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did the arresting officer follow procedure?

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JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
State: Wisconsin.
Friday the 27th me and my friend were pulled over on a traffic violation late at night. my friend, driving my car, was given a field sobriety test and passed. a second officer came and had me step out of the vehicle and searched me and found a pipe. we then both handcuffed immediatly and put into a squad car. they searched my cars locked glovebox (without asking my permission, i assume they didnt need to once they had found a pipe on my person) and found another pipe and 1/16oz of marijuana. i was given a breathalizer and blew .109. my friend blew a .05. inside the police station they found another 1/16oz in my wallet. so we were both printed and mugshots were taken.
being arrested before for posession, i was given a police report or something that i had to sign saying how much marijuana there was and everything, and say what i was doing when busted. this time neither me or my friend were made to sign anything. we were never questioned. i guess we werent really under arrest? im confused because the police never asked about whose paraphinalia was in the car and whose bag it was. they just gave a posession ticket to my friend even though it was in my car.
im confused because the police never told us what was going on. they never said we were under arrest. we were never read our rights. usually they do. i guess they didnt need to because they never questioned us. but if you are in a situation where you are fingerprinted and mugshots are taken i thought you are definitly being arrested. we both were issued municipal citations for underage consumption and posession of controlled substance. was i not under arrest? because they didnt give us a criminal charge? im not very clear on what is going on. they never said anything to us, just let us go in a taxi after the mugshots/prints.
i'm just hoping that were supposed to read us our rights. but i guess they were just detaining us and they followed procedure. please give me any advice or comment on this situation! thanks
 


The Occultist

Senior Member
Hahahaha Let me fill you in on what happens if they don't read you your rights: anything you say during an interrogation can't be used against you in trial. That's all it means if you weren't read your rights prior to an interrogation after arrest. And from what you've stated, they don't need a confession from you, they have plenty of evidence they gathered from the legal search of your vehicle.

Also, possession has nothing to do with ownership.
 

JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
so everything was done correctly on their part. i kinda felt that deep down, but was confused cuz usually ive been read my rights. so basically we are lucky that my friend didnt get a dui, or an absolute sobriety. and i can go to court and tell the DA that the pipe and bag in my car was mine, since i already have a posession charge for what was on MY person, i can hopefully get a posession charge off of my friend.
and we werent given criminal charges, just citations. i was arrested about a year ago for posession and paraphinalia. and i did get questioned and everything. i went to court, waited in a lobby, and a long while later and officer from that city came out and said i'd be getting something in the mail. but that never came. upon arrest they gave me a ticket or something, not sure exactly what, just saying i had a court date. nothing ever came in the mail like he said would.
i looked myself up on the court case website and i have nothing for that posession situation.
i guess that would have been my first offense, since my REAL first offense was when i was a juvenile i think that case is like closed or dropped. kind of gone.
soooo the posession situation with nothing coming in the mail, no records showed up on the search website...
is this recent posession ticket going to show up as my first?
ahhh i wish i knew what employers and the like will see when they search my name.

im 19, a freshman in college going for Physical Therapy. i smoke pot, have for five years. i do my work and everything. never hurt anyone. i hope its ok to rant a bit. im just so sick of the war on drugs, or more specifically the war on marijuana.
"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself." -- President Jimmy Carter, Message to Congress, Aug. 2, 1977
the war on drugs ruins so many otherwise law-abiding citizens lives. there are so many millions of people being put in prison due to manditory minimum sentances. serious criminals...sex offenders, burglers, murderers...are being put out of jail to make room for drug offenders. treatment, not incarceration.
I KNOW you guys might get mad i am ranting right now and not asking legal advice. im sorry. this is a public forum, though and i hope you're not too mad. i just want people to hear me.
thanks
 

gawm

Senior Member
so everything was done correctly on their part.
yep
so basically we are lucky that my friend didnt get a dui,
Your friend is more lucky than you. They still have a year to charge him. Did they take any blood?
and i can go to court and tell the DA that the pipe and bag in my car was mine,
You can tell the DA anything you want, but I wouldn't recommend it.
i can hopefully get a posession charge off of my friend.
If only it were that easy. Ownership has nothing to do with possession. It's a nice thought however, you are a good friend.:)
and we werent given criminal charges, just citations. i was arrested about a year ago for posession and paraphinalia. and i did get questioned and everything. i went to court, waited in a lobby, and a long while later and officer from that city came out and said i'd be getting something in the mail. but that never came. upon arrest they gave me a ticket or something, not sure exactly what, just saying i had a court date. nothing ever came in the mail like he said would.
i looked myself up on the court case website and i have nothing for that posession situation.
i guess that would have been my first offense, since my REAL first offense was when i was a juvenile i think that case is like closed or dropped. kind of gone.
Maybe it's time to put the pipe down. You been busted twice before and you still haven't learned your lesson
soooo the posession situation with nothing coming in the mail, no records showed up on the search website...
is this recent posession ticket going to show up as my first?
Who knows?
ahhh i wish i knew what employers and the like will see when they search my name.
That knowledge is a luxury only for the people who don't get arrested for dope and such.
im 19, a freshman in college going for Physical Therapy.
You may be doing that all for nothing now. Don't worry, I hear Burger king and McDonald's still hire people with drug convictions.
i smoke pot, have for five years. i do my work and everything. never hurt anyone. i hope its ok to rant a bit. im just so sick of the war on drugs, or more specifically the war on marijuana.
Aren't we all
"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself." -- President Jimmy Carter, Message to Congress, Aug. 2, 1977
A historian, Maybe you can get a job as one of those
the war on drugs ruins so many otherwise law-abiding citizens lives. there are so many millions of people being put in prison due to manditory minimum sentances.
That is true
serious criminals...sex offenders, burglers, murderers...are being put out of jail to make room for drug offenders. treatment, not incarceration.
An argument can be made that drugs have a lot to do with those other crimes
I KNOW you guys might get mad i am ranting right now and not asking legal advice. im sorry. this is a public forum, though and i hope you're not too mad. i just want people to hear me.
Who's mad? Some people will agree with you, others will have deaf ears towards your arguments.
For?

Kevo, it's unfortunate the situation you find yourself in, but the law is the law right now. You probably won't learn your lesson this time so let me give you some advice which will give you a little better chance of not getting caught.
My first rule is; Don't do anything illegal when you are doing something illegal. That means if you have dope in the car, don't speed, run through stop signs, push your girlfriend out while it is moving etc.
Secondly; Do your dope at home and stay at home
And last but not least, If you do have to carry something illegal from point a to b, put it in the trunk. If you had your pipe in the trunk you probably would not be in the situation you are in today.
 
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danno6925

Member
i guess we werent really under arrest?
No, you were detained and cited with a misdemeanor. No need for miranda warning.

im confused because the police never asked about whose paraphinalia was in the car and whose bag it was. they just gave a posession ticket to my friend even though it was in my car.
Same principle applies if your inspection was out of date. He would have gotten the ticket for operating the vehicle that was dirty. Pot in the locked glovebox of the car he's driving is considered to be in his posession.

im confused because the police never told us what was going on.
They do that sometimes. Pisses you off, dunnit?

i can hopefully get a posession charge off of my friend.
Maybe. You might consider something the next time you get an 1/8th - leave it at home, and if you DO take some to a party with you, leave it in the trunk or where you can easily toss it into your mouth and eat it if pulled over like this again. Have you not seen Super Troopers? :D


Don't do anything illegal when you are doing something illegal
LMAO:D Good advice.
 

JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
Neither of us were given blood tests. My friend got an "underage consumption" ticket, as did i. Is it possible for them to turn that into a DUI for him?
Why do you say my friend is more lucky than me? We both have identical "undeage consumption" and "poseesion of THC" tickets...do you mean that because i've been arrested for posession before? If thats the case, hell yeah hes luckier.

Ok so once the cherries and berries lit up behind us, my friend gave me his pipe and 1/16th to stash in my glove box. My keys were in the ignition obviously, but i keep a spare key in my wallet in case this situation would ever arise. And it did. So i tossed his bag and pipe in there, and locked it...but the cop was approaching our vehicle and i never had time to put MY pipe and MY bag into the glove box. So after he passed his field sobriety test, i was asked to step out. I wasnt given a field sobriety or breathalizer yet, but was searched. I suppose they dont need any reason to pat you down. Ok fine. So they find my pipe and my teener. They gave me the breathalizer once in the back of the squad.

So again, for clarification, he is going to be charge with posession of what was in the glove box? It really was his pipe and bag in there, but since he was operating my vehicle its going to be his charge? Alright, so i cant try to get him out of that ticket by saying it all was mine? Gahh that would really be nice...these tickets are such a set back.
So if i "maybe" could get his posession ticket dropped by talking to the DA on my court date, would i somehow be issued a second posession or paraphinalia ticket? Dobt it...i just dont know though.

To gwam...for some it could be time to put the pipe down. I suppose that would seem to be the "responsible" thing to do, at least to you, probably to many. But quite honestly i dont feel like what im doing is a crime...so to me, i just need to start playin the game a lot smarter and keep myself away from police contact. That means leavin my stuff at home, or at least in the trunk as suggested. I think that having someone driving under the influence of alcoho is a crime. It directly affects everyone else in the car and on the road. That i can se as a crime for sure. But posession tickets are bull****. ESPECIALLY for such small ammounts! Annnyways

Thanks you guys, this really is awesome. I aprreciate your time very much...
Do any of you have AOL Instant messanger screen names, per chance? I'd really like to get to know more about the criminal justice system. It fascinates me. Thanks.

:cool: For any other marijuana smokers out there looking for a bit of insight on being more...responsible...about how you handle using marijuana...check out www.drugwarsurvival.com
its by a defense attourney. :D
 

gawm

Senior Member
Neither of us were given blood tests. My friend got an "underage consumption" ticket, as did i. Is it possible for them to turn that into a DUI for him?
If they did not take blood or do a breathalyzer, then no.:cool:

Why do you say my friend is more lucky than me?
He would have been the one with the ticket.:rolleyes:

We both have identical "undeage consumption" and "poseesion of THC" tickets
..
I see your friendship is built on common interest.
Ok so once the cherries and berries lit up behind us
Why did they pull you over in the first place again?
,
my friend gave me his pipe and 1/16th to stash in my glove box. My keys were in the ignition obviously, but i keep a spare key in my wallet in case this situation would ever arise. And it did. So i tossed his bag and pipe in there, and locked it...but the cop was approaching our vehicle and i never had time to put MY pipe and MY bag into the glove box.
And if you had it in the trunk you would not had to worry about it.
So after he passed his field sobriety test, i was asked to step out.
You must have been pretty nervous at this point.:eek:
I suppose they dont need any reason to pat you down.
Not really, they do it under the guise of safety.
Ok fine. So they find my pipe and my teener.
They usually do.
So again, for clarification, he is going to be charge with posession of what was in the glove box?
Yep
It really was his pipe and bag in there
So justice does prevail.
so i cant try to get him out of that ticket by saying it all was mine?
That sounds like something a significant other would do. Oh well, I try not to judge.
these tickets are such a set back.
That's the point, you are being penalized.
So if i "maybe" could get his posession ticket dropped by talking to the DA on my court date,
Not a chance in hell. Tell him to hire an attorney
would i somehow be issued a second posession or paraphinalia ticket? Dobt it...i just dont know though.
You will not be putting yourself in a good position to say the least.
It's gawm!:mad:
...for some it could be time to put the pipe down. I suppose that would seem to be the "responsible" thing to do, at least to you, probably to many. But quite honestly i dont feel like what im doing is a crime
It's only a crime when you get caught.;)
...so to me, i just need to start playin the game a lot smarter and keep myself away from police contact.
A lot smarter, some people weren't meant to play it. You will be on probation and mandatory drug test if you get convicted. IT"S TIME TO STOP FOR AWHILE!
That means leavin my stuff at home, or at least in the trunk as suggested.
You don't have the discipline
I think that having someone driving under the influence of alcoho is a crime. It directly affects everyone else in the car and on the road.
You did that too!
That i can se as a crime for sure. But posession tickets are bull****. ESPECIALLY for such small ammounts!
Move to Canada then, maybe Nevada after election day.:D

For any other marijuana smokers out there looking for a bit of insight on being more...responsible...about how you handle using marijuana...check out www.drugwarsurvival.com
Too bad you didn't find that website before your arrest. Doesn't matter, knowing what to do, and doing it are two separate things. People who party aren't very disciplined to do it responsibly, and the police are a lot smarter than they are anyways.
 

danno6925

Member
That .05 could be turned into a DUI by the DA. Don't know about your state, but .02% is enough in PA to constitute an underage DUI.

So again, for clarification, he is going to be charge with posession of what was in the glove box?
Yup. He was charged with posession, wasn't he? what else could they be charging him for?

Alright, so i cant try to get him out of that ticket by saying it all was mine?
You can try, but I really can't imagine what your motivation to do so would be. It was his bud, and he got pinched for having it.

Do any of you have AOL Instant messanger screen names, per chance?
Nah. I don't do AOL.
 

gawm

Senior Member
That .05 could be turned into a DUI by the DA. Don't know about your state, but .02% is enough in PA to constitute an underage DUI.
I didn't reread his first post. We'll Kevo, only time will tell. Post back and let us know what happens.
 

JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
The reason we were pulled over? We had just finished smoking a bowl. And we saw Johhny Law pull up right behind us when we were stopped at a red light. We were in a city's downtown area that is known to everyone (not just stoners or drug users) to be confusing. The streets go off at weird angles, there are many one way only and such. My friend wanted to make a left turn, but ended up going down a one way...:(
 

JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
first, second, and third. My history.

Alright so in eigth grade i was convicted of a small posession charge. After doing community service, and having been a junvelile at the time, that charge is gone. The judge said it would be once i turned eighteen.

Then a year ago, when i was eighteen, i was arrested with DP and PCS. I went to a court date, but had no fine or anything...that was supposed to come in the mail, but never did. No information came in the mail. I was printed and mugshots but never had any repercussion. I just assume that i have a Drug Paraphinalia and PCS on my record, which would show as my first offense, since the other was supposedly gone?
That would have been a misdemeanor i believe.

This PCS of last friday ticket is a municipal citation - a violation of city ordinance of having posession of controlled substance THC, with no mandatory appearance in court, just $298.00 ticket. My Underage Consumption doesnt bother me, its not a drug charge. Its a citation and complaint - descrition of violation - underage consumption.
But for the municipal citation, what's that considered? Is this considered a misdemeanor? I have no idea. Since it would appear to be my second offense, i guess, i just want to know like why im not going to court for it...going on probabtion or anything.

It seems like the court or officers or w/e messed up with that first ticket as i never got anyting in the mail. Last friday, when this third situation happened, an officer told us that our tickets will be coming in the mail, and that if we dont see anything, assume they forgot about it. friday night was a busy night for them, they told us we werent the usualy people they had in the station as we were just young adults "drinkin a little beer and smokin' a little pot, not smoking crack or commiting murder." soooo instead of making me appear in court and be in trouble as a second offender, i just got a ticket? It seems like i'm pretty lucky with these times i've had police contact involving posession or pariphinalia.

But really can i be screwed over for this offense? They asked me if i had any prior pot convictions, i mentioned that one from a year ago...

Hit me back please..
 

JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
unlawful search?

alright, so my friend was over with an officer conducting a field sobriety test. and he did pass that. i dont see why i was ordered out of the vehicle. the officer that came to my passanger door, where i was sitting, ordered me out. he asked how much i had to drink, and i said nothing. i dont see why he immediatly patted me down? i how was i a threat. my friend was finishing up his field sobriety when the second officer patted me down and found a pipe. was that search unlawful? could i combat that in court? if it werent for him finding that pipe, my vehicle wouldnt have been searched. they wouldnt have looked inside a pocket in my wallet and found my bag. my friend passed his field sobriety. we would probably have been on our way, as i wasnt driving and me being under the influence wouldnt have nessiscarily been known. i wasnt doing any driving, i dont feel like i should have been involved in anything, i should have been allowed to stay in the car and wait for my friend to get back in after being issued some sort of moving violation. if that search was unlawful, well please make that clear to me so we can split the cost of a lawyer and hopefully get out of these posession tickets. maybe we could even get out of our drinking tickets? because they only brethalized us both after they found my pipe. if you need any claification on details or have any questions, please ask. our tickets are due november 28th. thank you all so much!
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Your attorney can make any argument you want. But I suspect the officers had good cause to believe there were drugs in the car ... you said: "We had just finished smoking a bowl." THAT means the car absolutely WREAKED of marijuana! Ergo, probable cause in almost all states in the union.

Speak to an attorney whether the search or any other element of the offense was unlawful, but I suspect you will want to make a deal.

If you stop using dope, this kind of stuff won't be happening to you.

- Carl
 

JustCallMeKevo

Junior Member
I have not hired an attourney. I don't have a court date...only a municipal citation ticket that i plan on paying in cash at the court.
I don't plan on hiring an attourney because I have no court date. I'm sure the car did smeel like bud. So i suppose that was probably cause. Damn.
Then I'll just pay my ticket, not try to go to court and say they had no reson to search me. I do remember officers saying to eachother that we smelled like pot. You're right, the car smelled then. No dice.

CdwJava...why do you call marijuana dope?? Dope is a name used for drugs like heroin and cocaine...physically addictive drugs that cause serious problems in society i.e. people stealing from loved ones to feed their addictions. If you wish to call it dope, go ahead...it just doesnt fit though. Thats something a cop would say! Shame, shame, shame.
And I have no intention on stopping using "dope." The only difference this situation made on me is that I will try harder to stay away from the pigs, be more "responsible" about where I am in posession, and stop smoking in a vehicle. I don't intend to be rude, don't be offended. Im just a little bothered when i hear people call pot dope. It has many nicknames, but that one isn't fitting. At least in my opinion.
Anyways, thanks again for the advice and everything. I respect you guys.
 
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