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N.C.G.S. 20-29:
Drivers Who Think They Are Smarter Than You
Vol. 1, Number 11
September 5, 2008
Brian Beasley
A Smart Driver and Legal Adviser, HPPD
In honor of the start of another NFL season, the HPPD Legal Office presents:
“YOU MAKE THE CALL” 1
Scenario: You are conducting stationary radar on the side of a street or highway here in the great city of High Point. You clock a vehicle traveling fifty-seven miles per hour in a thirty-five zone and fire up your blue lights and siren. The vehicle does not pull over immediately but travels on for a mile and a half before finally stopping.
You approach the car and see that it is occupied one time (only civilians say “there was one person in the car.”) You request the driver’s license and registration but in response, the driver simply opens his window just a crack and slides a laminated card through said crack into your waiting hand. The card reads as follows:
Dear public servant:
With all due respect to you, and no offense intended, I desire to inform you of the following: I am now exercising my Fifth Amendment right to “not” answer any questions that may incriminate me, and neither will I present any material evidence that may be used against me in a Court of Law. I do not “consent” to converse with you. Unless you are placing me under arrest, or can state specific facts which warrant your detaining me further, I now ask that you allow me to go about my business, as is my right as a United States’ citizen.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
YOU MAKE THE CALL!
If your answer involves a baton, asp, TASER, mag-light, flashlight, or firearm, or the words beat, strike, pummel, zap, shock, break, or the equivalent, report directly to the Internal Affairs office. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Read More
- For those who are too young to remember, in the days before the NFL season began with a rock concert, there were commercials that would present a real game scenario where something really crazy happened such as a running back fumbling the ball to a defensive lineman who then makes a lateral pass to a cornerback which is deflected by the quarterback into the hands of a linebacker who runs the wrong way into the end zone. A referee would then challenge you to “make the call.” After a brief pause for a Miller Lite “less filling, tastes great” commercial, the referee would come back on and tell you what the correct call was. For some reason, I lived for these – I think this was probably the beginning of my legal career as a 12 year old Redskins fan. But I digress… ↩
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