Give cops your name, or else

The US Supreme Court ruled that you must give your name to police, if asked.

WASHINGTON � A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that people who refuse to give their names to police can be arrested, even if they've done nothing wrong.

The court previously had said police may briefly detain people they suspect of wrongdoing, without any proof. But until now, the justices had never held that during those encounters a person must reveal their identity.

I'm not sure yet where I stand on this one. It seems to me that there isn't any good reason not to give the police your name if they ask you for it.
Story here:
Name, please

Opinions?

I think if you havent done anything wrong i dont think you should have to give your name to the police... in fact i never give my name to the police unless i witnessed a crime or know i did do something... other than that i refuse flat out

It seems like this is a typical case of "If you didn't do anything wrong, then it shouldn't be a big deal."
For me, it's a simple case of obstruction of justice. If someone witnesses a crime and then refuses to provide the necessary contact information for law enforcement, then full investigation cannot occur.

I don't particularly see why this is a big deal, and I think it is (as usual) a prime example of people who so blatantly can't get past their own inane political beliefs that they have to, literally, gum up the works with their over-politicisation.
That said..
I'm interested in hearing someone who actually supports this, and why they do so. Maybe there's an integral part of the reprecussions that I might be missing and have yet to consider. Doubtful, but possible

[edit on 22-6-2004 by mauskov]

I was just watching FreedomTV on Winamp Internet TV...and they showed some Alex Jones movie...it came on after The Road to Tyranny...and this woman was pulled over and asked for her name. She didnt tell the cops her name...and they got in an arguement over her right now to say her name. The cop (oink) reached into her car door and opened the door...and she started yelling at them. Then they arrested her for "obstruction of justice"...then as they pulled her out her door they said she assaulted the officer. Then as she was in the backseat of the cop car they were searching her car and finding all sorts of books that opposed the govt. and stuff..and alot of Tom Clancy books. They dropped most of the charges except for obstuction of justice. Its 100% bull#...its our constitutional right to not say our name. ESPECIALLY if we didnt do anything wrong.

This is yet another example in a LONNNNNNNG line of examples which should be making everybody VERY afraid, but doesn't seem to be making much impact in the general population (BIG surprise there).

Another small chipping away of our freedoms for mankind is all it is basically. Baby steps to get the masses used to/and accept being intruded upon and scrutinized, and for the most part not doing, or having done anything wrong.

Public safety, my a$$. They can trot out THAT tired line all they want to, other people may believe as they want but THIS girl isn't buying. Sell crazy someplace else, I'm all stocked up here.

I consider my name every bit as personal what clothes I choose to wear, the fact that I like potato chips dipped in cottage cheese, and the things I do with my husband in the privacy of our bedroom.

Just as I refuse to wear a nametag at my job. It's all for the same basic reason. You get what you need from me at work. A Sandwich and, if you're halfway decent to me, a smile as well. You don't need to know my name or whether I prefer tacos to tostadas, or even if I'm a cat or a dog person.

People are far too nosy today. I find it almost intolerable at times. If the police need my name for a legit reason, say I was speeding and pulled over, or something like that, then they can have it. But I'm not turning over MY personal information out of nosy curiosity or because the police think I was a witness to some horrible criminal caught drinking a beer or smoking a joint (Perish the thought !) in a city park.

What about officer safety, or even your own safety...thats why they handcuff almost everyone.

If you do not provide an officer with your name, so that he can check to see if you are an outstanding offender, then for his safety, he's going to have no choice but to assume that you COULD be. Lots of cops wind up dead because they "trusted" the person that seemed to be dealing nicely with when that person flipps out and trouble ensues.

How about YOUR safety? The same situation applies, if you have not given a good ID and the cops cant verify that you arent a threat, if you seemed to take a suspicious move, suddenly 3 cops are slamming you onto the hood of the car...again, because they are responsible for their safety as well as yours....do you want to risk injury because you as a law abiding citizen with nothing to hide was arrogant enough to give cops a reason to think that you MIGHT become a danger to them, you, others?

I dont like cops in general but realize they have a serious job to do.
A small amount of harrassment to ID yourself seems like its not worth aggravating a situation where safety will trump privacy every time.

You can choose not to speak to a cop as a wittness to something, and you MAY then be held for obstruction of justice, but if you are SUMMONED into court to testify and you refuse, your in contempt of the court.

the cops job is hard enough dealing with real criminal wacko's, cut them some slack and tell them who you are when asked....unless your hidding something.

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!I like Tom Clancy's book and I don't like this government so what's the big issue? And for giving my name? They better give me a good reason as why I should. And don't we have a right to privacy?

About privacy Check this link my huband E-mail me about your privacy in the net.


www.license.shorturl.com...

Police does not need to ask they have you in their archives.

Pretty funny.

[Edited on 22-6-2004 by marg6043]

I think CazMedia put it quite nicely. The cops have to be concerned with their own safety as well as yours, and they also have to do investigations. Personally I'm not that paranoid that giving out my name to a cop is going to put me in a tizzy. If the cops manhandled me and arrested me for no reason, maybe, but why not just give your name? I wouldn't give them the opportunity to arrest me for not giving my name, because I don't care that much and I'd just give it to them. A cop can just run your license plate and find out all that reason anyway, so why not save him the hassle? Cops for the most part are just doing their job (protecting YOU) so why make it harder for them?

Honestly I'm worried that we're heading down a dangerous path towards some kind of police state or whatever, so I hope no one comes out and calls me a blind ignorant sheep, but I just don't see why having to give your name to a cop (when he could find it out anyway) is such a big deal. Being arrested isn't a huge deal, all being arrested is is getting cuffs put on you so you can be detained for a bit whilst the cops check your info or whatever, if they think you're a danger to them. If a cop doesn't know who you are or what you're up to, they have the right to be wary.

[edit on 22-6-2004 by Faisca]

I already started a thread on this subject.

Check it out for links to details on the case.

there's also discussion here on the subject :

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Whether the "Big Brither Gov't" is behind all this or not, it's the average Joe cop that is the one pulling you over. He/She has no hidden agenda when asking your name. so if you have nothing to hide then giving you name is no big deal.. Besides, if your in you car it won't really matter cause all they need to do is run your plates and see for themselves. If you do have something to hide then you SOL. Don't do wrong and you won't have to worry.

It's here too. www.belowtopsecret.com... Reading these threads, seems like a lot of people see it as an invasion of privacy, while others don't have a problem with it.

Just seems like American Paranoia to me. . .

I have a suggestion, first you have to sell any vehicle you do have. They can find out to much from the licence plates. Since you will not be driving, cut up and burn your drivers licence, the government has GPS installed in them anyways. Sell your house in the suburbs and by a shack in the woods or maybe a farm. You need to grow your own food, food sold in the stores have mind control drug supplements in them.
But back to the point. If you don't have any id, you could tell them you are anyone. You have no paper to prove who you are.

I don't really have a problem with it. I give my name when I buy things fromEbay, when I fill in a job application, when I've been to the dentist, when someone cute is trying to hit on me , so why worry if a cop asks for it ? Its just a name after all and it doesnt necessarily mean that the cop is doing something out of the ordinary.

I guess the bottom line here is where should we draw the line that when crossed you need to submit your ID. For me I have no problem giving my ID when I have done something to give them a reason to pull me over. In fact I've learned that if I have my ID, registration & insurance card in hand when they get to my window they seem less likely to give me a speeding ticket etc.

I do have a problem with roadblocks used as checkpoints within a free country though. Reluctantly I can deal with a quick eye test & breath test if I had too, but unless I failed the initial tests an ID check would be wrong in a free country. Asking for ID at any point other then when you've been suspected of something is wrong.

One of the problems I have with the new seat belt laws popping up everywhere these days is, the motivation behind them seems to stink more of revenue generation & giving police the excuse to pull anyone and everyone over on the pretext of a seatbelt violation. If they were really interested in safety why don't we see them pull more people over for not signaling?

We've been having some battles here in Washington with them wanting to do vehical searches for no reason. We have many ferries instead of bridges to cross the puget sound and after 9/11 they started doing vehical searches as a way to get into your car and look for open containers/drugs or whatever and the people raised a stink and it stopped. Now July 1st they're going to try something else. They say they have 15 bomb sniffing dogs and they will search your vehical if the dogs go off, and they are warning people not to carry fireworks in their cars for 4th of July. We will se how it goes. I'm wondering how many drug sniffing dogs will be snuck in and busting people while supposedly looking for terrorist with a bombs.


[edit on 22-6-2004 by outsider]

What happens when a police officer asks for your ID or DL? Same result with the added bonus of your birth date and your home address. Doesn't change a thing. This might even be some smoke to cover something else up that got passed in congress. If you don't feel like giving out your name to them, then lay low as usual and sneak by if you can just as if you are not wanting your id to be seen. I really think this is a distraction if anything.
just my 2�.

I agree w/ the people who stated that police officers' safety is an issue and the fact that most officers do not have some hidden agenda. Here is another point I would like to see contested. If you are pulled over or "harrassed" by an officer, he is REQUIRED to give you his/her name and badge number upon your request. What good reason does a civilian have to aquire this personal information? It keeps the officer from doing anything out of line, because they can be reported to their superior for any inappropriate acts. Of course this does not prevent every officer from acting inappropriately on the job, but it helps. The same concept has now been applied to the rest of us.