​Pennsylvania to allow police to search cars without a warrant

Liberty Bell, Independence Bell, Philadelphia

New state slogan, "We were just kidding"

Shouldn't the people be allowed to search police cars any time, just to make sure all is on the up and up.

originally posted by: qwerty12345
Wow, so sad, how America is turning out to be. Why would any Supreme Court judge decide against their oath they swore to uphold of the constitution?

Oh, don't you realize, the Constitution is "living." The united states supreme court judges (intentionally lowered case since they cannot even call themselves judges) can cater the Constitution to mean whatever they want, and the same thing with any other judge (but the supreme court has the final say in what the Constitution actually means).

So, you are wrong, the supreme court judges in this case are upholding their duty to the constitution, they simply change it to mean what they do and/or say.

a reply to: iosolomon

After studying the US Supreme Court rulings in favor of Monsanto vs the Small Farmers over the unintentional cross polinization, I realized that the people of the US have lost, maybe just for now, maybe forever.


Everyday that passes is a day closer to being an ex-Pat. I have lost faith in the USA.

The Bill of Rights are being shredded in front of us and many are unknowingly cheering it on.

a reply to: jrod

Everyday that passes is a day closer to being an ex-Pat. I have lost faith in the USA.

I have lost faith in the united states of america as well. However, I have NOT lost faith in We the People. We just form our own government to make the United States of America. I don't know what country Obama thinks he's running, but it isn't the United States of America.

After studying the US Supreme Court rulings in favor of Monsanto vs the Small Farmers over the unintentional cross polinization, I realized that the people of the US have lost, maybe just for now, maybe forever.

The Bill of Rights is being shredded in front of us and many are unknowingly cheering it on.

Lol, after reading this, though, I think I have lost faith in We the People. Americans are just so damn foolish that they should get what they deserve. It's going to be a glorious day when this farce of a country falls apart, and the people are running around like lost sheep, realizing all too late the errors of their ways. But hey, can't say I didn't warn you.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

To me its the same as its always been. They could always search without a warrant for "probable cause"...and they would/could trump up any crazy reason to say they had it. In that sense...its no different. If a cop wants to pull you out and search your car...all he has to do is say the brush handle or comb sticking out of the seat...he thought was a gun.

I dont know about the warrant thing...but here where I live...they never have one...jsut the probable cause thing. As at matter of fact...its always been without a warrant during traffic stops. They get you out "for their safety"...and then they go through your cars anyway.

PS Yes...it all sucks. But they do it....

I was driving cross country and while in the south (Alabama or Arkansas?) there was a repeated "public service announcement" on the radio that stated that by driving on the roads in that state you have given your consent to be searched.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

every day losing rights more

originally posted by: alienjuggalo
Cops in Pennsylvania can now search your car without a warrant,

In this day and age, it's exactly what stressed out police officer needs!!!
Next up, police can take a DNA tests for a busted tail light!

a reply to: alienjuggalo

really this suprises you . the oplice are not there to protect and serve any more now they are a communities way to generate income for their local goverment through tickets and fines. there is a little town right off highway 17 in nc everythey their police force is not to be found patroling their streets but instead is found on us 17 pulling people over and giving out traffic cittations they have even followed people 5 miles into the next county violating their juridiction to give out tickets . if we had that hidden compartment law here i wonder how long till that little town would wait before selling seized autos on its new car lot

You CANNOT give such discretion to someone with no oversight or consequences for when they make mistakes. A law like this should not exist first of all, but if it did, and it was shown that the cop was wrong, they should be punished, possibly losing their job. Why? Because that shows that their probable cause could have been bogus. Police officers forget that their true interest is to protect and serve the people. Treating everyone like a criminal is not the way to do this.

And it has been proven time and time again that cops will lie, especially to cover their butts. And their colleagues will lie for them. No oversight. There needs to be an independent group who is not attached or "friendly" with these people in any way, who judges their actions based solely on common sense and evidence. Something needs to be done to reign in cops who abuse their authority.

I mean think about it like this: this is a violation of privacy if there truly was not any probable cause. Do we really want to leave whether or not to invade someone's privacy up to ONE person? Sure, judges have such authority, but they are supposed to be bound by certain laws, and what they do will be scrutinized and there can be consequences for blatantly wrong actions or illegal actions. But leaving something up to the discretion of a single person, a person who has minimal training and may have little to no experience, is going too far. Especially considering they could be the only person there, so why wouldn't they lie to cover themselves, if the person whose rights were violated cannot prove that such a thing occurred?

Probable cause is not proof. Probable cause needs no evidence. Sure, a cop might have no probable cause, yet say he did to justify his actions, and let's say he uncovers a crime because he broke the law and found something when he did not have the authority to search in the first place. Just because a crime was committed in that particular instance does not justify all of the times that their "probable cause" turned up no evidence. It is much better to let the people keep their right to privacy than to search everyone so that a minority of the time something illegal can be uncovered.

Cops should have strict rules and regulations to follow. If they see the law being broken, then they can act. But probable cause is a sort of blanket reason for letting them do what they want. If they are going to act based on probable cause then there needs to be STRICT guidelines as to what is probable cause, and then they should document it. They need to make cops wear cameras on their persons, and they should NEVER be allowed to turn them off, nor the ones on their vehicles. Or they should be made to turn them on whenever they have a confrontation of any kind with anyone while on duty.

This will protect not only the citizenry, but the cops as well in some instances. That seems to me to be the best solution. And like I said, there needs to extremely strict rules regarding probable cause, and if the cops cameras or other evidence shows that he truly did not follow the law, and have probable cause, then there should be strict consequences. I mean there are apparently cops who do not realize just how serious it is to violate someone's rights. IMO that is something you should go to prison for for a very long time.

To me that is much more serious than some of the crimes they lock people up for. How is it not serious when our entire country is founded on rights for the people? It is the backbone of our system. And another thing that needs to be done is this: regulations should be passed that tell cops what they are allowed to do. If it is not included, then they should not be allowed to do it. But some of them don't obey the law anyway. They think they are above it because they are tasked with enforcing it. Some people should not be allowed to have power over others of any kind, because they will abuse it. I am not saying all police officers are this way, but many are. Some are probably much worse than others, like the ones who take bribes and all that, but like I said, violating the rights of anyone should not occur. For instance, take the Rodney King thing. Those police officers suffered no repercussions for violating that man's rights.

Under no circumstances are actions like those justifiable. Force is ONLY supposed to be used in the degree necessary to subdue a suspect. My point is that rarely are cops subject to the same legal system as you or I.

originally posted by: trollz
Well, there we go. We all knew it would happen someday, and that day has come. We just crossed that line that should have never been crossed. The United States can no longer be considered a free country.

Land of the free was a country that was fought for. Most of the patriots, protectors and lovers of this country and what she used to stand fo, are dead or dying.

Our freedom is being buried right along with them.

Unbelievable