower to follow up. Otherwise you're looking at thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees.

I can't help but wonder if the reason you're not "in the system" is that the cops realized belatedly that they crossed the line when they started shoving BAC machines into random car windows with the instructions to "blow." I wouldn't be surprised if your booking info has mysteriously vanished, and no one at the cop shop has any recollection at all that you were ever there. No victim, no case.

Let us know what happens!

 

[GuerrillaXXI]

First of all, hats off to you for standing up for your rights (and ours).

The Michigan Supreme Court had found sobriety roadblocks to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. However, by a 6-3 decision in Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz (1990), the United States Supreme Court found properly conducted sobriety checkpoints to be constitutional. While acknowledging that such checkpoints infringed on a constitutional right, Chief Justice Rehnquist argued the state interest in reducing drunk driving outweighed this minor infringement.

This is an absurd argument by the Supreme Court. A right that can be compromised at random (e.g., random citizens being stopped and subjected to a de facto search) is obviously not being recognized as a "right" at all, but a mere privilege. And if "state interest" is all that's required to infringe on a constitutional right, then by that argument, it would be perfectly acceptable to have random searches of homes, cars, and persons because of the "state interest" in minimizing crime. Hell, why not just GPS-microchip everyone at birth, call it a "minor infringement" (hey, it's only a tiny bump under your skin), and maintain that this is acceptable because of the "state interest" in maintaining law and order?

Judging by the way the Constitution is currently "interpreted," it might as well not exist at all.