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Yes. Police can, will, and often do lie; especially if it helps them make arrests. The rules regarding entrapment usually tip in favor of law-enforcement, so police won't hesitate to trick you into incriminating yourself or others...
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Videotaping or photographing police in public places is usually legal, so long as you don't interfere with their activities. Nonetheless, doing so will often get you arrested...
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Be aware that private security personnel outnumber police officers in the United States by three to one. As a result, you may be more likely to be confronted by a security guard than by a police officer. You must also be aware of the following places where security personnel (governmental or otherwise) are permitted to search you without a warrant...
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Unfortunately, many people get fooled by some version of this commonly used police officer's line: "Everything will be easier if you just cooperate". That's true to some extent -- it will make things much easier for the police officer who's trying to arrest you! -- but when it comes to you consenting to searches and answering incriminating questions, it couldn't be further from the truth...
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No. The courts have made it clear that police officers do not have to tell people that they can refuse to consent to a warrantless search. Also, contrary to the belief perpetuated by popular police television shows, a person will not be read their rights subsequent to being taken into custody. A person only needs to be Mirandized when...
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Your rights do not disappear if the officer threatens to call in the dogs, so don't let this all-too-common tactic intimidate you into consenting to a search. You have several options...
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In addition to compromising your safety and the safety of others, driving drunk is one of the stupidest things you can do, and one of the easiest ways to create overwhelming legal problems for yourself. DUI laws vary from state to state, and they have become increasingly harsh over the years...
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College students suffer from an unfortunate lack of privacy rights in many situations. The university owns the dorm, so school officials can often search rooms at their own discretion. College students still have 4th Amendment rights that apply in other situations...
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No. The Supreme Court has never ruled that police must present the warrant when performing a search. The purpose of the warrant is to...
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This is a tricky issue. The simple answer is that citizens who are minding their own business are not obligated to "show their papers" to police. In fact, there is no law requiring citizens to carry identification of any kind. Once you get passed the surface, however, things get much more complicated...
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No. We believe that most police officers are good, hardworking people who are doing a tough job. We need police to safeguard the life, liberty, and property of all people. To do this best, police officers should...
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Unfortunately, police may sometimes search you even if you refuse consent. If they find anything illegal, you'll have to get a lawyer and fight it out in court, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the search will hold up...
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During a legitimate traffic stop, police may order the driver and any passengers out of the vehicle. This rule is intended to protect officers' safety, but it's often used for investigatory purposes...
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Traffic stops typically occur as a result of suspected moving violations committed by the driver of the vehicle. Passengers cannot be held responsible for the driver's conduct and are generally free to leave, unless police become suspicious of them during the course of the stop...
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Simply put, the number of arrests an officer makes is a major factor used to determine his job performance. Police officers know that the easiest way to make arrests is to find people in possession of illegal drugs, so they want to search everyone they can find...
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Written by Janet Zink, St. Petersburg Times
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Sunday, 15 March 2009 00:00 |
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Advocates are urging the state to make it easier for felons to have their civil rights restored.
As Gov. Charlie Crist met last week with members of his Cabinet to consider requests from felons who want their civil rights restored, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition planned events throughout the state to call attention to what it says are problems with the process.
A report released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union, a member of the coalition, calls for Crist and the Cabinet, sitting as the Board of Executive Clemency, to change the rules.
Among other things, the coalition wants the state to stop requiring felons to pay restitution before winning back the right to vote.
''In a lot of states, people can vote even while incarcerated or on supervision,'' said Muslima Lewis, author of the report.
The report also calls for removing rights restoration as a requirement for getting a state-issued occupational license or job that requires state certification.
Crist issued an executive order in 2007 allowing civil rights restoration, including voting rights, for some nonviolent felons without having to plead their cases to the Executive Clemency Board.
''I am committed to ensuring that those who pay their debt to society have the opportunity to regain their right to choose our nation's leaders,'' Crist said in a statement released late Wednesday touting the changes.
More than 138,000 people have had their rights restored in the past two years, compared with about 83,000 in the 12 years before that. But the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition says hundreds of thousands of people are waiting.
Changing the rules of clemency requires support of the governor and two other members of the Executive Clemency Board.
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Comments
Recall the in-depth special report in the Herald: 10,000 convicted felons in Florida allowed to work as mortgage brokers.
You think we would learn?
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Why is it that if someone is imprisoned and they serve their time, they are still having to pay for it by not being allowed to vote or obtain an occupational license so that they can start their own business? Are they now supposed to pay for their crime for the rest of their life? This is one of the few things that Crist has done RIGHT.
Suppressing laughter as well as I possibly can, I have to tell you that I don't lose sleep over some CONVICTED felon not being able to vote...or anything else. There are many groups of people I care about. Convicted felons (knowing how many times they had to go through the system to end up with an actual CONVICTION on their record) are not one of the groups I care about. If you don't like it here, move to a more "enlightened" place.
20% of 5 million...That's only 1 million convicted felons in Florida who can't vote. No biggie. Move to CA or MA -- you'll love it there!
With the breadth of nonviolent crimes that are felonies under Florida law, that convicted felon could easily one day be your brother or sister, son or daughter, mother or father, best friend, or even you. And it only takes ONE time "through the system" to get a conviction on your record. Or you can skip the system and just plead guilty... Same difference.
I’m a native Floridian, and I like it here. Just think what this country would be if our founding fathers had your attitude?! There are two kinds of people in the world – those who see something wrong and do something about it, and those who say “that sucks” and just ignore it. When I see something that needs fixing, I stand up and fix it. You’re clearly the other type of person.
Laws preventing fully discharged ex-cons from voting are a backdoor version of gerrymandering. Florida and Texas are good at that. Gerrymandering is itself a crime, a felony if I'm not mistaken.