Be careful who you hang out with

[swatgig]

Guy is walking down the street, minding his own business. There's a warrant out for the guy he's with. I guess proximity to someone with a warrant is enough to justify a search.

The issue before us is whether a police officer was justified in stopping the defendant , who was walking with a man for whom the officer had an active arrest warrant involving the use of a firearm in the commission of a violent felony. Concluding that under these narrow circumstances police and public safety concerns outweighed the minimal intrusion on the defendant's liberty for the time it took for police to take control of the scene and effectuate the other individual's arrest, we affirm.

https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/02/09/16P1580.pdf

 

[whatluck]

I didn't realize the amount of time for which my rights are being trampled was a qualifier for bypassing the 4A.

 

[robjax]

the old "he was adjusting his waistband" trick.

momma always told me to be careful who I hang around with as I would automatically be guilty by association.

I didn't know pulling up your pants was probable cause for a search.

 

[MEB]

1) Don't hang out with thugs
2) invest in a good belt and holster

 

[weekendracer]

I didn't realize the amount of time for which my rights are being trampled was a qualifier for bypassing the 4A.

Wait, is this a "State's Rights" day or an 'Incorporation Day'?

 

[S. Kelly]

Pat frisk is not a search. Reasonableness at work here.

 

[Compooky]

This sounds like a great way to mess with people.

Get all friendly with strangers then tell them, "I have a warrant out for my arrest. If you so much as adjust your pants or make any suspicious movements, that cop over there might shoot you and it will be considered justified."

 

[AntiHippie]

This sounds like a great way to mess with people.

Get all friendly with strangers then tell them, "I have a warrant out for my arrest. If you so much as adjust your pants or make any suspicious movements, that cop over there might shoot you and it will be considered justified."

Huh?

 

[doxdsgn]

Based on the decision, tugging at your waistband in the presence of an officer is proof of illegal possession of a firearm. Wow. At least it’s a discussion of a defendant, not a decedent.

 

[KBCraig]

I didn't realize the amount of time for which my rights are being trampled was a qualifier for bypassing the 4A.

Terry v. Ohio screwed 4A rights for everyone. Police hate it as a limitation on their ability to search anyone and everyone, anywhere and all the time. The reality is that Terry and its progeny drastically expanded the authority to search.

 

[Dennis in MA]

Hey - at least the MASC kicked the air-filter search case.

 

[Horrible]

Pat frisk is not a search. Reasonableness at work here.

Huh? Please explain how pat frisk is NOT a search?!?

 

[Mesatchornug]

Huh? Please explain how pat frisk is NOT a search?!?

It is a search. Unfortunately, Terry v. Ohio says too bad, because "officer safety."

 

[Howland]

Pat frisk is not a search. Reasonableness at work here.

Pat frisk is a search unless you are a.) purposefully pretending ignorance of the meaning and history of how and why we have a Fourth Amendment, b.) unable to read and comprehend written English, c.) insane, or d.) just flat out lying.

Let's apply Okham's Razor to this, Shall we? When trying to determine which theory among several is more likely to be true, the one that has the fewest presumptions is most probably true.

B - This can be eliminated from the start. All those who espouse such interpretation have passed the Reading and Comprehension of written English sections of both the SAT and LSAT, so I'm not buying it.

C - While it is possible that the sky really is purple in their special universe, we live in this one. Still, insanity can't be ruled out completely, but the probability of so many with the exact same affliction would indicate mass histeria. I'm not buying that one either.

A - While anyone short of middle school Civics class (if anything recognizable to what I took is even taught any longer) might be genuinely ignorant, anyone who has attended any high school can be presumed to know. The purposeful qualifier leads any rational person to conclude that theory D has the fewest presumptions and is therefore most likely to be true.

Besides, if a frisk isn't a search, then it's just groping.

 

[mwalsh9152]

I have no ass. The only time you WON'T catch me tugging at my waistband is when I actually have a gun on me. IWB @4:00 is the cure to my lifelong problem.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Based on the decision, tugging at your waistband in the presence of an officer is proof of illegal possession of a firearm. Wow. At least it’s a discussion of a defendant, not a decedent.

In MA, it is only indication you possess a firearm. Absent other indicators, it is not an indication of illegal behavior. See Commonwealth v. Couture.