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Question for all you law savvy potheads

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SacAttack
Posts: 168 - Karma: 10
my friend just got arrested in virginia at a scenic overlook. A narcotics agent, not a cop, walked up to his car when he and his friend were outside of it and told my friend "that looks like a one hitter" and my friend told him it was a cig. the narc said he would impound the car if he didnt let him in so he did and then the narc handcuffed him and brought him to the station for finger prints and mug shots even though all he had was a gram of weed.

my question is was everything here legit? If terrorists nuked virginia i dont think i would give a fuck because of shit like this,  Virginia is like the midget little sister of washington dc with a napolean complex..  Virginia thinks that it is special cause it gets hooked up by dc. Its not. Enough about virgina. Is their anything my friend could do to get his prints and mugshot thrown out along with the case against him?
Jan 6 2010 5:17PM
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shrEddie
Posts: 5117 - Karma: 65
dont bad mouth virginia
Jan 6 2010 5:20PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
your friend, if everything you said is true, has a good chance of getting off with out any repercussion. However this would require him getting a lawyer, going to court, and spend a lot of time fighting the charges. If he goes and talks to the DA he will be offered a plea deal and do some community service and other shit. Then he can get it expunged later.
Jan 6 2010 5:22PM
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artfullydodged
Posts: 8358 - Karma: 1,674
idk usually you can say "i dont consent to any searches" and they basically have to leave you alone, but in this case it sounds like the narcotics guy may have had a legit reason to search his car/person
Jan 6 2010 5:22PM
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.travis.
Posts: 1737 - Karma: 46
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yqMjMPlXzdA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yqMjMPlXzdA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>


that probably wont work but your friend should not have let him in the car

Jan 6 2010 5:23PM
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ski8990
Posts: 5961 - Karma: 19
Should not have let him in. There is no way he is going to successfully impound the dudes car cause he has a hunch that the dude might be taking a hit of weed. Don't know what you can do now, but fuck that "narcotics agent." What a joke of a human. Who does that?
Jan 6 2010 5:25PM
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bstuck1
Posts: 426 - Karma: 46
As big of dick move as it was it sounds like everything was done legally. You have few to no rights when it comes to your car. There is a reduced expectation of privacy as designated by the courts. Random stop and searches are not legal, but since they were already stopped and he spotted paraphernalia your friends don't really have a case.
Jan 6 2010 5:25PM
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SacAttack
Posts: 168 - Karma: 10
yeah i kinda thought the same thing
Jan 6 2010 5:26PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51652 - Karma: 162,333
Cops/narcs are dicks. Never give up your rights for any bullshit like that. First off know your rights. He's probably going to get a upm.

I know in virginia or tenn, on the way to bonnaroo a few kids got pulled over, and the cops said we know you have weed. If you give it to us, well take it and let you go, then they arrested them and those cases got thrown out.
Jan 6 2010 5:28PM
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SacAttack
Posts: 168 - Karma: 10
and 10 karma for you amigo
Jan 6 2010 5:28PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51652 - Karma: 162,333
not true
Jan 6 2010 5:32PM
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Shredneck
Posts: 2051 - Karma: -32
If he saw the one hitter that gives him probable cause to search the entire vehicle. You didn;t have to give him consent to search, he didn't need it.
Jan 6 2010 5:37PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
Actually completely true.
Jan 6 2010 5:38PM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63
in michigan you can deny their request to search your vehicle

then they will detain you in their police car

have a drug dog come and they will say the drug dog found something. then they will use that as grounds to search your CAR

Not your person

You cannot use drug dogs on humans in the state of michigan.

since he saw the pipe he had reasonable cause to search and detain your vehicle as per michigan standards.


and you guys are SOL

bottom line, you get caught with your car stankin like weed and you have paraphernalia on ya you better hope it can fit in your boxer briefs and the cop doesn't see you put it there. then you have about an hours worth of discussion with the cop about how your car reeks like weed.

and your reply is...am i being detained? and when he says yes, you say, i reserve the right to remain silent and will await an attorney.


thats all you say.
Jan 6 2010 7:32PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 171
this
Jan 6 2010 7:42PM
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BootySpunk.
Posts: 8148 - Karma: 84
You are fucked...Next time be a little more secretive when smoking.
Jan 6 2010 7:42PM
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killabees
Posts: 8558 - Karma: 494
thats a shitty situation. that cop is a dick for lookin around in kids cars. but to the kid that likes to talk about michagan, in MA they will be like hand us your weed and your on your way(you may get a ticket, you may not). its nice here, no cali/colorado/maine/hawaii but its simpler times here
Jan 6 2010 7:45PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
he said it looks like a one hitter, i think it needs to be more blatant then that. if it was just a cig, would that have been probable cause? can any cop say a cig looks like a one hitter and search the vehicle?

i think the cop knew this was not probable cause, and had to use the threat of impounding the car to get the kid to consent

which brings me to my final point, he does not have a chance. it was deceiving but your friend did after all consent to a search, no matter how wrong it seems, which makes none of the evidence found admissible in a court of law. if all along he was stating that he did not consent to any searches then the search would have been unconstitutional and he would have had a much better chance of appealing this, unfortunately he did consent and let the LEO into his car

dont take my word for all this, i have not taken any courses on law, and am only a sophmore in highschool

im just quoting you because i first read the initial comment when i saw you quote it
Jan 6 2010 7:50PM
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wintersway
Posts: 5115 - Karma: 128
ILLEGAL

if true...
Jan 6 2010 8:19PM
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DDrem.
Posts: 3552 - Karma: 24
.
its youre fault for being dumb. i yield you no sympathy
Jan 6 2010 8:28PM
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jibbinc.
Posts: 3355 - Karma: 2,497
Im so glad i live in BC
Jan 6 2010 8:29PM
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An10a_Eng
Posts: 2505 - Karma: 26
you wouldnt care if virginia got nuked because they arrest you for breaking the law there? and what the fuck are you talking about they think theyre special because of DC? your an idiot dude
Jan 6 2010 8:30PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
Unfortunately, this is correct. Courts have found that objects falling in the "plain view" of an officer who has a right to be in the position to have that view are subject to seizure without a warrant. See Texas v Brown; Washington v Chrisman; US v Santana; Harris v US; Ker v US. These few cases barely scratch the surface of the number of cases setting precedent in this area.

Your friend's best bet is going to be to hire an attorney and try to get the D.A. to agree to a plea deal. Your friend will probably want to go to drug counseling before the court case as a "good faith" measure. The DA is going to be a lot more likely to work with you if you truly seem "remorseful".

Hate to be the bearer of bad news...
Jan 6 2010 8:50PM
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max...
Posts: 1379 - Karma: 802
ummm....i'm pretty sure DC is like 1/9999th of the size of virginia...
Jan 6 2010 8:57PM
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SacAttack
Posts: 168 - Karma: 10
they threw the case out because the judge said it was an illegal search
Mar 2 2010 1:14PM
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bhill2.0
Posts: 6573 - Karma: 197
its to keep tourists like you out
Mar 2 2010 1:47PM
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