I am not dogmatic on many things, but on my Constitutional Rights I am. Period.
Your heart is in the right place, but in this case, you can't afford to be wrong. The loss of an important Constitutional right is a travesty.Sangiovese wrote:Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I would be inclined to give consent.
Here are a couple reasons:
1. I have nothing to hide.
*Neither do I, but we're almost to the point that if you refuse, you're made to feel like you do have something to hide. This proves what someone said earlier, "if you don't exercise your rights, you'll loose them".
2. I have tremendous respect for the cops that risk their lives on the street.
*I do as well. I have a close relative and several friends that are LEOs, but I don't exist to make their job easier at the expense of my rights. They work for all of us and allowing the police that much power will result in a police state. At that point, you either live with the fact that you have no rights anymore, or you shed blood to get them back. Why not stop it before it gets to the point where you can't.
3. I have a natural inclination to comply with LEO requests when they are made, unless compliance would put me in danger. (If I have a real problem with the way something was handled, it can be sorted out later with the department - not in the heat of the moment.)
*Yes, I am more than happy to assist them out of respect, however, it has to be tempered with my rights coming First. No exceptions. Probable cause exists for good reason.
I understand the idea of exercising your rights and refusing on the principle of the thing. but I also believe that just because you have the right to do something, it isn't always the right thing to do.
*I agree with this to a point. However, there IS a reason to refuse consent to search. The rights you'll loose as a result. We're almost there now.
I would rather let him search and satisfy whatever "gut feeling" he may have had, and be done with the stop in 10 minutes and have him back out looking for bad guys, than refuse consent and keep him and other officers tied up for an hour if he presses the issue.
*I also would like him back out on the street asap, but not at the cost of the freedom people have fought and died for. Ask yourself what the founding fathers would say about this. Also, if he decides to go on a fishing expedition and wastes valuable time, then the guilt is on him for doing it. Not you. If he had probable cause, I would be glad to help him finish as soon as possible. But if he had probable cause, then he wouldn't need my consent. Problem solved.
Keep in mind that in Chap 9 of the penal code it prohibits anyone from resisting an illegal arrest or search so it should be assumed that if the officer insists on a search that you would not resist. I don't have a problem with this since you're not violating someone's rights by arresting or searching when you have good reason to. Obviously every bad guy would resist and our police wouldn't be able to do their job. I think they have the authority they need to do their job already. If they see or smell something illegal, then by all means search.
-ss