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Originally Posted by dksuddeth
yeah, nobody could EVER be person C and say, no thanks officer, am I free to go now?
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Yup. That's what I do. The constitution specifies rights for all of us, not just the criminal element. I don't have to have something illegal in my car in order to not want the cop to go pawing through my stuff.
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2) if the cop has to ask, he has no probably cause. If you refuse, he cannot legally arrest you for the refusal.
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Correct, and to add to this, if in response to "am I free to go now," he says "no" you are under arrest, even if he did not tell you that you are, and even if he denies that you are. He is allowed to arrest you while writing your speeding ticket (you are considered to be released from arrest on your own recognizance once he hands you the ticket), but if he attempts to detain you after he gives you the ticket (beyond obvious small stuff like "wait for this truck to pass before you pull out") then he has to have cause to keep you under arrest. And if he does not have cause (and standing up for your constitutional rights protecting you from unlawful searches is not cause) then he has just falsely arrested you, which is a crime, and an actionable tort. This means you can sue him and his department (which generally means whatever city he's working for).