Some students try to hide their illegal habits from the law. However, when a police officer asks to search for anything illegal they are busted. There is no way to stop an officer from looking through a car or a house. Or is there?
“First, every situation is different,” Attorney Don Pumphrey, Jr. said. “So my response is that ‘it depends.’ Generally, however, a person can always refuse to allow a law enforcement officer to search their person, personal objects, ‘things,’ cars and homes.”
A person can just say “no” to searches without a warrant. The Forth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. If a police officer asks for permission to search, a person is under no obligation to consent.
“However, you cannot forcefully keep an officer from conducting a search,” Pumphrey said. “You should always just say ‘no.'”
The only reason a cop is asking is because he doesn’t have enough evidence to search without consent. If a person consents to a search without a warrant, the search automatically becomes reasonable, legal, and can be used to convict the person. If someone does not consent to a search and the officer searches them anyway, then the lawyer can get the evidence thrown out in court.
A person can be convicted of possession if a controlled substance is in a place over which the person has control, or in a place where they concealed it, even if it is not theirs. A possession can also be if a person is in a car with someone who is in possession of a controlled substance: both can be charged with possession.
In any case, if someone is convicted of a violation of any subsection of the Florida Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, regarding possession and distribution of controlled substances, they will lose their driver’s license for two years. The other penalties depend on the kind and the amount of the possession.
The possession of a controlled substance even includes prescriptions not in a person’s name. This means the Adderall a person got from a friend to help them study is considered illegal. Police officers are not required by law to inform a person of their rights before asking to consent to a search. In addition, police officers are trained to use their authority to get people to consent to a search, and most people are predisposed to comply with any request a police officer makes.
A person is best off not answering any questions about his involvement in anything illegal. It would be smart to speak to a lawyer first. If a person does answer any of the officer’s questions, they should be honest because police are not easily tricked. Sometimes it is better to say nothing and not to consent to anything.
If the problem with the law is driving under the influence then there is little that a person can do.
Any person who operates a motor vehicle in the state of Florida is subject to the “implied consent law.” This means that by driving in Florida, people are consenting to sobriety tests. Because of the implied consent law, refusal to take a breath test will land a person a one-year license suspension the first time they refuse and 18 months the second time and the prosecutor can use the refusal against them at trial. So should a person submit or refuse?
“The field sobriety exercises in a DUI investigation are non-compulsory, so you can always refuse the Field Sobriety Exercise portion of the investigation,” Pumphrey said. “However, I cannot give advice on the breath test itself. I personally do not believe the Breath Test is a reliable machine.”
The BAC only needs to be .08 percent in order for a person to be considered “under the influence.” A person has 10 days from the day of the arrest to request an administrative hearing in order to prevent suspension of their driver’s license.
Possible sentences for a DUI could include jail time, a minimum six month driver’s license suspension, community service, probation, DUI school/alcohol evaluation and treatment, fines and court costs and/or mandatory 10 day vehicle impoundment.
Because of the many variables in an arrest for DUI, once someone has been arrested they should obtain legal help.
The best solution to getting caught with anything illegal is to not partake in it, but a person does have the right to say no.
The Web site www.flexyourrights.org gives tips of what to do in a situation where a police officer wants to search a home or vehicle. To learn more about the rights that people have, contact an attorney.
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