PSA - Casey Sussman aka Mars Cycles needs a hand...

[dustyrider]

Originally Posted by ORMojo

No.

There are three basic ways in which an officer has the authority to conduct vehicle searches after a traffic stop. The first is consent. Most often if a police officer wants to search your car, he will ask you if it's okay. There is no obligation to say yes. You, in fact, can remain silent and consent cannot be implied from silence. If you do say yes, however, the police officer has the authority to search your entire car.

The next possible justification for vehicle searches is reasonable suspicion. If the police officer thinks that you are concealing something dangerous or illegal, he is allowed to perform a search of the car. Depending upon your state, this search may include places like a locked glove compartment or the trunk of your car. All the officer needs is a hunch that your car may contain illegal contraband or dangerous weapons to conduct this search. Because a car is so mobile, courts have routinely upheld warrantless searches of vehicles under an exception to the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Lastly, if the police want to, they can put you in the back of their patrol car and wait for another officer to show up with a search warrant. By doing this, the officer has the right to do a very thorough search of your vehicle.

According to my youthful experience, this sounds about right. The procedures between misdemeanor and felony arrests are also different if memory serves.

Easiest thing to do is not have anything illegal on you and consent.
Yes sir/ma’am, no sir/ma’am. Take it from me, it could save your life! Who really cares about the money?

[Luwabra]

I couldn’t afford the frame anyway but a reimbursement of gummy’s in the donated amount would be a nice gesture

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by tommyrod74

I don't think anyone is saying that one should be able to disregard the law without consequence.



I think (and agree) that some are saying that the consequences in this case far outweigh the transgression (and in many states it's not even a transgression in the first place).



A freaking pound of actual weed shouldn't be punishable by 1-5 years, much less what this guy did.

As the situation is written I agree too.

It seems mis aligned

As for the law there's a lot of laws I don't agree with. But the law is still the law.

[seanile]

I think if you're going to partake in something that is nationally murky in its legality, and it's a pretty well-known fact that transporting federally illegal drugs across state lines is a bad idea, then you should make an effort to know the rules and mitigate your risk.
The same goes with firearms. You can have a license to conceal in Massachusetts, but don't you dare travel to New York without using that state at most as a pitstop to traveling beyond it. Lock it up, and gas and sleep, thats it.
I one hundred percent agree that the legal ramifications of this act are above and beyond reasonable, but it isn't something that I would expect someone would so easily disregard/forget as a concern when deciding to travel across the country...

[false_Aest]

While folks are talking about how ridiculous (or not) the punishments might be or how big of an idiot this dude is (yeah, he's a huge effin idiot) there's a kid worried about his dad going to jail.

"Incarceration and school-age children. School-age children of incarcerated parents exhibit school-related problems and problems with peer relationships. Sack et al. (1976) reported that over 50% of the children of incarcerated parents had school problems, such as poor grades or instances of aggression, albeit many of these problems were temporary. Among the younger children (6-8 years old) in the Sack et al. (1987) study, 16% exhibited transient school phobias and were unwilling to go to school for a 4-6week period after their parent's incarceration. In another report, Stanton (1980) found even higher rates of school problems: 70% of 166 children of incarcerated mothers showed poor academic performance and 5% exhibited classroom behavior problems. Another school-based problem is that children are sometimes teased or ostracized by other children as a result of their parent's incarceration (Jose-Kampfner, 1991). As Reid and Eddy (this volume) note, as children reach adolescence, suspension and dropout rates are higher for these children (Trice, 1997)."

What's a few bucks?
2 lattes?
5 Cliff Bars?
1 pair of Swiftwick socks?
An inner tube?

[Peter P.]

I'm with those that said he made multiple stupid decisions (speeding AND possession), so he owns it.

However, if he REALLY had a medical prescription for THC and can prove it, I'll bet the court will likely not push for jail time, or he can plea guilty to a lesser charge. But that requires a lawyer. Let's hope he can make a smart decision and hire a lawyer to walk him through the process.

And I've gotta be stoned myself if I'm gonna GIVE someone money to defend their multiple bad decisions.

[d_douglas]

Weird - in BC there is a medi-Juana shop on every corner. Our fave sushi restaurant shares a parking lot with one and my kids always ask to go in because it is so busy - they assume something fun must be going on!

Sounds like a ridiculous situation he’s put himself in - overzealous police and bad decisions. I wish him well and hope the whole stupid situation is dropped.

Don’t police have better things to do? Community policing? Anti bullying talks at schools?

[bking]

I think too often these days cops are getting a bad rap. Not to say there aren't some bad ones, I'm sure there are. I have generally found almost all are pretty reasonable, until pushed. A good friend of mine ran the homicide division in our town, he told me the worst job in the world is traffic cop: everyone lies to you; all day long. It's a job I'd never want; I'm grateful someone does.

Also, seems to me 5k for a 20k bond, and another 5k for legal help for this charge is pretty steep. If you know him, help him find a better bond rate at least.

[Vientomas]

A friend told me one of his maxims: "Never break more than one law at a time."

For example - If you have contraband in your vehicle...don't speed.

If you follow the maxim, the likelihood of significant negative consequences diminishes dramatically. It's the multiple offenses that kill ya.

[Tony]

Yea, this dude wasn't thinking, and most likely more to this story and why there was a need for a search. Responsible thinking will keep you free from choices that lead to these painful consequences. Donating money for his poor decisions is also not responsible thinking, a least for me.

[m4rk540]

This thread is making me wonder if I've forgotten which states were part of the Confederacy and which ones are considered "fly over" states.

America is a big country.

[happycampyer]

Not sure why this story reminds me of this scene:

https://youtu.be/ljfdg3mPcvY

[soulspinner]

When he shows up, make sure he has the prescription with him. It might help, who knows who out there is sympathetic in Penn legal system.

[ldamelio]

By way of background, I don't know the man and generally favor the legalization of marijuana although I don't use it myself. And most importantly, none of us here can credibly take sides as we weren't there. There certainly are rogue cops and speed traps, or maybe there were circumstances he didn't post that merited probable cause by a prudent LEO.

I have one thing to add to the conversation. I would take a very, very dim view of him if he was driving while using. IF (please note the capitals) that contributed to the magnitude of the offense, it's a whole different ball game. In that case, glad to have him off the roads that my wide and kids drive.

[flydhest]

Originally Posted by bking

I think too often these days cops are getting a bad rap. Not to say there aren't some bad ones, I'm sure there are. I have generally found almost all are pretty reasonable, until pushed. A good friend of mine ran the homicide division in our town, he told me the worst job in the world is traffic cop: everyone lies to you; all day long. It's a job I'd never want; I'm grateful someone does.

.

In response to this post and an earlier that said if you aren’t doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about, I beg to differ. Next door neighbor growing up was a cop and is part of the family. I know and respect a lot of cops. That said, as a black man in America my personal experience is quite different and the empirical evidence is quite compellingly consistent with my experience.

Not necessarily relevant for the case at hand if I have read all the posts correctly and they are accurate, but the perpetuation if the myth that “just mind your business and you are fine” pushed me to comment.