Replying to Think you know the law?

I see so many people on here talk about how you should know the law, otherwise you can get fucked by police.  so I decided to clarify things for people

hard evidence isn't important in misdemeanor crimes.  in court, its the cops word against yours.  I got busted for trespassing even though there was no evidence I was ever on the property.  my car was parked outside a state park.  that was evidence enough that I was on the property.  real life isn't like TV.  low crimes are processed like a machine, you aren't going to take them to trial because its not worth it.  make a deal with the prosecutor, and thats it.

security guards can actually hold you.  even though they have citizen's arrest powers, in reality there is a trust placed in them by police to carry out their duties.  try running from a security officer.  they will take you down.  I have seen it happen, and I've had one threaten to do it to me (I had done absolutely nothing wrong and I told him that, and said I wanted to leave the mall)  i have discussed this with a cop before.  you can sue the security company but you are unlikely to win unless they really hurt you.

try declining a search of your car.  cops aren't going to just respect your decision and rights as a citizen and go about their business.  declining a search means you are guilty, in their eyes.  sometimes you can decline it and theres nothing they can do.  but where I live, in virginia, if you decline they will bring in a k9 unit.  cops will often use queues to get the dog to bark, which allows them to search your vehicle.

I wrote this because I am tired of hearing people's naive misconceptions of reality.  this is real life, and if its obvious you are guilty, you;re guilty.  you aren't given the benefit of the doubt when you decline a search; that is to say, the officer is not going to believe you are just a smart citizen asserting your rights, they are going to believe you are hiding something, which you probably are.  knowledge of the law can help you, but don't believe that life is like law and order.


the way our justice system handles some kids getting busted with pot vs. a high profile murder case is entirely different.