Know your Rights

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

The following graphic can help all Americans avoid problems and protect their personal rights in any encounter with a police officer. You can click, save, and zoom for better reading, or simply click the link below the photo.

 

http://i39.tinypic.com/2nhqde8.png

 

Here is a link to the website that created the info-graphic:

 

http://www.online-paralegal-programs.com/legal-rights/

Edited January 3, 2014 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)

[Thomas Promise]

It is not safe to be right when the government is in the wrong.

[credzba]

One of my children was stopped for dui.

He was arrested.

 

After that, he and I both have read what people should do when interacting with police.

It is unfortunate that not knowing the proper behaviour can result in an arrest, but it is a fact in the country where we live.

Being innocent is not enough. There are many many incidents where people are detained or arrested for things that would not have happened had they known the law, and followed the proper procedures.

 

The web page provided dealt mostly with being pulled over, but there are similar instances with a police visit to your house.

 

Everyone thinks that because they obey the law, they have nothing to hide, so knowing and claiming your rights is a non-issue.

It is not true.

On a theoretical level, any right you don't claim, you loose. Thus, every time you allow your rights to be violated, you have freely given up that right.

On a more practical level, you may not KNOW you have done something illegal.

Perhaps you pull your back out, and a friend gives you some pain killers he had left over from when it happened to him.. How many years would you stay in jail, and afterward have a record of felony possession of a controlled substance ?

 

I am not an alarmist, or a civil rights fanatic, but I do believe with all my heart that each and every one of us has a duty to uphold the constitution, and the bill of rights.

 

Be respectful in all interactions with police, but know how to keep the rights given to you by the laws of our country, and ensure your rights are maintained for the good of everyone in this country. Its your civil duty.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

One of my children was stopped for dui.

He was arrested.

 

After that, he and I both have read what people should do when interacting with police.

It is unfortunate that not knowing the proper behaviour can result in an arrest, but it is a fact in the country where we live.

Being innocent is not enough. There are many many incidents where people are detained or arrested for things that would not have happened had they known the law, and followed the proper procedures.

 

The web page provided dealt mostly with being pulled over, but there are similar instances with a police visit to your house.

 

Everyone thinks that because they obey the law, they have nothing to hide, so knowing and claiming your rights is a non-issue.

It is not true.

On a theoretical level, any right you don't claim, you loose. Thus, every time you allow your rights to be violated, you have freely given up that right.

On a more practical level, you may not KNOW you have done something illegal.

Perhaps you pull your back out, and a friend gives you some pain killers he had left over from when it happened to him.. How many years would you stay in jail, and afterward have a record of felony possession of a controlled substance ?

 

I am not an alarmist, or a civil rights fanatic, but I do believe with all my heart that each and every one of us has a duty to uphold the constitution, and the bill of rights.

 

Be respectful in all interactions with police, but know how to keep the rights given to you by the laws of our country, and ensure your rights are maintained for the good of everyone in this country. Its your civil duty.

 

These days anything and everything you do is recorded forever and available to potential employers and private citizens. Any good lawyer will tell their client to NEVER EVER agree to answer questions and to reserve the right to cooperate, but be silent, and continually ask if they are being detained and whether they are free to leave. If not free to leave, then it's time to call a lawyer. There are thousands of cases where a citizen assumed they had nothing wrong and felt that they were safe talking to a policeman, only to quickly find themselves arrested and charged with something they didn't do. After months of fighting and thousands of dollars in legal fees, their case may be dropped or dismissed. But, there is no way to recover the money or the record of arrest.

Edited January 4, 2014 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)