On Matching Wits with Graduates
...by Mark Drake
Within the past few years, police have developed a fascinating array of new techniques for imposing general searches of vehicles -- that is, "fishing expeditions" not based on any legitimate reason to suppose the particular car contains contraband.
Some of these exploit a citizen's natural inclination to assume that police know what they're doing (almost always true) and that they wouldn't make an unreasonable search request without sincerely beliving they had good reason to suspect mischief (which is by no means always true any more).
Other techniques involve leveraging the natural intimidation factors of the uniform and an artificially aggressive demeanor.
Remember, a request to search is not a meaningless formality: If you are asked for permission to search, you are being told that they aren't confident they have "probable cause" to believe a search is permissible without that consent.
When you don't consent to have your vehicle searched, they will probably try to drag you into an interminable series of harmless sounding questions, which you, as a cooperative law-abiding citizen, will be inclined to answer. After a few (maybe quite a few) minutes of this exchange, you'll be accused of having made some apparently inconsistent statements, which have now provided the officer with "probable cause" for imposing a search despite your withholding consent.
If the officer is pulling this stunt, nothing you can say, however heartfelt, straightforward, or for that matter, witty, will bring the exchange to an end, since the entire purpose of the exercise is to either waste enough of your time to exasperate you into consenting or else to keep you going until you utter something that will pass for an inconsistency.
The only way to avoid getting lost in this labyrinth is not to step into it in the first place. You aren't obliged, legally or morally, to answer questions beyond establishing that the vehicle is currently registered and insured, and you are validly licensed. If the question of consent to search comes up, you may just say "no." When any attempt is made to drag you into further discussion after that, you have no need to say more than that you deny consent to search and wish to know whether you may leave now or are being detained further. Any attempt to reason or philosophize or explain the history and purposes of the Constitution or dazzle the officer with your wit is merely wandering further into his game. Just say "no," and leave it at that.
(As a matter of fact, a visitor to our booth at an event last summer suggested that we come up with a wallet card which could be handed to an officer in this situation, as an alternative to being drawn into a manipulative conversation. Pick up a couple of them at the CLMP office.)
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