No one can! Many adults believe they have the right to require a minor to answer questions, they're wrong!


* Police and probation officers DON'T have the legal right to order minors to answer questions.  

Your Rights At School

  Public school students have the First Amendment right to politically organize at school by passing out leaflets, holding meetings, publishing independent newspapers, putting up posters, etc., just so long as those activities do not disrupt classes or promote drug use. Students can be suspended or expelled from school only if they violate the law or disrupt school activities. You have the right to a hearing, with your parents and an attorney present, before being suspended or expelled.

  Students can have their backpacks and lockers searched by school officials at school if they have "reasonable suspicion" that you are involved in criminal activity, carrying drugs, weapons, etc. Reasonable suspicion means they have to have specific reasons to justify their search, but in reality that offers you minimal protections. Do not consent to the police or school officials searching your property, but do not physically resist or you may face criminal charges.

  Students can now be stopped and questioned by school officials at school even without reasonable suspicion, but not for reasons that are harassing or discriminatory. In other words, if you are not in class you can be stopped and questioned as to where you are going and why, but they should not stop and question you for engaging in legally protected political activity or because of your ethnicity or religion.
 

  To stop you a police officer must have a specific reason to suspect your involvement in a specific crime and should be able to tell you the reason. This is known as reasonable suspicion. Most times you are probably getting pulled over for a traffic violation such as speeding or maybe a tail light is out. Although the stop may seem wrong or unfair, the police believe they have a reason to stop you.  Throwing a cigarette butt out of your car window is a reason for the police to pull you over and ticket you for littering and to ask you all sorts of questions.

Rule #1 - Never talk to a police officer.  Keep your mouth shut! (You never have to answer any questions a police officer may ask, except for your name, address and date of birth.)

Rule #2 - Never talk to a police officer. Keep your mouth shut! (How can you be charged with something if you haven't said anything?) Remember anything you say or do will be used against you.

Rule #3 - "Am I Free to Go?" As soon as a police officer ask you a question, ask the police officer, "Am I Free to Go?"  If you are detained or arrested by a police officer, tell them that you are going to remain silent and that you would like to speak to a lawyer.

Rule #4 - Safety. Never bad-mouth a police officer. Stay calm and in control of your words, body language and your emotions. Always keep your hands where the police officer can see them. Don't run away and never touch a police officer!

Rule #5 - Refuse to Consent to Searches.  Just say NO to searches! Remember if the police didn't need your permission, they wouldn't be asking you. Never give permission to a police officer to search you, your car or your home. If a police officer does search you, don't resist!

Rule #6 - Ask for a Supervisor. If all else fails and you feel the police officer is abusing your rights, ask him to call his "supervisor" to your location.

Traffic Stops

  The police officer usually will ask you to show the usual documentation, such as your driver's license, registration and proof of insurance.  You don't have to open your window more than a crack to hand it to the police officer. If the police officer ask you to roll down your window so that he may speak to you, you may tell him that you have nothing to say to him and ask him "AM I FREE TO GO?"

 On traffic stops the police usually will ask you "personal" questions such as, where are you going, where have you been, who did you see, how long did you visit, ect.  At that point it's the perfect time to exercise your RIGHTS by asking the police officer, "AM I FREE TO GO?"  There is NO legal requirement that citizens provide information about their comings and goings to police officers!  Another words it's none of the police officers damn business! If you are ordered out of your car, lock the door behind you. 

  Staying silent will not hurt you.  Do not let the police persuade you to talk! The officer may not like this and challenge you with words like,  "If you have nothing to hide, why won't you speak to me?"  Just like the first question, you do not have to answer this second question either.  A police officer may tell you that staying quiet will make things worse for you or that they'll go easy on you if you talk them, but this is not true!

  You have every right NOT to talk to a police officer, and you shouldn't speak to them unless you have first consulted with a lawyer who has advised you differently.  Some police officers are worse than others and some of them may treat you differently if they think you "know your rights." The police depend on fear and intimidation to get what they want from you. 

 If you run into a really bad cop, talking back to him and standing up for your rights might get you beaten up or killed,  so be careful about the realistic limits of the law  and of your rights as an American.  Cops are perhaps the most dangerous members of our society,  so be careful when you talk to them.

 The Federal Supreme Court has ruled that as long as the police do not force an individual to do something, the individual is acting voluntarily, even if a normal person would feel very intimidated and would not reasonably feel they could say no.  See (Florida v. Bostick, 1991) If you do what a policeman tells you to do before you are arrested, you are 'voluntarily' complying with their 'requests.'

  Be as nice as possible, but stand firm on your rights!  Read the Fourth & Fifth Amendments

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS CANNOT BE SUSPENDED -- EVEN DURING A STATE OF EMERGENCY OR WARTIME !

Car Searches And Body Searches

Remember they wouldn't ask you if they didn't need your permission!

  A police officers swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and not to violate your rights against unreasonable search and seizure.   If a police officer ask or tries to search you, your home or your car,  say repeatedly "I DON'T CONSENT TO THIS SEARCH."

 "The right to be free from unreasonable searches is one of America's most precious First Liberties"

 You DON'T have to give consent to any law enforcement officer to search your vehicle or home. While you DON'T have to consent, bear in mind that the expectation of privacy in a car is less than the expectation of privacy in your home. Based in part on the lessened expectation of privacy in a car, law enforcement officers are permitted to conduct a warrantless search of a car if the officer has probable cause. "In most cases the police officer will lie and make up a probable cause."

  Just for being stopped for a traffic violation should not allow the officer to search your car;  however, if the officer saw you throw an empty beer can out the window, that may be sufficient probable cause to search your car.  If the officer "thinks" he smells marijuana as he approaches the car, he then may use that as probable cause to search you car. 

Police Pat Downs...

  The law allows police to pat down your outer clothing for the protection of the officer if you're being detained. The officer may only pat your outer clothing to see if you have any weapons. If the police officer feels something that could be a weapon, then the police officer can go into your pockets and pull out the item he thinks is a weapon. Otherwise a police officer CAN'T go through your pockets or tell you to empty your pockets. By law the only time a police officer may go through your pockets is if you're under arrest.

  To protect yourself make it clear that you "don't consent to a search" and ask the police officer why he is searching you. Remember the reason they give you. If they claim to have a warrant, ask to see it. Whether or not they have a warrant, you can protect your CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS by making it clear that you do not consent to a search.

 

If the Police Knock at Your Home-You Don't Have to Open the Door!

 If the police knock and ask to enter your home, you DON'T have to open the door unless they have a warrant signed by a judge.   Such an invitation not only gives the police officer the opportunity to look around for clues to your lifestyle, friends, reading material, etc;  but also tends to prolong the conversation.

 There is no law that says you have to open your door to a police officer. Don't open your door with the chain-lock on either, the police may shove their way in.  Simply shout to the police officers "I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY."

 If the police do have a search warrant, ask them to see it and make sure that it is signed, has the correct date, correct address, and apartment number, ect.

 * In some emergency situations (like when a person is screaming for help inside a home, when the police are chasing someone or if someone has called 911) officers are allowed to enter and search your home without a warrant.  

  Never agree to go to the police station for questioning. Simply say, "I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY." 

 

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