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class A misdemeanor- grounds for arrest?

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loravk

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Missouri
I was pulled over by police officer who claimed i was speeding (35mph in 20mph zone). I gave him my license when he approached my car and proceeded to look for my ins. card (which i could not find). After running my license he came back to my car, asked if i had anything illegal in my possession, and requested to search. I was in a huge hurry to meet a business associate and saw no logical reasoning for him to request that. I did not give consent to do so. He pointed out that my driver's license was expired (less than 2 months) which i was not aware of and that my tags were expired which i had just realized a week or two prior to this incident, but it had slipped my mind. Anyway, he asked me to step out of the vehicle; i complied. he asked me again if he could search my vehicle; again, i refused. he proceeded to place me under "arrest" or "detain" me (not sure which one) and explained that because of that he now had the right to search my car. when i asked why i was being arrested he said it was because i was "driving w/o valid driver's license". i don't know if that is grounds to be arrested or not. Can you tell me? anyway, he then searched my car and called a female officer to the scene. i watched him barely rummage through some things in my car before he came back to where i was sitting in his car to question me about a bottle of correctly-labeled pills prescribed to me and my purse. he set it down on the hood of his car and dug through it. then walked around to his side of the vehicle, got in and drove to police station. he said he found drugs in my vehicle in a wallet with my i.d. in it. that is NOT true. when i was booked at the jail, he specifically requested that i be held for 24 hours. i could tell the officers were a little confused as to why i was being held or even arrested. they did not know the answer when i asked why i was being booked in. i had no prior felony convictions and was booked and released once before but was not charged with anything. When i was released the next day, i did not post bail or pay a bond, nor was i charged with any drug charges. i did get a ticket for speeding, no proof of ins., and expired tags, which have all been taken care of. i am now being charged with POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE EXCEPT 35 GRAMS OR LESS OF MARIJUANA from that particular incident. Any suggestions?What is the name of your state?
 


CJane

Senior Member
Ok, so driving on an expired driver license, I can see. It's easy to forget whether it expires on THIS birthday or next. Happens. And Missouri is pretty forgiving, with a 6 month window in which you only have to show up to the DMV and take the written (now not even written, but computerized) test and get your DL.

But expired TAGS? They expire on the last day of the SAME month every year. How do you FORGET that at the end of whatever month appears on your tags, you need new ones? Never mind that MO sends out reminders in the mail and offers to let you renew online.

So let's see.

Speeding.
No valid DL.
No valid tags.
No proof of insurance in the vehicle as required by law.

Any one of those was technically enough to detain you. And in MO you can he 'held' or 'detained' for up to 20 hours while the alleged crime is investigated. No charges need be filed in that time frame.
 
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loravk

Junior Member
No marijuana, no drugs at all. I knew my tags were expired and that is my negligence. He did read me my rights. Do they have permission to search your vehicle if you are only being "detained"?
 

CJane

Senior Member
No marijuana, no drugs at all. I knew my tags were expired and that is my negligence. He did read me my rights. Do they have permission to search your vehicle if you are only being "detained"?
I believe that would fall into 'search incident to arrest'. If you were read your rights, you were being arrested. And the cop TOLD YOU that he found drugs in your car. Whether or not YOU think he did is irrelevant since that's why you were arrested and what you're being charged with.
 

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