my late mother-in-law was stopped by a rookie cop, who ticketed her for doing 36 MPH in a 35 mile zone....then, he cited her for "no license of person", based of the fact that her driver's license was in her purse, lying on the back seat.....magistrate lectured the officer for 25 minutes for "stupidity", and dismissed both tickets......cop was eventually released from the department for unsatisfactory performance during his probationary period
@@jilbertb And the next town, and the next town until he took his pension which was probably worth more than most people make during their entire working career.
Same thing, cop tried to write me a ticket for a school zone violation, 🚸but it wasn't a school day (teacher workshop) when I notified him of his error he flipped out, "You mean to tell me I can't write school zone violations for the rest of the week!?" Suddenly my speed jump from the regular limit (in a 🚸) to one over the regular limit. 😡 Judge ordered, "pay it and 🛑stop wasting MY ⚖️ TIME!" SMH- 🙄
In my town of roughly 20,000, none of the police are from here anymore. I don’t trust any of them. They have no incentive to help their community because they know no-one and were already fired or didn’t qualify somewhere else.
No he knows the probation officers is going to do a drug test on him and his probation will be revoked and then he's going to prison for 10 years for the gun charge, just a smart judge the kids going to jail which is right where he should be. How do you know this channel isn't worth watching because this guy didn't even catch what is obviously going on
You hear about these kinds of unconstitutional searches when it makes it to court, and sometimes people say "well, the person still committed a crime, so they're still the bad guys." But for every person who gets arrested based on a bad search, how many innocent people are wrongly searched who you never hear about, because it never goes to court?
Do you REALLY think the average American is smart enough/can look beyond their hatred of "others" enough to realize their rights are at stake as well??? I don't.....
My foster son was stopped in the summer where it was close to 100 degrees outside. The cops ran his license then told him to get out and handcuffed him to the grill of the Police car. They proceeded to throw all his tools on the ground and ransacked his truck. After half an hour, there was a voice over the radio to let him go and put all his stuff back. When he asked for the videos to file a complaint, the body cans had malfunctioned on all the officers and the car videos disappeared.
Cops literally destroyed the interior on my 3 week old car in 2008 because they "smelled marijuana" they cut open all of the seats, ripped parts of the dash off,cut open spare tire. I was in the USCG at the time and was in dress uniform. They of course found nothing,but arrested me after all of that for "reckless driving" when the original stop was because I had paper plates from the dealership. It was the only brand new car I ever had and they ruined it and I had zero recourse to get it fixed, I took a bunch of pictures of what they did and showed the judge, the judge laughed and said it was completely justified even though I never consented to search,they found nothing. I was never able to afford getting the interior repaired. Judges by and large are just as complicit and thuggish as pigs
A “field training officer” losing a case in court due to constitutionality says a lot about the officers that work there. Next we will see someone being choked out or jumped by the police in that town.
That or upon finding evidence of a larger crime they decided to avoid the additional paperwork that comes with a ticket for a minor traffic infraction.
@@satekeeperTypically, patrol dash cams start recording only AFTER the overhead lights are activated, and thus the traffic violations are not recorded.
You know I worked as a street cop for 24 years, 12 of them as a working Chief of Police. I always studied the City Ordinances and kept up with State laws by attending yearly updates of changes made by state congress. I also studied the State laws pertaining to traffic (most of my work) and criminal laws as needed. After an accident put me out of the business, Workers Comp sent me to college to be a Legal Assistant, I did well in college, maintained a 4.0 GPA and graduated in 1996. Thinking back, I wish I had known the law that I learned in college when I was a street cop, it would have helped my decisions tremendously. I guess there is some reason for the new requirements of a degree to pin on the badge now days. When I began a GED worked (Which is what I had - needed it in the Army to make Sergeant!)
It sounds like you did a good job. Thank you for your military service, and for serving your community when you got back home. Most of us know that even if half the bushell is rotten, you can still find some good apples if you look a little. 😊 ETA: dont mind the haters. It goes with youtube.
You know how to prove that no cops are good cops? Because when they show up as backup to a scene, and the initial cop is violating the "suspects" rights, that backup officer doesn't say, hey, we don't violate anyone, or hey, we don't operate this way, or , we need to do "this" and "that". Every single cop has been back-up on an incident where someone is being violated or mistreated and they do absolutely nothing to help... So this is proof, no cops are good.
Wow, I am an attorney (retired; former Special Assistant United States Attorney, Assistant Attorney General (Texas), United States Treasury General Litigation Counsel (Collection of Ovedue and Owing Tax)); and, this guy is DAMNED GOOD. Must be an experienced criminal lawyer. Excellent video. Clea, concise and to the point: NO FLUFF. I attended Law School in Michigan, Lansing, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, MI.
I think what happens to alot of officers is big head syndrome. They put that uniform on and think they can do or say anything. Look at all of them that get upset if the window isn't rolled down or if you won't step out of your car.
@@bobdittloff5966100% agree, their egos are fragile and they have the authority to ruin your life in one fell swoop. Especially if you aren't financially successful. I'm right on the edge of having enough money to fuck them up and losing in civil court, but in going for it since the last time I interacted with a cop it cost me my job due to an unlawful arrest with no actual crime having been committed. They charged me with child endangerment because I own guns, I have custody of my kids, and I got drunk after my kids went to bed. I had my guns locked in my bedroom, but the cop went and grabbed one after asking me where they were, and he entered it into evidence as a "prohibited weapon" which it isn't. I beat the criminal charges on day one in court, and now have to decide if I want to drop $16k on a civil suit or not.
Every cop in the country is taught that it is. Infact, suspicion is grounds for assassination if the cop thinks for a second thier life is in danger. And since they are taught their lives are always in danger at the academy, they have a license to kill in the name of their saftey.
Yes it is! It's a hidden law. Which is why, it's always used to catch all and find a reason. Which I think, is what it means. Suspicious means to find a reason.
I was arrested on a Friday and no one would tell me what it was for. I was stuck in jail through the weekend until Monday where it was revealed that I had a warrant for a probation violation from back when I was a kid (it was due to us moving and my mother forgetting to inform the PO). Judge tossed it and everyone could tell he was upset about it. So when he says that they can arrest you and not tell you why; Yeah, I have seen this firsthand.
Yep, I've been arrested in St. Louis without being told why. All the cop said was "I don't know, the computer says you have a warrant". I just rolled with it and after spending the weekend in jail I went before a judge who laughed when I told him I had no idea why I was there. (It was just unpaid parking tickets). (Result= Time Served and just pay court costs).
They can't. I was passenger in a vehicle just AFTER Supreme Court ruling. My charges were dismissed with waving I would sue. The officer threatened to bust the window to coerce me and opened door dragging me out to handcuff me and hauled into jail.
Apparently unaware that I didn't smoke and could/would pass a drug test, a cop once claimed that my car "reeked of weed so strongly that he could smell it from behind me in traffic". After spending 20 minutes searching my car and finding nothing (because there was nothing to find) he let me drive away without even giving me a ticket (to ensure that I had no legal avenue to challenge the legitimacy of the stop, other than an expensive & time-consuming lawsuit).
I would recommend calling the state troopers and reporting this behavior. In some states but not all, such as the State of Texas police license and training is under the direct scrutiny of the state and not local municipalities. Often state troopers are the point of first contact to report this type of thing and they do NOT put up with this shit. Troopers are much more educated and held to a higher standard and their department often houses the state investigative Bueno whose job is to investigate this stuff. While you may not be able to take them in court, the people at the very top don't like their officers behaving in this conduct if for no other reason that it can escalate in more aggressive and public conflictions. They don't want to look bad so they have an incentive to investigate these matters. Sadly this is not well known by most citizens which can leave them frustrated that their is nothing they can do. I hope this helps you if not now then at least in the future.
This happens because each police officer has a *QUOTA* for tickets, citations, arrests, etc. Pay, benefits and promotion depend on making their quota. Therefore, the cops try desperately to find ANY EXCUSE WHATSOEVER to find a reason to arrest, fine, ticket, etc. This quota system is burdensome and oppressive.
It's not funny what some have to go through with law enforcement but this comment had me laughing lol great comment and sounds like what goes on all over the place
Knowledge of the law is more fearful to a police officer than a firearm. At least with a gun, officers have an excuse to engage, But valid and provable knowledge? It might be best to feign ignorance of that around certain people until your day in court.
I am most concerned for what the police learns from this. Is it: "Man, that one got away!" or is it "We have to change our approach and stop treating everyone like a criminal suspect!"
What they will do in the future is: "Here's your ticket for failure to produce a driver's license. *You're free to go.* _Just got a quick question for you..._ "
I love that you have address the misconception of "reasonable articulable suspicion" and how law enforcement is required to tell you at the time of the investigation. The "articulable" part means that the facts used to create the suspicion are able to be articulated, not a specific crime they are suspected of. Many defendants get a rude awakening when their attorney tells them their arrest was valid despite not them being told of a specific crime by law enforcement when asked.
I've been told that something like 90% of the cases that get thrown out is because the officer failed to follow procedure. I've had officers attempt to search my car 4 times, pot head that I was in my 20's, and I managed to avoid the search every time be remaining calm and polite and simply saying "No, I have somewhere I have to be". Most of they time they just move on, but in Round Lake,IL they really wanted to search my car. Clocked me for speeding, almost immediately attempted to initiate a search, pulled me out of the car when I refused, held me there for nearly 2 hours threatening to bring a third car with a dog out to seek justification for a search. I wasn't about to relent, but at that point I figured 'this is round lake, they have 2 cars on me already, and it's Thanksgiving. what are the chances they have people to send here with a dog over a dime bag?'. They were pissed when they drove away.
I was stopped by a cop and I didn't have my license on me. The two cops used that excuse to search my vehicle. Then they found the paper bags my pain medication came in from the pharmacy. So they tried to use that as the reason to claim that I had trafficked/sold my meds since the empty bags are there, but not the meds. They eventually wrote me a few tickets,and me go. When I disputed the tickets, all were dismissed with prejudice, along with reprimanded for an illegal search and detention. Then the sheriff's department contacted my attorney with a settlement offer even though I had not filed a harassment lawsuit. I just wanted the tickets dismissed and they were. Still, I accepted their offer with the stipulation that the officers be retrained. What happened was that one resigned, and the other was fired for numerous offenses for violating peoples constitutional rights.
Are the police departments private businesses? They are paid by tax dollars but so are bridge builders. They can have laws that differ from state to state so that makes me think they are state run or are they city run?? If they are city run they must be private businesses hired by the city. How does a private business have any authority to control sovereign citizens?
@@bobdittloff5966 All are publicly funded, but each department is different. There are state troopers, county sheriff departments, county police departments, and city police departments. There are few federal standards and some state standards for these departments to follow leading up to high variability in police departments as far as enforcement and accountability
Steve I really enjoy your videos, especially the goofy ones. But vids like this one are the most valuable to protect ALL of us from over reach. THANK YOU, thank you, thank you for doing this service and providing this information.
@@SayAhh Because SCOTUS wrote police a blank check to be ignorant of the laws as long as they believe they're following them correctly. Heien v. North Carolina
This judge is a hero. He/she better watch their tailfeathers though. Cops do NOT like being corrected, and are generally vengeful AF. And I love the finding that disagreeing with an officer is NOT sufficient to establish probable cause for a search. Great job Michigan!
Judges are safe. It's prosecutors who get screwed over by cops because the union will tell them to stop showing up to testify if they think that a prosecutor isn't on their side.
Seen a video similar to this on another legal/law channel.....once the interaction for the original traffic stop is complete, LE can't make up reasons/excuses to keep you "detained" at the point of the stop. I was quoting a statement from Steve the other day in a conversation with a friend and he stated that I sounded like a lawyer; I told him, "no, but I DO watch Steve Lehto videos every day!"....lol
We all become somewhat lawyers to ourselves watching these law channels we no more than other citizens that don't keep up on LA. My girlfriend thinks I sound like a lawyer because I know the basic laws now and I know what goes on with law-enforcement nowadays
I had a stop last 85 minutes. No ticket. And I refused the search, twice. There's was nothing in my car, but it was the principle and I had a classic, antique car that I didn't want them to damage. Why did the officers, including one supervisor, want to search? I had what was deemed a "drug dealer's car". I'm a retired, 50-something mother of two daughters in their 20s and definitely don't fit the profile of someone involved with drugs. I sat there from 9pm until almost 10:30pm with 4 patrol cars with lights and 6 officers surrounding me as I was parked in front of my nest friend's house in a cul-de-sac in a suburban subdivision waiting for her to arrive home from vacation.. It was crazy.
LackLuster and Audit the Audit channels will send you down a very deep rabbit hole on traffic stops and citizens challenging police knowledge. Addictive as hell.
"I haven't done anything wrong so go to hell" .. 'OK so based on your attitude I perceive you of being suspicious and are trying to hide something./.now GET out of the vehicle so I can investigate your possible hiding of criminal activity!" lol
ATA is known to bend the facts at times which is why I stopped watching after the case of the black cownboy in Chicago, when you dug deeper online you found out that the Police had very real fears over the health of the horse he rode on the highway which were later confirmed by a vetenarian.
@@darreng745 That may be so but it is not what the police officer said when he pulled him over. Nothing about the health of the horse was mentioned other than the police car impeding the movement which could have caused it to injure itself. The supervising officer also said nothing about the horse other than dude had a right and went on to add you could move a herd of cows or something down the street.
If you are a passenger in a car, and the car is stopped for a traffic violation, you are not obligated to hand over ID based on that stop alone. An officer would require additional observations to suspect you of a crime or that you are carrying a firearm.
@Cody Hansen No. They think they can, but only the driver legally need to identify themselves by giving ID. Passengers could give there name but that's it, no id nor date of birth needed.
The main reason is to check for warrants and to harrass you. My old coworker was in training to be a cop in NJ, his excuse was so Incase anything happens they know who was involved. I think that's bullshit
I have been a police (officer, detective sergeant, now Lieutenant) for 25 years. The judge got this right! Never would I support such a fishing expedition! and U.S. Coast Guard? Semper Paratus!
As a LEO wouldn't you fish for info yourself? Did you ask questions during a stop that were not about the violation? For example, "where are you coming from or do you know why I pulled you over?" Forgive me as I am not looking to argue, just wanting to have a conversation. You were trained to get as much info as you could to get more out of a stop, were you not? I understand that in order to determine if a driver is loaded or comes from a bad area of town you gotta ask questions to get more information. For what reason did you become an officer? If you were younger would you still go into law enforcement nowadays? What changes have you seen in the past few decades? Thank you so much for reading my comment. Again I mean you disrespect. I look forward to your kind reply. 😊
I’m currently attending police academy on week 4 and this is exactly what we are learning about currently, I’m going to try to get the instructor to show this to the class tomorrow!
@@MalikEmmanuel I can tell you that as law enforcement the power we have is limited to arrest. We are not the judge, jury, or executioner… sometimes police have to make split second decisions that are critiqued by a panel of jurers that have months or even years to decide if police did what’s right but we only have split seconds to make the decisions..
Ask them what pot smells like and whether they have had any training to distinguish the smell because you can bet that when pushed most LEO's wouldn't be able to tell Shit from Shinola which is why you have forensic labs to do drug tests. And those crappy bags they use to do crush tests with drugs where they turn a certain color to say what the drug is are worthless as evidental court submissions, there are over 80 substances that affect them including some household cleaning agents.
Went to my niece's wedding in the state I had lived all my life, and recently moved out of after retirement. It was a holiday weekend. We stayed overnight and drove home the next morning. On the highway, a state trooper speeds up behind me in the middle lane. I put my blinker on, ( I knew the trick, they had tried it on me serveral times during my 50 plus years of driving), and pulled over. Of course he says I didn't use my blinker. It was obviously because of my out of state plates on a holiday weekend. I asked to see the dashcam footage, which he denied. So I said no problem, I'll get it through a FOIA, and since my license is squeaky clean, and I've been through this before, we will just go to court and show the dashcam. I wasn't being anything but matter of fact, and calm. He decided a warning was sufficient to save face. Road pirates.
What surprises and dismays me is that the prosecutor, either didn't know that the case was on very shaky ground, or that they presumed the Judge wasn't smart enough to catch the problem, or perhaps they thought the Judge would be so pro police and prosecution that they would just drop the gavel and say guilty anyway. I wouldn't want to be that prosecutor or even those cops in front of that judge again.
It's actually better this way. A court has ruled on this, now, and the police department is aware. Some cases really should go to trial to make the point.
I've actually had a prosecutor tell me, "Well, if you were not guilty the officer wouldn't have issued you the ticket!" AND SHE WAS SERIOUS!!! Incompetence is the new normal!
When 99% of DA's and judges go along with the police regardless of the evidence, Why wouldn't all DA's and cops think a judge would just go along with the game they play.
I've watched on other channels where they also explain that the police don't have to tell you why you were stopped but it doesn't hurt to ask. Sometimes they give you pure gold on the body cam you can use in court.
@@Bone89 Once you’re arrested, your vehicle is getting tossed. Maybe you don’t know, but they can arrest you and hold you for up to 48 hours without ever telling you why or reading you your rights. They are only required to do that before doing any questioning.
You generally have the right to resist an unlawful arrest, but if the police don't have to tell you why you're being arrested, how can you possibly know whether the arrest is lawful?
In a general sense, this is a very common occurrence and tactic by the police. It's a practice taught in the police academy. Few people complain about extended stops by the police and the police just get away with it, time after time.
Depends on what the cops end up charging you with if anything. A serious charge like this stop is worth challenging. Another ticket or nothing people don't have time and money and challenge it.
@@claudiuspulcher2440 Not really a citation, but literally every cop I've ever talked to about how to do the job. They are proud of it and love to brag about getting people "off the street".
Question: When we first moved to a different State and did not have new plates, we kept getting pulled over (always stupid reasons like driving too close to the roadside). Then when they saw a couple of old people in the car with everything in order, they tried to act all friendly and chitchat. My feeling is they target out-of-state license plates.
Yup. I've lived in this town for longer than the officer who pulled over my rental truck has been alive. He had some bogus number he claimed I had been speeding. The rental of course had out of State license. But when he saw I was a local he decided to let me go with a warning.
Of course they do there's no consequences for doing so. They write a BS ticket for an out of state vehicle, the driver has to either pay the fine or take his day in court and incur court fees (which are probably more expensive than just paying the fine) regardless of whether the ticket gets tossed or upheld. And that's not even accounting for the travel back to what ever podunk court the ticket was given to. Given the cost of gas here recently a $50 dollar BS speeding ticket (now $200 after court fees are tacked on) a state or 2 over is gonna be upwards of 200-300 in gas just to get there. And that's assuming you're case gets called that day. If it doesn't congratulations you've got additional gas and mileage or a hotel room to be paying for. Now your out a pay check or two. Potentially lost your job and or your apartment since fighting the ticket drained the little you had to spare. The Officer doesn't face consequences, the Court doesn't give a damn, and your stuck holding the bill any way you turn it. Isn't our justice system just GRAND! Personal opinion, out of state vehicles should be exempt from law enforcement action unless they're doing something egregious enough to warrant criminal charges. For example 10 or 20 over the speed limit on the interstate meh. But doing 100 in a 55 that's an issue. Or, if a ticket gets issued to an out of state vehicle, then the ticket must be given to the local court in the county the vehicle is registered in. And it must be done so free of charge!! The court system should not place the financial burden of fighting a government issued fine on the person who is being fined until they are found guilty by the local court. That would also go a long way towards getting rid of these BS tickets where window tint that is perfectly legal where the vehicle is registered gets a ticket for illegal tint the next state over.
i dont know if i have ever seen a video of yours i did not love. Your demeanor, information, and commentary are truly top tier. Thank you for your effort and all the work of those on your team.
"I mean that I have general suspicion of general criminal activity. This suspect exercised his rights so my suspicion was confirmed and gave me probable cause to search the vehicle. That was why I extended the traffic stop that I did not write a ticket for. This is the manner in which I have been trained, and the manner in which I train others."
Darn! I was 100% behind the person pulled over, until you said he vaped in front of the officer. That is stupid in the simplest, and seemingly defiant, and asking for confrontation, at the best. I still believe the officers were in the wrong, but the driver was a complete idiot!
We wouldn't need cops if everyone obeyed the law. Cops are little more than a reflection of the society from where they came. If you think you can do better, step up.
@@jennifer9528 Or we could have high enough expectations of the police that they have to pass the decent human being test. And since traffic stops are one of the more common interactions I would expect the police to be well versed in such policies.
Really a nice thing to allow a officer of the law to not have to come up with a good reason for pulling you over / arresting you until they have to explain it in a court of law. Really takes the pressure off of those good officers to come up with some bs on the spot.
A 19 year old can possess a gun, but not a vape pipe. They can join the military and get killed, but can't vape. Something is wrong here. I thought pot was legal in Michigan. Is it for people over 21? How is a 19 year old adult a Juvenile?
Pot was made illegal since the 1930 thanks to millionaires and lobbyists. Yet ppl keep voting for candidates who promise to give the top 1% of earners more tax cuts and refuse to close loopholes.
In Tennessee you are a juvenile un till age twenty two. When I was living with my adoptive parents I told my mother I was going to move out. She told me " I checked with my attorney, he told me I can make you live here and do what I tell you until you are twenty one, then I can throw you out." One of the reasons I hate the law.
@@katiekane5247 yes I know that I DONT CARE only criminals complain about it. Law abiding citizens know this isn't nazi Germany so it's ok to show a little ID nothing bad will happen for showing it unless you have a warrant. Quit protecting meth heads
@@patrickdurham8393 nope end it flat out, let teh cops face the legal repercussions of their actions without being able to pass the costs to the taxpayers. Qualified Immunity did not exist prior to 1974 and with good reason
Let's face it and this has always been a fact.. when you hit people in their pockets it matters until then. they're not going to change s***. They're not going to be discipline no money is coming out of their pocket they're still going home at night to their family nothing changes in their life because you sued and a taxpayer's have to pay.. I bet the cops even laugh at it and say that's not my problem
Earnest question: 1. It is claimed that no law requires an officer to explain RAS on the road side 2. Citizens are not required to obey unlawful orders 3. Orders are unlawful if not performed as proscribed by law. Therefore: How can a Citizen be confident that a stop is occurring properly, and orders are lawful, if the officer has no duty to explain their reason for execution? That requirement seems implied, even if not explicitly stated.
The frequent use of the statement "a juvenile" without any other details.... To that cop, it's apparently very suspicious and not normal at all for a 19 Y.O. to have 17 Y.O. friends.
The use of "a juvenile" is a reporting contrivance because they cannot be named and are not defendants. Based on this video, at least, we don't know how old the person was or what was their relation (or lack thereof)
To anyone in the vehicle, whose not the driver, you do not have to identify yourself to the police unless they probable cause that you have committed, are committing, or about to commit a crime. Anything else is just them fishing and trying to prolong the stop beyond a reasonable time.
This happened in a college town. I was pulled over and not ticketed several times when I attended in the mid 2000s for reasons like "rolling stop at a blinking red with no traffic at 2 am". Because it's a college town, they look for minor infractions to check for drunk/impaired drivers in this town far too often.
I love your little anecdotes, like the one with Todd and your escapades with the bike. It reminds me other times. As the robot lady once said "In the past nostalgy was better".
@@claudiuspulcher2440 he can argue the stop all he wanted, arguing with the cop does not establish reasonable articulable suspicion, the cop got caught on a bullshit fishing expedition and he knew it, this is why dash cams are the best weapons against cops in the sad state of world affairs, the cop can't argue against an impartial witness
I won't ever allow an officer to search my vehicle, because I know what happened in Jackson and Martin Counties in Florida, where deputies planted drugs in well over 400 total cars they had pulled over for minor traffic offenses!
Has a nasty habit of rating officers well even when they're flagrantly in the wrong, and another habit of criticizing the people who had to deal with said cops to the point of nagging them about their phrasing.
You hit the nail on the head Steve, maybe unknowingly but you did! MOST PEOPLE don't wanna go through the pains and expenses it takes to fight things out in court...and POLICE prey on this very fact...and they are quite literally banking on it! Because they stand to make their Municipality, County, or State money either through the slave labor of incarceration or through fines! and this is the bottom line!
@@stephengreen3566 there is a crap ton more money made for a drug offence than a bs traffic violation. Years of probation, court costs, fines.... even the smallest infracrions end up in thousands of dollars paid to the city. But you are correct, its not just about money. Ego, hubris, ignorance and just being a crappy person play a huge roll too.
They need to suffer appropriately serious punishment, including criminal prosecution, every single time that they choose to engage in an unlawful exercise of their authority. Every single time. If they aren't smart enough to learn what the limits on their authority is, they should not be empowered to act as law enforcement officials under any circumstances. Armed security with no arrest powers and specialized professionals that actually have training and expertise relevant to ALL of the duties their office is empowered to execute would be a much better situation. We have way too many stuffed shirts with guns on the dole, most of them need to get real jobs and the remainder need to unfvvk themselves
The thing that stands out to me on this is that one of the officers was a training officer teaching a new generation of cops to violate constitutional amendments.
In the weirdness of my life, I recall being pulled over by a state trooper back in the 80’s for speeding and it was just beginning to rain. He didn’t get out of his patrol car but told me over his PA to come back to his car and get in the passenger seat. I did, with my license. I don’t recall having to show proof of insurance or registration or anything else. As I sat in his car, it started raining heavily so he wrote the ticket and said I could just sit there until the rain slacked up. We talked about hunting, fishing, sports cars (I drove a 1969 Chevelle SS 396 back then), and football. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the rain let up and I went back to my car. I drove away being careful to not spin my tires too much (very hard to do with a big-block engine on a wet road) and he gave me a quick wave before he returned to the road. It was such a better world back then. 🙂
Yes it was a better world. I was attending school out of state and truly did forget about a ticket I received while home on recess (small town where the resume speed limit is past edge of town) When I remembered after returning to school I immediately mailed it but it was overdue. The JP had contacted my mom about why I had not paid the ticket and she paid it. My payment was returned with a note saying I owed my mom. I think it was $15 and the year 1975.
@@wlonsdale1 Because this was in the 80s in a rural area where people respected law enforcement and law enforcement respected the people. Even today in that area, he probably wouldn’t actually be in any danger if he was pulling over a local. However, he has to deal with the dregs of society from less civilized areas too so we lose. People in that area often had shotguns or rifles in their vehicles. Cops had nothing to fear from them and they knew it. My cousin was a deputy there for 25+ years and he only pulled his pistol on another person 3 or 4 times during that entire time. He used it far more often putting an animal that had been injured out of its misery.
In a previous life, several decades ago, I was on probation for a valid reason. However, the police often used only the fact I was on probation as reason enough to stop, detain, question, frisk me, and search my car.
I think if people would realize that probation is a loosing proposition and just adds ongoing charges and keeps you in the system longer.... Just tell the judge you don't want probation that you will just serve your time and be done with the situation...
@@JesseHires For all too many people, who don't have the resources to make bail, taking a plea deal which includes probation is the quickest way out of jail. If you can't make bail, you can spend months in the county jail waiting for a trial.
@@patrickdurham8393 My anger at traffic cops would put me there. I got my driver’s lic during the hippie movement and they pulled us over 2,3 or 4x a day.
@@davemi00 I was a "rich kid" in the 70's (grew up one town west of Steve actually). Cops knew better than to mess with us. They hung out on the Northside of town, pulling over "suspicious" ppl coming out of Pontiac, our cops were...racists.
Thank god for a good ATTY and for an HONEST judge. I had a bad cop in cali in the town I grew up in, new cop had tranfered from another city and he arrested me 3 times in 6mo, if he saw me I went to jail 2-3 days each time, charges dropped etc, the cop told me maybe I should think of moving. so after growing up in that town I fiinally moved and havent been stopped since this started in 2011, Now when I go to visit friends I call the PD to see if he is on duty and shedule my visits around town accordingly. SAD days we live in :(
As the officer approaches the car, read his nametag and exclaim, "Officer Smith! We've been trying to contact you about your vehicle warranty." If he doesn't just turn around and leave, you deserved the ticket.
Steve, when the judge dismisses a case is there any way to have the plaintiff (P.D. Or the city/county) be required to pay the defendant’s court and attorney fees? Does this have to be requested at the time of dismissal? Thanks for your entertaining and informative presentations.
Crime to posses a vape pen as an adult? Can we start putting legislators in prison too? Also an amendment to enshrine something close to "no victim, no crime" in the constitution?
my late mother-in-law was stopped by a rookie cop, who ticketed her for doing 36 MPH in a 35 mile zone....then, he cited her for "no license of person", based of the fact that her driver's license was in her purse, lying on the back seat.....magistrate lectured the officer for 25 minutes for "stupidity", and dismissed both tickets......cop was eventually released from the department for unsatisfactory performance during his probationary period
And, unfortunately, he was hired by the next town over....
@@jilbertb And the next town, and the next town until he took his pension which was probably worth more than most people make during their entire working career.
Unfortunately positions of power attract the type who love to tell others what to do.
Same thing, cop tried to write me a ticket for a school zone violation, 🚸but it wasn't a school day (teacher workshop) when I notified him of his error he flipped out,
"You mean to tell me I can't write school zone violations for the rest of the week!?"
Suddenly my speed jump from the regular limit (in a 🚸) to one over the regular limit.
😡 Judge ordered, "pay it and 🛑stop wasting MY ⚖️ TIME!"
SMH- 🙄
In my town of roughly 20,000, none of the police are from here anymore. I don’t trust any of them. They have no incentive to help their community because they know no-one and were already fired or didn’t qualify somewhere else.
A 19 year old cannot legally own a vape pen but can both vote and join the army, USA laws are weird.
To the government, old enough to sign up to die in a foreign war but not old enough to decide to inhale fog juice
It's for their own safety
@@threatassessment606 and thats why we let them get blown to peices by child soldiers right? Because that's for their safety
@@threatassessment606 but buying cigarettes at that age is perfectly fine though.
@@threatassessment606 so is not joining the military
A judge who understands and supports the Constitution and sides with the defendant? It's a miracle!
No he knows the probation officers is going to do a drug test on him and his probation will be revoked and then he's going to prison for 10 years for the gun charge, just a smart judge the kids going to jail which is right where he should be. How do you know this channel isn't worth watching because this guy didn't even catch what is obviously going on
Nah. If it was a miracle, you wouldn’t be hearing the stories.
Happens all the time.
Especially in Michigan!
@@Bronte866all the time? Not at all,this kind of thing is extremely rare
You hear about these kinds of unconstitutional searches when it makes it to court, and sometimes people say "well, the person still committed a crime, so they're still the bad guys." But for every person who gets arrested based on a bad search, how many innocent people are wrongly searched who you never hear about, because it never goes to court?
Do you REALLY think the average American is smart enough/can look beyond their hatred of "others" enough to realize their rights are at stake as well??? I don't.....
Yes.
Too MANY... Next question? lol
If they will collect bad evidence, what keeps them from PLANTING fake "evidence" on an innocent person?
@@scotthewitt258exactly
My foster son was stopped in the summer where it was close to 100 degrees outside. The cops ran his license then told him to get out and handcuffed him to the grill of the Police car. They proceeded to throw all his tools on the ground and ransacked his truck. After half an hour, there was a voice over the radio to let him go and put all his stuff back. When he asked for the videos to file a complaint, the body cans had malfunctioned on all the officers and the car videos disappeared.
Cops literally destroyed the interior on my 3 week old car in 2008 because they "smelled marijuana" they cut open all of the seats, ripped parts of the dash off,cut open spare tire. I was in the USCG at the time and was in dress uniform. They of course found nothing,but arrested me after all of that for "reckless driving" when the original stop was because I had paper plates from the dealership.
It was the only brand new car I ever had and they ruined it and I had zero recourse to get it fixed, I took a bunch of pictures of what they did and showed the judge, the judge laughed and said it was completely justified even though I never consented to search,they found nothing.
I was never able to afford getting the interior repaired. Judges by and large are just as complicit and thuggish as pigs
Did you sue the cops and judge?
@@prsplayer210Dod you sue the judge and the cops?
@@robertmohler9131he didn't have the money
@@prsplayer210You don't show a judge. You show a lawyer. The lawyer would absolutely have happily taken that case
A “field training officer” losing a case in court due to constitutionality says a lot about the officers that work there. Next we will see someone being choked out or jumped by the police in that town.
Lol, IKR
Seems that throws Suspicion onto the Officers.
Lack of training
only if they manage not to sweep it under the rug first! i'm sure it's already happened plenty of times.
Lawsuit against city for lack of training of officers seems possible.
This
The fact they didn't issue a traffic ticket, tells you it was likely a pretextual stop.
I find it unfortunate that pretextual stops are legitimate
Totally. They "had a reason" for stopping him, when that didn't work out, now it's a fishing trip to make up "criminality".
Was going to say. It's not ironic. It's that he may have had dashcam running that would prove they were lying.
That or upon finding evidence of a larger crime they decided to avoid the additional paperwork that comes with a ticket for a minor traffic infraction.
@@satekeeperTypically, patrol dash cams start recording only AFTER the overhead lights are activated, and thus the traffic violations are not recorded.
Why is it okay for cops not to know the law, but for people they arrest, ignorance is no excuse?
Why are people proud of things they had no say in?
Qualified immunity.
ACAB
Cops who know the law are even more dangerous. If they come after you, you are f@$%ed.
@@davetindell4110 QI only applies when the law does *NOT* say that something is illegal.
You know I worked as a street cop for 24 years, 12 of them as a working Chief of Police. I always studied the City Ordinances and kept up with State laws by attending yearly updates of changes made by state congress. I also studied the State laws pertaining to traffic (most of my work) and criminal laws as needed. After an accident put me out of the business, Workers Comp sent me to college to be a Legal Assistant, I did well in college, maintained a 4.0 GPA and graduated in 1996. Thinking back, I wish I had known the law that I learned in college when I was a street cop, it would have helped my decisions tremendously. I guess there is some reason for the new requirements of a degree to pin on the badge now days. When I began a GED worked (Which is what I had - needed it in the Army to make Sergeant!)
❤ Thank you for your service!
Just another tyrant.
You guess. I guess. Gee whiz.
It sounds like you did a good job. Thank you for your military service, and for serving your community when you got back home. Most of us know that even if half the bushell is rotten, you can still find some good apples if you look a little. 😊 ETA: dont mind the haters. It goes with youtube.
You know how to prove that no cops are good cops? Because when they show up as backup to a scene, and the initial cop is violating the "suspects" rights, that backup officer doesn't say, hey, we don't violate anyone, or hey, we don't operate this way, or , we need to do "this" and "that". Every single cop has been back-up on an incident where someone is being violated or mistreated and they do absolutely nothing to help... So this is proof, no cops are good.
Wow, I am an attorney (retired; former Special Assistant United States Attorney, Assistant Attorney General (Texas), United States Treasury General Litigation Counsel (Collection of Ovedue and Owing Tax)); and, this guy is DAMNED GOOD. Must be an experienced criminal lawyer. Excellent video. Clea, concise and to the point: NO FLUFF. I attended Law School in Michigan, Lansing, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, MI.
This is why it's getting harder and harder to back the blue. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" should also apply to law enforcement.
I think what happens to alot of officers is big head syndrome. They put that uniform on and think they can do or say anything. Look at all of them that get upset if the window isn't rolled down or if you won't step out of your car.
It was never easy to back them - theyve been doing this your whole life
@@michaelomondi-gq5yh exactly, the only thing that’s changed is the accessibility of cameras.
Yes, not to mention the thousands of people they've murdered over the last 150 years.
@@bobdittloff5966100% agree, their egos are fragile and they have the authority to ruin your life in one fell swoop. Especially if you aren't financially successful.
I'm right on the edge of having enough money to fuck them up and losing in civil court, but in going for it since the last time I interacted with a cop it cost me my job due to an unlawful arrest with no actual crime having been committed.
They charged me with child endangerment because I own guns, I have custody of my kids, and I got drunk after my kids went to bed.
I had my guns locked in my bedroom, but the cop went and grabbed one after asking me where they were, and he entered it into evidence as a "prohibited weapon" which it isn't. I beat the criminal charges on day one in court, and now have to decide if I want to drop $16k on a civil suit or not.
Suspicion is not a crime.
Doesn't stop a control freak with a gun.
Every cop in the country is taught that it is. Infact, suspicion is grounds for assassination if the cop thinks for a second thier life is in danger. And since they are taught their lives are always in danger at the academy, they have a license to kill in the name of their saftey.
you seem suspicious...
_being suspicious_ is not a crime
Yes it is!
It's a hidden law.
Which is why, it's always used to catch all and find a reason.
Which I think, is what it means.
Suspicious means to find a reason.
I was arrested on a Friday and no one would tell me what it was for. I was stuck in jail through the weekend until Monday where it was revealed that I had a warrant for a probation violation from back when I was a kid (it was due to us moving and my mother forgetting to inform the PO). Judge tossed it and everyone could tell he was upset about it. So when he says that they can arrest you and not tell you why; Yeah, I have seen this firsthand.
Yep, I've been arrested in St. Louis without being told why. All the cop said was "I don't know, the computer says you have a warrant". I just rolled with it and after spending the weekend in jail I went before a judge who laughed when I told him I had no idea why I was there. (It was just unpaid parking tickets). (Result= Time Served and just pay court costs).
This is because they wish to make the process the punishment. Cause the public to fear them enough to do surrender their rights!
@@llibressal, they should pay you for your time in jail...
Many times!
Just plain scary.
I understand how they can ask the driver for identification, but how the heck can they require identification from the occupants?
They can't. I was passenger in a vehicle just AFTER Supreme Court ruling. My charges were dismissed with waving I would sue. The officer threatened to bust the window to coerce me and opened door dragging me out to handcuff me and hauled into jail.
Apparently unaware that I didn't smoke and could/would pass a drug test, a cop once claimed that my car "reeked of weed so strongly that he could smell it from behind me in traffic". After spending 20 minutes searching my car and finding nothing (because there was nothing to find) he let me drive away without even giving me a ticket (to ensure that I had no legal avenue to challenge the legitimacy of the stop, other than an expensive & time-consuming lawsuit).
Should tell the cop, "Yeah, and I'm catching a whiff of BS..."
I would recommend calling the state troopers and reporting this behavior. In some states but not all, such as the State of Texas police license and training is under the direct scrutiny of the state and not local municipalities. Often state troopers are the point of first contact to report this type of thing and they do NOT put up with this shit. Troopers are much more educated and held to a higher standard and their department often houses the state investigative Bueno whose job is to investigate this stuff. While you may not be able to take them in court, the people at the very top don't like their officers behaving in this conduct if for no other reason that it can escalate in more aggressive and public conflictions. They don't want to look bad so they have an incentive to investigate these matters. Sadly this is not well known by most citizens which can leave them frustrated that their is nothing they can do. I hope this helps you if not now then at least in the future.
Should have told him you smell the weed on him
Driver: “I don’t think that was a legal stop”
Cop: “My god… what kind of criminal enterprise is this man running?”
Driver: "None, and it's never RICO anyway"
Hes a maryjewana king pin... my god... he has two glass pipes... TWO OF THEM... the sick bastard...
This happens because each police officer has a *QUOTA* for tickets, citations, arrests, etc. Pay, benefits and promotion depend on making their quota. Therefore, the cops try desperately to find ANY EXCUSE WHATSOEVER to find a reason to arrest, fine, ticket, etc. This quota system is burdensome and oppressive.
It's not funny what some have to go through with law enforcement but this comment had me laughing lol great comment and sounds like what goes on all over the place
Knowledge of the law is more fearful to a police officer than a firearm. At least with a gun, officers have an excuse to engage, But valid and provable knowledge? It might be best to feign ignorance of that around certain people until your day in court.
I am most concerned for what the police learns from this. Is it: "Man, that one got away!" or is it "We have to change our approach and stop treating everyone like a criminal suspect!"
Yeah the one that got away becomes some departments public enemy number one.
What they will do in the future is:
"Here's your ticket for failure to produce a driver's license. *You're free to go.* _Just got a quick question for you..._ "
They likely learned that they need more narcotics sniffing dogs from this.
That's outside anyone's control (except for that cop)
As a buddy of mine put it, "Cops are trainable, but not educatable."
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it."
"But I was arrested by someone who doesn't know the law."
"LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT"
❤
I love that you have address the misconception of "reasonable articulable suspicion" and how law enforcement is required to tell you at the time of the investigation. The "articulable" part means that the facts used to create the suspicion are able to be articulated, not a specific crime they are suspected of. Many defendants get a rude awakening when their attorney tells them their arrest was valid despite not them being told of a specific crime by law enforcement when asked.
Hm.
I've been told that something like 90% of the cases that get thrown out is because the officer failed to follow procedure. I've had officers attempt to search my car 4 times, pot head that I was in my 20's, and I managed to avoid the search every time be remaining calm and polite and simply saying "No, I have somewhere I have to be". Most of they time they just move on, but in Round Lake,IL they really wanted to search my car. Clocked me for speeding, almost immediately attempted to initiate a search, pulled me out of the car when I refused, held me there for nearly 2 hours threatening to bring a third car with a dog out to seek justification for a search. I wasn't about to relent, but at that point I figured 'this is round lake, they have 2 cars on me already, and it's Thanksgiving. what are the chances they have people to send here with a dog over a dime bag?'. They were pissed when they drove away.
I once heard a lawyer say "If the law isn't on your side, argue the facts. If the facts aren't on your side, argue the law."
the quote is from Carl sandberg, the rest of the quote imcludes"If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell”
Every American has the right to get away with their crimes.
@@rpc717 criminals will always commit crime you can't prevent people from doing wrong, but you can protect the innocent and serve freedom.
Oh, that is a great quote. I am stealing it!
@@rpc717 Edit: between "right" and "to" insert the words "to try".
I was stopped by a cop and I didn't have my license on me. The two cops used that excuse to search my vehicle. Then they found the paper bags my pain medication came in from the pharmacy. So they tried to use that as the reason to claim that I had trafficked/sold my meds since the empty bags are there, but not the meds. They eventually wrote me a few tickets,and me go. When I disputed the tickets, all were dismissed with prejudice, along with reprimanded for an illegal search and detention. Then the sheriff's department contacted my attorney with a settlement offer even though I had not filed a harassment lawsuit. I just wanted the tickets dismissed and they were. Still, I accepted their offer with the stipulation that the officers be retrained. What happened was that one resigned, and the other was fired for numerous offenses for violating peoples constitutional rights.
@@Gnomezonbacon probably a bot.
Believe it or not it can happen. Just don't expect it to happen in your town.
Are the police departments private businesses? They are paid by tax dollars but so are bridge builders. They can have laws that differ from state to state so that makes me think they are state run or are they city run?? If they are city run they must be private businesses hired by the city. How does a private business have any authority to control sovereign citizens?
@@bobdittloff5966 All are publicly funded, but each department is different. There are state troopers, county sheriff departments, county police departments, and city police departments. There are few federal standards and some state standards for these departments to follow leading up to high variability in police departments as far as enforcement and accountability
Please cite the case(name and date,) so we can look it up. (ie. Ohio vs. John Doe)
Not all lawyers are bad, thank you for your work.
Steve I really enjoy your videos, especially the goofy ones. But vids like this one are the most valuable to protect ALL of us from over reach. THANK YOU, thank you, thank you for doing this service and providing this information.
It refreshing to see there's atleast 1 judge out there who honors the oath they have taken to defend our constitution and our rights it guarantees.
Police didn't even know (nor bothered to look up) whether a vape pen was illegal or, if it was, whether it's a infraction, misdemeanor or a felony.
Absolutely Ray I was quite surprised to see this because most of them are quite happy to watch the defendant go to prison
@@SayAhh Because SCOTUS wrote police a blank check to be ignorant of the laws as long as they believe they're following them correctly.
Heien v. North Carolina
I said something similar.
Wouldn't be so many bad cops if there were more good judges.
I love how Steve is able to explain things without coming off as condescending. It's really an art form.
He has to talk to judges.
Sign of a great lawyer, doesn’t belittle people
@@davidh9638 and potentially juries right?
I unfortunately have a problem with this. It is really hard.
@@iecasper It's the "not suffering fools gladly" disease. I have it too.
Need more judges like this. Not only good opinion, but teaches readers thereof. Dunno why people enforcing law don't trouble to learn it.
They don't learn it because they have qualified immunity and are rarely punished for their evil ways and they know it.
6 months to become a cop, 2 years for a barber¿??????????¿
I don't understand why the DA thought he could show the search was valid.
People who drive should learn it as well. There’s a reason they’re cops and decided against law school.
Stop paying taxes.
The worst part is that there was a training officer involved, so neither one of them knew the laws that they were trying to enforce!
Police fishing expeditions rarely get questioned by the judge I'm surprised to see this outcome
This judge is a hero. He/she better watch their tailfeathers though. Cops do NOT like being corrected, and are generally vengeful AF. And I love the finding that disagreeing with an officer is NOT sufficient to establish probable cause for a search. Great job Michigan!
Yeah because I'm fine without them more judges are corrupt than we think
Judges are safe. It's prosecutors who get screwed over by cops because the union will tell them to stop showing up to testify if they think that a prosecutor isn't on their side.
In the legal pecking order, judges > cops, usually. If anything, it's the officer who should be careful not to piss off a judge too much.
Seen a video similar to this on another legal/law channel.....once the interaction for the original traffic stop is complete, LE can't make up reasons/excuses to keep you "detained" at the point of the stop. I was quoting a statement from Steve the other day in a conversation with a friend and he stated that I sounded like a lawyer; I told him, "no, but I DO watch Steve Lehto videos every day!"....lol
yup
I may sound like a lawyer & not be one, but I listen to Steve Lehto every day.
Nope, not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
@@jilbertb I was going to say that, but since I'm 59 y/o I didn't think anyone under 45 would get the joke...LOL!!
We all become somewhat lawyers to ourselves watching these law channels we no more than other citizens that don't keep up on LA. My girlfriend thinks I sound like a lawyer because I know the basic laws now and I know what goes on with law-enforcement nowadays
That's what I'm talking about A judge who goes by the Constitution.
Happy days
Kudos to a judge who doesn't mind working for a living, or, in short, gives a damned, and proves it.
This is a great precedent that was set! There are countless instances of law enforcement extending stops with no evidence to continue the stop.
It's not a precedent.
Right, not a precedent, just your constitutional rights.
I had a stop last 85 minutes. No ticket. And I refused the search, twice. There's was nothing in my car, but it was the principle and I had a classic, antique car that I didn't want them to damage. Why did the officers, including one supervisor, want to search? I had what was deemed a "drug dealer's car". I'm a retired, 50-something mother of two daughters in their 20s and definitely don't fit the profile of someone involved with drugs. I sat there from 9pm until almost 10:30pm with 4 patrol cars with lights and 6 officers surrounding me as I was parked in front of my nest friend's house in a cul-de-sac in a suburban subdivision waiting for her to arrive home from vacation.. It was crazy.
LackLuster and Audit the Audit channels will send you down a very deep rabbit hole on traffic stops and citizens challenging police knowledge. Addictive as hell.
"I haven't done anything wrong so go to hell" .. 'OK so based on your attitude I perceive you of being suspicious and are trying to hide something./.now GET out of the vehicle so I can investigate your possible hiding of criminal activity!" lol
Criminal Rights Lawyer too
ATA is known to bend the facts at times which is why I stopped watching after the case of the black cownboy in Chicago, when you dug deeper online you found out that the Police had very real fears over the health of the horse he rode on the highway which were later confirmed by a vetenarian.
@@darreng745 That may be so but it is not what the police officer said when he pulled him over. Nothing about the health of the horse was mentioned other than the police car impeding the movement which could have caused it to injure itself. The supervising officer also said nothing about the horse other than dude had a right and went on to add you could move a herd of cows or something down the street.
@@katiekane5247 "The Civil Rights Lawyer", not Criminal. :-)
Question: Why did the officers ask for ID of all the car's occupants?
Is that even allowed? I can understand the driver, but not the passengers.
They have no legal right to the identity of the passengers
They can ask. They can ask you to stand on your head. Just say 'no'.
If you are a passenger in a car, and the car is stopped for a traffic violation, you are not obligated to hand over ID based on that stop alone.
An officer would require additional observations to suspect you of a crime or that you are carrying a firearm.
@Cody Hansen No. They think they can, but only the driver legally need to identify themselves by giving ID.
Passengers could give there name but that's it, no id nor date of birth needed.
The main reason is to check for warrants and to harrass you. My old coworker was in training to be a cop in NJ, his excuse was so Incase anything happens they know who was involved. I think that's bullshit
I have been a police (officer, detective sergeant, now Lieutenant) for 25 years. The judge got this right! Never would I support such a fishing expedition!
and U.S. Coast Guard? Semper Paratus!
As a LEO wouldn't you fish for info yourself? Did you ask questions during a stop that were not about the violation? For example, "where are you coming from or do you know why I pulled you over?"
Forgive me as I am not looking to argue, just wanting to have a conversation.
You were trained to get as much info as you could to get more out of a stop, were you not? I understand that in order to determine if a driver is loaded or comes from a bad area of town you gotta ask questions to get more information.
For what reason did you become an officer? If you were younger would you still go into law enforcement nowadays? What changes have you seen in the past few decades? Thank you so much for reading my comment. Again I mean you disrespect. I look forward to your kind reply. 😊
The irony of the cops being so desperate to arrest someone that they cause the entire case to be thrown out...
I’m currently attending police academy on week 4 and this is exactly what we are learning about currently, I’m going to try to get the instructor to show this to the class tomorrow!
FORCE them to teach you the amendments to the Constitution. All departments seems to either forget or don’t care.
Can you tell us any more about your training on the rights of people and the limits of your authority?
@@MalikEmmanuel I can tell you that as law enforcement the power we have is limited to arrest. We are not the judge, jury, or executioner… sometimes police have to make split second decisions that are critiqued by a panel of jurers that have months or even years to decide if police did what’s right but we only have split seconds to make the decisions..
Quit now
@@RickyLafleur10 quitters never win
Always record the police. If you can live stream it so if they take your phone away, it’s still out there.
This happens all the time, cops say they had some extra suspicion, smell pot, how do you pin them down to say they are making up the extra suspicion?
Ask them what pot smells like and whether they have had any training to distinguish the smell because you can bet that when pushed most LEO's wouldn't be able to tell Shit from Shinola which is why you have forensic labs to do drug tests.
And those crappy bags they use to do crush tests with drugs where they turn a certain color to say what the drug is are worthless as evidental court submissions, there are over 80 substances that affect them including some household cleaning agents.
cop: "I smell pot"
- "Maybe you shouldn't use pot at work, officer."
Why is why some states are now disallowing the "smell test" as evidence that a crime is afoot.
Don't roll down your window. You don't have to.
I love this channel and listen to it almost every day, keep it real!
Went to my niece's wedding in the state I had lived all my life, and recently moved out of after retirement. It was a holiday weekend. We stayed overnight and drove home the next morning. On the highway, a state trooper speeds up behind me in the middle lane. I put my blinker on, ( I knew the trick, they had tried it on me serveral times during my 50 plus years of driving), and pulled over. Of course he says I didn't use my blinker. It was obviously because of my out of state plates on a holiday weekend. I asked to see the dashcam footage, which he denied. So I said no problem, I'll get it through a FOIA, and since my license is squeaky clean, and I've been through this before, we will just go to court and show the dashcam. I wasn't being anything but matter of fact, and calm. He decided a warning was sufficient to save face. Road pirates.
Wow, thx. 😊👍
Good for you.
But does nothing to help the next guy.
Remember that saying starts with "all it takes for evil to prosper"?
@C Tom what do you want him to do?
I would have gotten his dash cam footage anyway and filed a complaint with internal affairs to add a black mark to his record.
@@stephengreen3566 Would you really? Most people have better things to do- I know I do.
I love your videos they are really educational and you explain everything thank you Steve
I'm glad Frost prevailed, it was an unlawful delay. That said, get meth out of your life, you've been given a pass, this time. Great lawyering Todd!
What surprises and dismays me is that the prosecutor, either didn't know that the case was on very shaky ground, or that they presumed the Judge wasn't smart enough to catch the problem, or perhaps they thought the Judge would be so pro police and prosecution that they would just drop the gavel and say guilty anyway.
I wouldn't want to be that prosecutor or even those cops in front of that judge again.
Most judges wouldn't do this, that is, the right thing.
It's actually better this way. A court has ruled on this, now, and the police department is aware. Some cases really should go to trial to make the point.
I've actually had a prosecutor tell me, "Well, if you were not guilty the officer wouldn't have issued you the ticket!" AND SHE WAS SERIOUS!!!
Incompetence is the new normal!
When 99% of DA's and judges go along with the police regardless of the evidence, Why wouldn't all DA's and cops think a judge would just go along with the game they play.
That prosecutor and those cops should instead face a different judge, one who lets them get away with this shit?
I've watched on other channels where they also explain that the police don't have to tell you why you were stopped but it doesn't hurt to ask. Sometimes they give you pure gold on the body cam you can use in court.
@@Bone89
Once you’re arrested, your vehicle is getting tossed. Maybe you don’t know, but they can arrest you and hold you for up to 48 hours without ever telling you why or reading you your rights. They are only required to do that before doing any questioning.
Fantastic job my friend 👍
You generally have the right to resist an unlawful arrest, but if the police don't have to tell you why you're being arrested, how can you possibly know whether the arrest is lawful?
In a general sense, this is a very common occurrence and tactic by the police. It's a practice taught in the police academy. Few people complain about extended stops by the police and the police just get away with it, time after time.
Depends on what the cops end up charging you with if anything. A serious charge like this stop is worth challenging. Another ticket or nothing people don't have time and money and challenge it.
As one cop said after a felony stop and my spending a few hours in the back of a police car. We make the mistake but you apologize.
" It's a practice taught in the police academy." I'm sure you can provide a citation for this.
@@claudiuspulcher2440 It is incredibly common and would suspect this to be true on general observation.
@@claudiuspulcher2440 Not really a citation, but literally every cop I've ever talked to about how to do the job. They are proud of it and love to brag about getting people "off the street".
Hi Steve, Former Cop and Deputy US Marshal here. Please tell Todd, Good Job>
Question: When we first moved to a different State and did not have new plates, we kept getting pulled over (always stupid reasons like driving too close to the roadside). Then when they saw a couple of old people in the car with everything in order, they tried to act all friendly and chitchat. My feeling is they target out-of-state license plates.
Yup. I've lived in this town for longer than the officer who pulled over my rental truck has been alive. He had some bogus number he claimed I had been speeding. The rental of course had out of State license. But when he saw I was a local he decided to let me go with a warning.
Of course they do there's no consequences for doing so. They write a BS ticket for an out of state vehicle, the driver has to either pay the fine or take his day in court and incur court fees (which are probably more expensive than just paying the fine) regardless of whether the ticket gets tossed or upheld. And that's not even accounting for the travel back to what ever podunk court the ticket was given to. Given the cost of gas here recently a $50 dollar BS speeding ticket (now $200 after court fees are tacked on) a state or 2 over is gonna be upwards of 200-300 in gas just to get there. And that's assuming you're case gets called that day. If it doesn't congratulations you've got additional gas and mileage or a hotel room to be paying for. Now your out a pay check or two. Potentially lost your job and or your apartment since fighting the ticket drained the little you had to spare. The Officer doesn't face consequences, the Court doesn't give a damn, and your stuck holding the bill any way you turn it. Isn't our justice system just GRAND! Personal opinion, out of state vehicles should be exempt from law enforcement action unless they're doing something egregious enough to warrant criminal charges. For example 10 or 20 over the speed limit on the interstate meh. But doing 100 in a 55 that's an issue. Or, if a ticket gets issued to an out of state vehicle, then the ticket must be given to the local court in the county the vehicle is registered in. And it must be done so free of charge!! The court system should not place the financial burden of fighting a government issued fine on the person who is being fined until they are found guilty by the local court. That would also go a long way towards getting rid of these BS tickets where window tint that is perfectly legal where the vehicle is registered gets a ticket for illegal tint the next state over.
They do.
Needs to be changed from Reasinable ARTICULABLE Suspicion to Reasonable ARTICULATED Suspicion.
i dont know if i have ever seen a video of yours i did not love. Your demeanor, information, and commentary are truly top tier. Thank you for your effort and all the work of those on your team.
"I mean that I have general suspicion of general criminal activity. This suspect exercised his rights so my suspicion was confirmed and gave me probable cause to search the vehicle. That was why I extended the traffic stop that I did not write a ticket for. This is the manner in which I have been trained, and the manner in which I train others."
It's amazing the information police try to use against you
Yep and they are allowed to lie to you as well.
Anybody really.
Read James Duane's THE RIGHT TO REMAIN INNOCENT. Don't talk to cops, period.
@@unbreakable7633 100%
More like astounding, but yeah.
Another great video.
Darn! I was 100% behind the person pulled over, until you said he vaped in front of the officer.
That is stupid in the simplest, and seemingly defiant, and asking for confrontation, at the best.
I still believe the officers were in the wrong, but the driver was a complete idiot!
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. I wish that applied to police too.
We wouldn't need cops if everyone obeyed the law. Cops are little more than a reflection of the society from where they came. If you think you can do better, step up.
@@jennifer9528 Or we could have high enough expectations of the police that they have to pass the decent human being test. And since traffic stops are one of the more common interactions I would expect the police to be well versed in such policies.
Really a nice thing to allow a officer of the law to not have to come up with a good reason for pulling you over / arresting you until they have to explain it in a court of law. Really takes the pressure off of those good officers to come up with some bs on the spot.
Wow, 1.7k views in 16 minutes. Well done lad!
Typical Steve Lehto.
You are one smart mo fo... keep up the good work 👍
You are very very VERY enlightening.
A 19 year old can possess a gun, but not a vape pipe. They can join the military and get killed, but can't vape. Something is wrong here. I thought pot was legal in Michigan. Is it for people over 21? How is a 19 year old adult a Juvenile?
Bill passed in 2019. You can thank trump for that one, because freedom or some crap
And what about 16 year old girls?
Pot was made illegal since the 1930 thanks to millionaires and lobbyists. Yet ppl keep voting for candidates who promise to give the top 1% of earners more tax cuts and refuse to close loopholes.
In Tennessee you are a juvenile un till age twenty two. When I was living with my adoptive parents I told my mother I was going to move out. She told me " I checked with my attorney, he told me I can make you live here and do what I tell you until you are twenty one, then I can throw you out." One of the reasons I hate the law.
@@gmamagillmore4812 pretty sure Mama lied to you. Unless you've been declared mentally unfit you can leave at 18.
What gives them the right to ask for id’s of the passengers. They committed no crime. These officers need more training or fired.
I've only ever heard criminals complain
@@listenhere1623 not so. If only a passenger, one need not ID. Guess you missed the old "right to be secure shall not be infringed" part?
@@katiekane5247 yes I know that I DONT CARE only criminals complain about it. Law abiding citizens know this isn't nazi Germany so it's ok to show a little ID nothing bad will happen for showing it unless you have a warrant. Quit protecting meth heads
No law says the police cannot ASK for ID or anything else.
End qualified immunity.
Maybe not end it but rather limit it.
@@patrickdurham8393 nope end it flat out, let teh cops face the legal repercussions of their actions without being able to pass the costs to the taxpayers. Qualified Immunity did not exist prior to 1974 and with good reason
Let's face it and this has always been a fact.. when you hit people in their pockets it matters until then. they're not going to change s***.
They're not going to be discipline no money is coming out of their pocket they're still going home at night to their family nothing changes in their life because you sued and a
taxpayer's have to pay.. I bet the cops even laugh at it and say that's not my problem
Until there are criminal, individual penalties, for violating rights, those violations will continue.
Earnest question:
1. It is claimed that no law requires an officer to explain RAS on the road side
2. Citizens are not required to obey unlawful orders
3. Orders are unlawful if not performed as proscribed by law.
Therefore: How can a Citizen be confident that a stop is occurring properly, and orders are lawful, if the officer has no duty to explain their reason for execution? That requirement seems implied, even if not explicitly stated.
Bravo to that defense attorney. Very thorough
Luckily they had the ability to get a lawyer who was willing to stand up to local L.E.Os.
The frequent use of the statement "a juvenile" without any other details.... To that cop, it's apparently very suspicious and not normal at all for a 19 Y.O. to have 17 Y.O. friends.
imagine
The horror!
The use of "a juvenile" is a reporting contrivance because they cannot be named and are not defendants. Based on this video, at least, we don't know how old the person was or what was their relation (or lack thereof)
To anyone in the vehicle, whose not the driver, you do not have to identify yourself to the police unless they probable cause that you have committed, are committing, or about to commit a crime. Anything else is just them fishing and trying to prolong the stop beyond a reasonable time.
Nice story about biking. It is good to break away from work for exercise. Interesting traffic stop. Very informative about extending the stop.
YES!!! A judge who knows and who applies the law.
This judge is like Big Foot or The Loch Ness Monster, rarely encountered!
This happened in a college town. I was pulled over and not ticketed several times when I attended in the mid 2000s for reasons like "rolling stop at a blinking red with no traffic at 2 am". Because it's a college town, they look for minor infractions to check for drunk/impaired drivers in this town far too often.
I don't have a problem with that.
They should have thrown it out.
As you soon Say NO, you can't search my vehicle... they're going to find a way to search your vehicle. 💯
The Occupant's should have refused being ID'd because they're not part of the stop.
I love your little anecdotes, like the one with Todd and your escapades with the bike. It reminds me other times. As the robot lady once said "In the past nostalgy was better".
This kid knows his rights... and he almost aced that stop. But lawyer hit a homerun in court! And officers violating rights is nothing new 🙃
Smart to refuse the search, not smart to argue the stop and pull out a vape pen. Could have probably saved himself a lot of aggravation...
@@claudiuspulcher2440 he can argue the stop all he wanted, arguing with the cop does not establish reasonable articulable suspicion, the cop got caught on a bullshit fishing expedition and he knew it, this is why dash cams are the best weapons against cops in the sad state of world affairs, the cop can't argue against an impartial witness
@TheDarkalkymist: you missed the point there, grasshopper.
Excellent dissertation. Thank you.
When are passengers going to realize that they are under no obligation to identify themselves??? If you don't use your rights you lose them.
I won't ever allow an officer to search my vehicle, because I know what happened in Jackson and Martin Counties in Florida, where deputies planted drugs in well over 400 total cars they had pulled over for minor traffic offenses!
Audit the Audit is excellent.
Has a nasty habit of rating officers well even when they're flagrantly in the wrong, and another habit of criticizing the people who had to deal with said cops to the point of nagging them about their phrasing.
You hit the nail on the head Steve, maybe unknowingly but you did! MOST PEOPLE don't wanna go through the pains and expenses it takes to fight things out in court...and POLICE prey on this very fact...and they are quite literally banking on it! Because they stand to make their Municipality, County, or State money either through the slave labor of incarceration or through fines! and this is the bottom line!
If the officer was just trying to make money he would have written the ticket for the original office of not using a signal.
And it IS expensive. However, if you have a good argument to get the case dismissed, it will likely save you a lot of money in the long run.
@@stephengreen3566 there is a crap ton more money made for a drug offence than a bs traffic violation. Years of probation, court costs, fines.... even the smallest infracrions end up in thousands of dollars paid to the city. But you are correct, its not just about money. Ego, hubris, ignorance and just being a crappy person play a huge roll too.
Police need to be educated on the Constitution.
And REASONABLE ARTICULATE SUSPICION!
We need a constitutional court where oath breakers are tried. Anyone found guilty is sentenced to death. Tree of liberty is mighty thirsty
They need to suffer appropriately serious punishment, including criminal prosecution, every single time that they choose to engage in an unlawful exercise of their authority. Every single time. If they aren't smart enough to learn what the limits on their authority is, they should not be empowered to act as law enforcement officials under any circumstances. Armed security with no arrest powers and specialized professionals that actually have training and expertise relevant to ALL of the duties their office is empowered to execute would be a much better situation. We have way too many stuffed shirts with guns on the dole, most of them need to get real jobs and the remainder need to unfvvk themselves
An honest judge with common sense. Your a rare gem sir, We appreciate you.
The thing that stands out to me on this is that one of the officers was a training officer teaching a new generation of cops to violate constitutional amendments.
In the weirdness of my life, I recall being pulled over by a state trooper back in the 80’s for speeding and it was just beginning to rain. He didn’t get out of his patrol car but told me over his PA to come back to his car and get in the passenger seat. I did, with my license. I don’t recall having to show proof of insurance or registration or anything else.
As I sat in his car, it started raining heavily so he wrote the ticket and said I could just sit there until the rain slacked up. We talked about hunting, fishing, sports cars (I drove a 1969 Chevelle SS 396 back then), and football. After about 10 to 15 minutes, the rain let up and I went back to my car. I drove away being careful to not spin my tires too much (very hard to do with a big-block engine on a wet road) and he gave me a quick wave before he returned to the road.
It was such a better world back then. 🙂
Yes it was a better world. I was attending school out of state and truly did forget about a ticket I received while home on recess (small town where the resume speed limit is past edge of town) When I remembered after returning to school I immediately mailed it but it was overdue. The JP had contacted my mom about why I had not paid the ticket and she paid it. My payment was returned with a note saying I owed my mom. I think it was $15 and the year 1975.
What a lazy cop. It's HIS job to approach you. Hiw dis he know you didn't have a firearm?
@@wlonsdale1 Because this was in the 80s in a rural area where people respected law enforcement and law enforcement respected the people. Even today in that area, he probably wouldn’t actually be in any danger if he was pulling over a local. However, he has to deal with the dregs of society from less civilized areas too so we lose.
People in that area often had shotguns or rifles in their vehicles. Cops had nothing to fear from them and they knew it. My cousin was a deputy there for 25+ years and he only pulled his pistol on another person 3 or 4 times during that entire time. He used it far more often putting an animal that had been injured out of its misery.
In a previous life, several decades ago, I was on probation for a valid reason. However, the police often used only the fact I was on probation as reason enough to stop, detain, question, frisk me, and search my car.
And probably continued to do so after your probation was over. Am I right?!?!
I think if people would realize that probation is a loosing proposition and just adds ongoing charges and keeps you in the system longer.... Just tell the judge you don't want probation that you will just serve your time and be done with the situation...
@@jth1699 I applaud the idea, however, the choice of 90 days behind bars + 5 years probation sounds a lot better than 5 years behind bars.
@@JesseHires For all too many people, who don't have the resources to make bail, taking a plea deal which includes probation is the quickest way out of jail. If you can't make bail, you can spend months in the county jail waiting for a trial.
@@russlehman2070 Agree. Have experienced both.
Acting Suspicious is not a crime. : )
If it was I'd be under the jail!
@@patrickdurham8393 My anger at traffic cops would put me there. I got my driver’s lic during the hippie movement and they pulled us over 2,3 or 4x a day.
@@davemi00 I was a "rich kid" in the 70's (grew up one town west of Steve actually). Cops knew better than to mess with us. They hung out on the Northside of town, pulling over "suspicious" ppl coming out of Pontiac, our cops were...racists.
@@jilbertb We were middle class and knew to stay out of Huntington Wds, Birm’ham and B’Fld Hills. They were voracious ticketers. Cheers.
To them acting suspicious is a crime
But Steve…if they do not have to tell us a reason then how do we determine if it is a lawful order?
Totality of the circumstances is not Law or probable cause.
You have to love a Lawyer who goes to bat for his client!!!
That's what they lawyer is supposed to do.
Thank god for a good ATTY and for an HONEST judge. I had a bad cop in cali in the town I grew up in, new cop had tranfered from another city and he arrested me 3 times in 6mo, if he saw me I went to jail 2-3 days each time, charges dropped etc, the cop told me maybe I should think of moving. so after growing up in that town I fiinally moved and havent been stopped since this started in 2011, Now when I go to visit friends I call the PD to see if he is on duty and shedule my visits around town accordingly. SAD days we live in :(
and u believe they gave u an HONEST answer ? i wood not trust them as far as i could pik-up & thro my house LMFAO
Woe heavy sh**
As the officer approaches the car, read his nametag and exclaim, "Officer Smith! We've been trying to contact you about your vehicle warranty."
If he doesn't just turn around and leave, you deserved the ticket.
Thanks for catching up with the case.
Steve, when the judge dismisses a case is there any way to have the plaintiff (P.D. Or the city/county) be required to pay the defendant’s court and attorney fees? Does this have to be requested at the time of dismissal?
Thanks for your entertaining and informative presentations.
Crime to posses a vape pen as an adult? Can we start putting legislators in prison too? Also an amendment to enshrine something close to "no victim, no crime" in the constitution?
lol
Gotta be 21 to be an "adult" in MI. Altho, you can vote and be drafted at 18.
Deprivation of life, liberty or property. Anything else is a civil matter.