The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 20, 2000, Image 3

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    /ednesday, SeptembeJ
Wednesday, September 20, 2000
anes on
rsity Drivi
irarily clot
ht westbound
Drive from
Nagle Street
night, leaving
i to traffic, to
2-inch water vate.
oe begin at 10p-
lould be complei:!
sday.
ty of College $• *B l,exas Ac&M students spend millions of
?r service will^ ‘I dollars each year learning about every-
luring the repairsi P thing from astronomy to zoology, but
lot expect anyone, ff w know their rights in a traffic stop,
ater during tfiati- : College students are pulled over and ar-
the repairs vested daily, but one can only wonder how
II be closed frtr »any of those arrests would not have taken
ive to Church Sirs pl ace if the arrested students had known their
me experienceskBethts. A f ew simple questions posed to a law
i water service I ei forcement officer may be able to help stu-
of the repairs, CcT#-' nls av oid problems,
tation Utility Dis
AGGIE/[-A
Page
3A
THE BATTALION
YOU HAVE tH£
KM GMT
Pearls of wisdom from the
mouths of legal professionals.
“Just be polite and cooperate with the of
ficer,” Powell said. “But remember, students
have the right to remain silent. Sometimes
people can just talk themselves out of a prob
lem. but there is always the right to say noth
ing. People have to provide the officer with
insurance and driver’s license, but they do
not have to say anything else. Even if a per
son gets arrested, it is probably best to just
go along with the officer and then call a
lawyer as soon as possible.”
orrection
Jay's "TAPS?
nentor prc
ated that
in its first yea/
Can a police officer pull me over for
no reason?
No, but if police officers are suspicious of
a particular person or vehicle, they may fol-
■mr that person and wait for a reason to pull
him or her over.
Police officers are required to have “prob-
i to new statable cause” before they pull anyone over,
members, il However. Bob Wiatt. director of the Uni-
iroqram P°^ ce Department (UPD). said prob-
. fable cause can mean many different things,
it IS OpenJiw|H “An officer will pull a car over if it has an
irst time thisyiJxpired registration or inspection sticker,"
•pen to all statl# ' att said. “If the car has a broken tail light
v memhprc d ^e driving is erratic, or at night if the
■ Inver does not turn his lights down in the
open W;,|l®ice of oncoming traffic, the officer can pull
?rs - : j§ ■ ear over.”
I Bruce L. Erratt, a local criminal attorney,
iBaid these kinds of traffic stops happen all
larification r the time, but people only hear about them on
IHhe rare occurrences when they result in an
. , T .Mrrest.
3a V 5 iSU “Stops and searches like that usually hap-
e graphic#)0tjpen when the police see a vehicle they sus-
ie departnwft tf]lP ect °f carrying drugs,” Erratt said. “The
oass theftm. N ' hi " g ,hc P 01 ^ 0lo< ' k , t ' 0, ' a
. pull the car over and make contact with the
irtmentSVM people in it. A lot of time this happens he
rn the adnwit cause of a license plate light. 1 have never
nance and sti ' ^card of someone getting a ticket for having
jj • • a license plate light out. but many people
5 0 end up getting arrested for bigger charges
be cause of that.”
ent rule, in which- j
their high school®
on into a publicur|
sMon embraces* | f | get p U || e( | ouer w h a t do I have
,y race. Jensens** , tO tell the otfker?
2 gi\ en a pnvileM when a car is p U ,j et j over wjatt sai( j t{ie
unate race in the j ,j r j ver must p r0V i(ie the officer with proof
tions of attirmati'l 0 f insurance and a driver's license
estions that cthchjg “When an officer pulls a car over, he will
anatfluent,educa^G- sl approach the car and identify himself as
alive action impalaholiee officer,” Wiatt said. “Then he will tell
rican-Americanaphe driver why he has been pulled over and
hor once gaveavfjap f or a license and insurance. The driver
t the joy and thei|nj us t provide both. If the driver does not pro
’s what 1 think «H| t lc those, depending on the driver’s next ac-
e." tions, it could result in a ticket or they could
elen go to jail.”
Rick Powell, students’ attorney for Student
• Cf. Ccdlict Resolution Services atA&M, ,said the
m g OlUQv |3 esl thing for a student to remember is to be
polite and obey the officer’s commands.
Can a police officer make me take a
sobriety test?
Yes, a citizen must perform field sobriety
tests and accede to a Breathalyzer or blood
test for alcohol if the officer
orders it.
A police officer is entitled to ask some
one who is pulled over to perform sobriety
tests, and that person cannot refuse, Wiatt
said. The first step is field tests, when the of
ficer will ask the suspect to walk a straight
line or touch a finger to his or her nose or
something similar. If the officer believes the
person is drunk, the officer can make him or
her take a Breathalyzer or go to the hospital
for blood tests.
Can l get arrested for insulting a
police officer?
Yes, if there is a witness who will testify
that he or she is offended by the insult.
Wiatt said the law assumes that a police
officer cannot be offended, so a person can
not be arrested for insulting one. However,
Wiatt said, if there are other people present,
the police officer can ask them if they are of
fended by the insulting words or gestures. If
the people say that they are, Wiatt said, the
police officer can arrest the insulting citizen
for disorderly conduct.
Will l get arrested if I have a fake
l.D. when l get pulled over?
Yes.
Powell said that many students who are
arrested on campus and in the community
are arrested for having fake I.D.s.
“The best advice I can give students is to
cut up their fake I.D.s,” Powell said. “The
police are under a lot of pressure to cut
down the underage drinking in the com
munity, so they are getting less tolerant
of fake I.D.s. Officers will ask for a dri
ver's license now to see if a student has a
fake or altered l.D. It is a Class-B misde
meanor to carry one. The best thing to
do is not to give them a reason to pull
you over.”
Can a police officer search my car?
Yes, a search can be done without permis
sion if the officer obtains a search warrant or
if there is an illegal item in plain view inside
the car.
Wiatt said a police officer can search any
car pulled over if the driver consents. How
ever, the officer cannot search the car simply
because it looks suspicious.
“The officer can get a search warrant if
the driver refuses to allow a search,” Wiatt
said. “But there are tiines when an officer
does not need a warrant. For instance, if the
officer sees that the driver is obviously 17
years old and there is a bottle of Jack Daniel’s
sitting in the back seat, the officer can seize
the bottle without permission. If the driver is
arrested, the car can be impounded until a
warrant is received to search it. An officer
can also search a car on'the basis of ‘fruits of
the crime.' This means that if the police just
had a report of a car stereo being stolen and
the car has a stereo in it with wires hanging
out, the officer can search the car.”
Erratt said that, while these are all legal
reasons to search a vehicle, many times they
prove to be insufficient reasons in court. Er
ratt said these “gray area” searches occur on
a fairly regular basis in Bryan and College
Station, but this community is no worse than
any other in that regard.
“A lot of it is subjective,” Erratt said.
“Many of those searches, later in court the
officer testifies as to his reason for searching
the vehicle, and the judge does not believe
the officer had probable cause, so that evi
dence is suppressed.”
How do I know when I need a lawyer?
Anytime a person is arrested for anything
more serious than a traffic offense, they
should contact a lawyer.
Erratt said there are many times when
people simply do not contact lawyers be
cause they.do not know they should. No one
should hesitate to call a lawyer if they are ar
rested for anything more serious than a traf
fic offense, Erratt said. Most people simply
do not know enough about the law to deal
with prosecutors, so an attorney is a necessi
ty, he said.
"Most people are at a great disadvantage
when dealing with the police and prosecut
ing attorney,” Erratt said. “Someone who
has been arrested never knows exactly
what they have or whether they are
telling the truth. They may tell a sus
pect that the deal they are taking is
great, but it may only be a great deal for
the prosecutor. If a person is arrested for
anything greater than a traffic offense, they
should contact a lawyer as soon as possi
ble. Many times people contact me, and it
is just too late.”
, ?
•OA^ S
1
tm
I
mUWkM ^Si
Will the university take action
against me if I am arrested?
Yes, for offenses on campus, penalties
could range from a verbal reprimand to sus
pension or expulsion from the
University.
Powell said students charged by the
UPD for offenses more serious than traffic
violations have to go through hearings with
Student Judicial Services in addition to their
court obligations. The degree of the crime,
Powell said, and the student’s prior record
determine the punishment.
Story by Jason Bennyhoff
Photo Illustration by Patric
Schneider
Headline Graphic by Brandon
Henderson
low available!
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hrist
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