Tuesday, December 31, 2013

"No person shall knowingly operate, possess, or use a vehicle with a hidden compartment..."

"The driver, 30-year-old Norman Gurley of Michigan, was pulled over for speeding. A highway patrolman noticed wires running to a secret compartment in the car and arrested Gurley, even though there were no drugs in the compartment..."
It makes no difference whether police find drugs or not, according to a new Ohio law that prohibits secret compartments.

“We apparently caught them between runs, so to speak, so this takes away one tool they have in their illegal trade,” said Lt. Michael Combs in a statement to local news. “The law does help us and is on our side.”
Driving a car is a privilege, I believe, although I'm not sure you give up your 4th amendment right while operating a vehicle. I know driving is a privilege because I've had it suspended in New Jersey. But, enough about me, this post is not about me.

What about the drug runner? is he up-worthy of 4th amendment rights? Or is this apparent exception justified in order to aid law enforcement ... It's for a good cause.

via Drudge tweet where I found little sympathy for the police power.

22 comments:

Hagar said...

"wires running to a secret compartment"

So, how is it secret?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Yea... the term "secret compartment" seems loaded to me.

The Dude said...

In soviet Amerika secret compartment finds you.

edutcher said...

The 4th Amendment is for everybody.

Assuming a "secret" compartment (everybody has at least one, women have two, sometimes three) is for nefarious purposes is not the law's job.

I think this gets shot down on appeal.

Methadras said...

It is absolutely irrelevant how many 'secret' compartments there are within a piece of property, be it a car, a bag, or a house. It is no ones business why it's there or what it does. The fact that there was a secret compartment in the car yet having nothing in it, much less anything illegal (that we know of) shouldn't allow any police officer access to any of it. Now they will use this as a further excuse for probable cause. Oh, I think I see a secret compartment or now that I've stopped you, let's see if you have a secret compartment. Any cavity not within eyesight will be construed as a secret compartment now under these definition. This is bullshit and it gets worse by the day.

Who the fuck wrote this law and why has no one fought it?

KCFleming said...

Completely totalitarian.

KCFleming said...

Democrats are fucking evil incarnate.

The Dude said...

Also, the key weasel word is "knowingly".

Known Unknown said...

"Democrats are fucking evil incarnate."

Hate to break it to you, but this is "tough on crime Republicans" trampling civil liberties in Ohio. The law was passed in 2010-2011 from the 129th Assembly, in which both houses were Republican controlled. Ted Strickland (D) was governor for 3 weeks before John Kasich (R) took over.

ndspinelli said...

Next comes secret compartments in your residence.

Aridog said...

As Hagar said....running visible wires to a "secret compartment"...like how is that a secret compartment if you can see it?

AllenS said...

I'm not going to take the time to look it up, but I was under the impression that Ohio's legislature is Democratic controlled.

Rabel said...

Not that I'm trying to start anything with my wonderful cyberfriends in the Great American Midwest, but in looking for facts about the atrocious hidden compartment law I ran across this little video on the glories of Wisconsin and Ohio.

I found it most informative. Others may have a different opinion.

Icepick said...

Ohio is a Republican controlled state.

Ohio General Assembly
House of Representatives R 60–39
Senate R 23–10

Don't know about the previous legislature, but there is no reason to believe it was anything other than Republican.

This is another example of Republicans trampling all over the people. Totalitarianism, it ain't just for Democrats anymore.

deborah said...

I got your secret compartment righ'chere.

Rabel said...

The bill passed with near unanimous consent.

Two Republican senators and one Dem representative voted no.

Like somebody said, "Not a dime's worth of difference."

rcocean said...

Your steel chariot isn't your home, unless you own an RV.

I've always thought these excessive 4th Amendment views bizarre. Wow, you can't have a 'secret compartment' -what a blow for liberty!

rcocean said...

Somehow my quality of life hasn't suffered from lack of a "secret compartment" in my car.

deborah said...

So where do concealed carry and secret compartment intersect?

The Dude said...

Did you miss the story that Haz posted about the woman who carried her pistol, well, read the post.

All I am saying is I bet it wasn't a Buntline Special.

Known Unknown said...

"Somehow my quality of life hasn't suffered from lack of a "secret compartment" in my car."

Missing the point, yo.

JAL said...

I think that law will be overturned.

Weird what people/politicians will do which is entirely useless in a supposed "fix" to a problem.