Ninth Circuit Turns Fourth Amendment Analysis on its Head
Posted on June 20th, 2007 by bile Categories and Tags: Uncategorized, 4th Amendment, guns, Portland, Portland police, your rightsOften, Fourth Amendment decisions focus on whether the officers were reasonably concerned with their own safety, but today’s decision turns that standard analysis on its head. Specifically, in finding that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave, the Court focuses on whether the defendant had reason to fear for his safety in light of two well-publicized police shootings of African Americans during traffic stops in Portland. In response to these shootings, Portland police issued pamphlets instructing citizens to comply with officer instructions and consent to searches.
This is wrong on a few levels. First the Portland police should be reprimanded for issuing those pamphlets as they are a blatant affront to the 4th Amendment. However, this guys ignorance of his 4th Amendment rights does not make him not guilty. He twice gave the threatened cops the go ahead to search his car.
Someone should purchase You & the Police! for this guy so next time he knows what not to do.
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