vision2020
RE: How much is that doggie sniffing my car...
At 07:17 PM 11/20/98 -0700, you wrote:
>I think whether the search is "unreasonable" is the very point in
>question. Without some legal or moral framework all we can do is
>exchange opinions about what seems reasonable to us.
Well, here's my framework. The authors of the constitution specifically
prohibited "unreasonable search and seizure" because they distrusted the
government. This means that I don't necessarily have to be guilty of
anything to distrust the government, and be concerned about "unreasonable
search and seizure." This quoted phrase, translated into more modern
lingo, could be rendered as "messing with unnecessarily." What is the Bob
Hoffmann interpretation of that? Without reasonable suspicion, I don't
think the police should have any powers beyond that of the ordinary citizen
(when speaking of search & seizure).
So, if I saw some guy walking through the mall parking lot peering into the
windows of every car, I would think that is unreasonable. I would think
that he is "messing with" the owners of those cars. If that guy likewise
took special measures to detect objects within the cars, that also would be
an intrusion. Maybe he takes special measures to detect precious metals,
cash, or gems. Maybe he takes special measures to detect whether the trunk
is full or empty. Maybe he takes special measures to detect drugs. Dogs
are special measures. They are specially trained for this type of work,
obviously because they have certain abilities that far surpass the
abilities of humans. This is my litmus test. It's one thing for a cop to
be walking his beat, and smell reefer smoke coming from a parked car, and
then investigate. He wasn't taking special measures, and he has reasonable
suspicion. The dog story is a case of special measures without reasonable
suspicion.
Slippery slope.... One day, they're having dogs sniff your car, the next
day, they're peering into your bedroom and bathroom with infrared sensors.
But you won't have anything to worry about if you're not comitting any
crimes on the toilet....
Robert Hoffmann 115 N. Jackson St., Suite D
Alt-Escape Adventures Moscow, ID 83843 USA
http://www.alt-escape.com Phone: (208) 883-0642
Fax: (208) 883-8545
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