PGT Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 did he indeed warn you? Did you drive by multiple times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDII Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 He didn't ask for permission - he told me to pop my trunk while I sat in the car. Two minutes later he asked me to step out. He looked at my registration and license for about 10 seconds, then brought me over to his car and started filling out the notice to appear thing. While I was filling it out, I noticed that my subwoofer was on the hood of his car. His partner had removed it while I was giving the arresting officer my information. The officers discussed whether I had violated state ordinance or local ordinance, and decided on the latter. They told me my sub would be confiscated because they could remove it easily, and that I would have to go to court to get it back. He said he had warned me twice, that I had driven by three times and had ignored his warning. He handed me the paper and told me to go home, which I did. I didn't want to take a DUI test and fail because I was so nervous about being pulled over. This is my first ticket/misdemeanor charge... Did he say.... "Do you mind popping your trunk?" or did he say "pop your trunk"? try to remember this is important!!! Need forum help? Private Message legGTLT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erickson00 Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 did he indeed warn you? Did you drive by multiple times? I drove by a total of three times. It gets gray and subjective here. How could he have warned me adequately, given the existing conditions? I drove by on the street while he was parked in a lot. If he had yelled at me, I could not have heard him, because not only was my music turned up loudly, but there were also dozens of people walking the streets, all of them yelling and hollering. If he had flashed his lights at me, how would I know that it was a warning directed at me, and not one of the drunken pedestrians walking all around him? If he had his spotlight on me, how could I know for sure it was pointed at me, and wasn't on because he had just pulled someone over in that lot? He was surrounded by people, and it looked like he was busy dealing with someone else at the moment. I don't understand how he can prove he warned me twice, when I didn't hear or see anything. I guess the burden of proof is on me, since Johnny Law never lies or embellishes. I don't want to argue any of this, unless the judge says I am not getting my woofer back. Then I plead not guilty, get a lawyer, and countersue for legal expenses and time away from work. Just on principle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erickson00 Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 Did he say.... "Do you mind popping your trunk?" or did he say "pop your trunk"? try to remember this is important!!! He told me what to do and I did it. None of this matters - the judge won't care about semantics, because it's my word against his. My witness (friend who was riding shotgun) won't be good testimony, either. I'm not interested in going after them. I think the judge will give me my sub back if I promise not to blast it like that again. I'll just take it, pay the fine I deserve for having it to loud, and walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Cruisin' the Florida strip sure doesn't pay... Talk about the MAN bending you over your own hood. Ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-2.5-GT Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 <-- Happy he lives in NH...."Live Free or Die" I'd be interested in reading the details of that "law." Something doesn't sound right / legal about this. I've definetly never heard of anything like this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 Well, the fact that you cruised by a cop three times with your music blaring.....sorry dude, I lost any sympathy I had. That's just plain dumb. Cruising is one thing....doing it and drawing attention to yourself is another. I went through HS with stupid rules like this in place. You learned to deal with it and get around it. I never got a ticket, despite WAY too much bass in my car. The confiscating of equipment is BS, but let us know how that works out after the court date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzymt Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 The issue is not Erickson00 getting a citation/ticket. Even he admits that's fair 'nuf. The issue is the unconstitutional search and seizure of his sub. Why did he pop the trunk? Presumably because he was asked to do so. If he refuses he is asserting his 4th amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. If he simply complies he is waiving it (bad idea). Unfortunately, most of us in the real world are not aware enough of all our rights to know when to 'say no', especially to a cop. The cop knows exactly what he's doing by "asking" you to open the trunk though...and that 99% of the people out there will just do it. Besides the fact that if you have been drinking, have a busted light, paraphanalia, or anything else he can nail you for, he'll certainly try them all at that point if you say no. Even once he opened the trunk though, I think the cops are stretching the law yet again to allow them to hassle/harrass by seizing the sub. The statute is obviously directed more at a boom box sort of sound device, not cars, but, as so many laws are, there is enough ambiguity in the definitions... As far as what to do now? Yea, you're probably best off just going to the judge, hanging your head & saying "sorry, I won't do it again." They'll most likely give you your sub back and you can be on your merry way. Still...it's harrassment in my book...a power tripping cop bending the law so he can teach you a lesson...and it pisses me off. [CENTER][URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18504"]Subaru Plug & Play Aux-in Mod[/URL][/CENTER] [CENTER][URL="http://www.jazzyengineering.com"]www.jazzyengineering.com[/URL][/CENTER] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 I didn't want to take a DUI test and fail because I was so nervous about being pulled over. This is my first ticket/misdemeanor charge... It's pretty hard to fail a DUI test, UNLESS you were drinking. If you did have a few drinks, well you got lucky. While you don't have to open a trunk since it is a violation of the 4th amendment, most people will pop the trunk. The cop could get a warrant and you will be in for a long night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDII Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 The issue is not Erickson00 getting a citation/ticket. Even he admits that's fair 'nuf. The issue is the unconstitutional search and seizure of his sub. Why did he pop the trunk? Presumably because he was asked to do so. If he refuses he is asserting his 4th amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. If he simply complies he is waiving it (bad idea). Unfortunately, most of us in the real world are not aware enough of all our rights to know when to 'say no', especially to a cop. The cop knows exactly what he's doing by "asking" you to open the trunk though...and that 99% of the people out there will just do it. Besides the fact that if you have been drinking, have a busted light, paraphanalia, or anything else he can nail you for, he'll certainly try them all at that point if you say no. Even once he opened the trunk though, I think the cops are stretching the law yet again to allow them to hassle/harrass by seizing the sub. The statute is obviously directed more at a boom box sort of sound device, not cars, but, as so many laws are, there is enough ambiguity in the definitions... As far as what to do now? Yea, you're probably best off just going to the judge, hanging your head & saying "sorry, I won't do it again." They'll most likely give you your sub back and you can be on your merry way. Still...it's harrassment in my book...a power tripping cop bending the law so he can teach you a lesson...and it pisses me off. +1 thats what i was gettin at Need forum help? Private Message legGTLT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erickson00 Posted September 14, 2005 Author Share Posted September 14, 2005 It's pretty hard to fail a DUI test, UNLESS you were drinking. If you did have a few drinks, well you got lucky. While you don't have to open a trunk since it is a violation of the 4th amendment, most people will pop the trunk. The cop could get a warrant and you will be in for a long night. I wasn't worried about a breath test; I just didn't want him to have me say the alphabet backwards or balance on one foot - whatever. I was nervous as hell, and I would have done something stupid. I would have had to force him to give me a breath test - and then watch, it will register .08, even though I'd had two drinks that night and both were consumed more than two hours previous in the evening. Just a bunch of gambling I didn't want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProjectS15 Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 dude i call bs on that cop if he was on foot and you were in your car bye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boulderguy Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 This has been an interesting read, tho a sad story. Hope you get your gear back, be prepared to be humble. As Richard Pryor said, "If you're looking for justice at the courthouse, all you'll find is Just Us." At the risk of sounding like I'm on the cop's side (I'm not), there are two sides of this coin and it would do us some good to see them both. The reason noise ordinances like this get passed comes from drivers', usually young & male, abusing the "right of quiet enjoyment" of property owners. Basically the residents have to listen to people bumping their subs for half the night, get irritated when their infant keeps crying because of it & make noise to the city/county/state. Quick def of Abuse - to the sound system owner, this means just listening to his music at an enjoyable level. To most people around him, it's irritating. Like the motorcycle w/o a muffler, it's only entertaining to the rider, more like a jackhammer to everybody else. I imagine the cop probably thought he had warned you twice before, maybe he warned someone in a similiar car. He didn't need to warn you to give a ticket so there's no reason to say he had if he doesn't really think he did. Just a guess. All the same, those guys could hand out tix all week for noise violations and probably not make a dent in the problem, most people would just do it again. Particularly if you're in a tourist part of FL, most would never even pay the ticket. I imagine that's the rational behind the seizure. another guess. All the same, the take-home message is this - if you want it loud, try to be sure it isn't loud outside the car too. If it is, people complain, laws get passed, subs get taken. Not to mention you're car is now a target for thieves standing within earshot. Seriously, nobody's ever gotten laid 'cos they had a loud stereo. Let's get our priorities straight & focus on what does get us laid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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