-Caveat Lector-
Should police have the power to handcuff and jail people who don't
wear seatbelts?
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Supreme Court is scheduled to
hear five cases this session that involve the power of police to stop,
search, and arrest you for drug and seatbelt violations -- proving
that such "victimless crimes" are now the driving force behind the
assault on our Constitutionally protected liberties, the Libertarian
Party said today.
"If police win the right to haul you off in handcuffs for not
wearing a seatbelt, scan your house at whim with a thermal imaging
gun, and set up random roadblocks so dogs can sniff your car for
drugs then victimless crimes will be to blame," said Steve
Dasbach, the party's national director.
"These are the issues the Supreme Court will decide this term
-
- - and every one of these frightening expansions of police power is
being justified by so-called crimes that have no victims. The War on
Victimless Crimes has turned into an all-out War on the Bill of
Rights."
Starting this week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear five
major cases to determine whether law enforcement has the
right to stop, search, test, restrain, and arrest people to enforce
drug and seatbelt laws. The cases include:
* Indianapolis vs. Edmond, which will decide whether police
can set up random roadblocks on public streets to question
motorists and use drug-sniffing dogs to inspect their vehicles.
* Ferguson vs. Charleston, which will decide whether hospitals
can secretly test pregnant women for cocaine, and turn the results
over to police.
* Illinois vs. McArthur, which will decide whether police can
restrain people from entering their homes while police are seeking a
warrant to search the premises for drugs.
* Atwater vs. Lago Vista, which will decide whether people can
be handcuffed and hauled off to jail for not wearing a seatbelt.
* Kyllo vs. United States, which will determine whether police
can scan homes with a thermal imaging gun, searching for heat
patterns that may indicate a marijuana-growing operation.
What do all these cases have in common? They all seek a
dramatic expansion of police power and they all involves "crimes"
where there is no victim, noted Dasbach.
"The criminal justice debate is no longer about what is
permissible when catching violent criminals like murderers, rapists,
and robbers -- it's now about how far law enforcement can go in
violating the Fourth Amendment to catch people who harm no one
but themselves," he said.
The cases being heard by the Supreme Court are not an
unexpected side-effect of victimless crime laws, but a natural
consequence, said Dasbach.
"There's a reason why police aren't setting up random
roadblocks to find people who have been the victims of robbery or a
violent crime," he said."In those kinds of cases, people go to the
police to seek justice. But with drug and seatbelt laws, there is no
victim to complain -- just people engaging in consensual behavior
that harms no one but themselves.
"As a result, law enforcement must engage in police-state
behavior to catch the so-called criminals. To combat victimless
crimes, police use sting operations, paid informers, anonymous
tips, no-knock raids, warrantless searches, and high-tech
surveillance. Their impulse is to always push the boundaries of the
Fourth Amendment -- until they begin to routinely violate everyone's
privacy and rights."
It's that last aspect that should be most troubling to
Americans, said Dasbach, even to people who don't use drugs or
violate seatbelt laws.
"When police set up a random roadblock, a hundred innocent
people are inconvenienced and threatened for every one person
who is arrested," he said. "Your Constitutional rights are violated,
your freedom is limited, and your safety is diminished -- just so
police can catch a few individuals who engage in peaceful behavior
the government has criminalized."
These five cases give the Supreme Court an opportunity to
draw a "line in the sand" about how far law enforcement can go to
fight victimless crimes, said Dasbach.
"The Supreme Court has an opportunity to decide what kind of
country we will live in," he said. "Will it be an America where any
violation of the Bill of Rights is justified in the name of a War on
Victimless Crimes? Or will it be an America where ordinary people
can live in freedom, privacy, and safety, and where the Bill of
Rights is respected? That's the real issue on this year's Supreme
Court docket."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The Libertarian Party
http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100
voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037
fax: 202-333-0072
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Kathleen
A just government, one that is working for the
people, need not fear the people's encrypted
conversations. An unjust government, one that
is working for itself, not the people, fears
any speech it cannot control.
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
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