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2008 Sausage Report – Fall Edition

Vol. 1, Number 10
August 29, 2008 

Brian Beasley
Hot Dog (Eater) and Legal Adviser, HPPD

            “The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they will sleep at night.”  — German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck

            The State Legislature has been busy creating new laws and updating old ones.  The lawmakers attempted to regulate three big problem groups in NC:  sex offenders, gangs, and wildlife law violators from other states.  Here is a roundup of 2008 legislation that you need to know about: Read More

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Vehicle Searches:
Legal Question of the Week

Vol. 1, Number 9
August 22, 2008 

Brian Beasley
Vehicle Owner and
Legal Adviser, HPPD 

IMPORTANT NOTE!  THIS UPDATE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT DECIDED ARIZONA V. GANT IN APRIL OF 2009, WHICH TOOK AWAY THE RIGHT TO SEARCH A VEHICLE INCIDENT TO ARREST IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES.  PLEASE READ THE LEGAL UPDATE ON THAT CASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.  THE OTHER SEARCH JUSTIFICATIONS DISCUSSED HERE ARE STILL VALID. 

            We start with a sad note this week.  Reece Trimmer, who many of the veteran officers probably know from his time as a legal specialist at the Justice Academy, passed away at his home on Tuesday.  In addition to his work with the Justice Academy, Reece was the first police attorney for the Durham Police Department back in 1971 and also served as legal advisor to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office before retiring in 2004.  He had a quick wit, brilliant mind, and a great heart.  His funeral service will be Monday, August 25, at 1400 hours at the University Presbyterian Church on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

            I’ve had a few questions about vehicle searches lately, so it seemed like a good topic to review.  Automobiles are great – people carry around all kinds of illegal stuff in them and police have at least five ways to search them without a warrant.  This is a bad combination for criminal drivers, but only if you – the faithful law enforcement officer – know your stuff. Read More

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Crack House Customer Stops:
Legal Question of the Week

Vol. 1, Number 8
August 15, 2008 

Brian Beasley
Olympic Women’s Beach Volleyball Fan and Legal Adviser, HPPD 

            Before I get into this week’s topic, I feel I must address a situation that arose in our department this week.  Last week, the Legal Update team praised Officer Petula Sellars in these very pages, but new information has recently come to light.  Apparently enraged about losing the close vote for Officer of the Year to Detective Kevin Ray, Officer Sellars convinced Captain Williams to set up an exercise where she would be armed with a box cutter and “pretending” to stab our newly crowned Officer of the Year.

            Witnesses on the scene heard Sellars exclaim “I’m really going to cut you this time,” and saw her slice through Ray’s arm with the deadly weapon.  Ray shook the injury off as merely a flesh wound.  The whole incident was reportedly caught on videotape.

            Being the proactive police attorney, I attempted to contact the District Attorney’s Office today about pressing charges, but as you know, finding an Assistant DA in the office on a Friday is harder than beating Michael Phelps in the 200-meter butterfly. ¹

            Alright, now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, let’s get to our topic.  This legal update comes in response to some issues that have come up in court recently.  In fact, at least one District Court Judge sent word through our police liaison officer that this particular topic was causing some cases to get lost that would otherwise result in convictions.  The issue is vehicle or pedestrian stops of people leaving a known drug house. Read More

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Crimes Committed With Koozies¹:
Open Container Laws
Legal Question of the Week

Vol. 1, Number 7
August 8, 2008 

Brian Beasley
Sober Driver and Legal Adviser, HPPD 

            Special notice:  We’ve gone appendix crazy down here in the legal office – if you are growing weary of my limited sense of humor, do the following:

                        1.  Skip to the end.

                        2.  Read the last paragraph about checkpoints.

                        3.  Clip and save the appendix on open container laws.

                        4.  Go back to your regularly scheduled program.

            For the rest of you, let’s look at the surprisingly complicated world of open containers and automobiles. Read More