Fellow American,
Usually, we here at Conservative-Daily focus on, as the name implies, conservative issues. But today, we’re shining a light on something that matters to all Americans, regardless of their political party affiliation.
The Supreme Court just ruled 8-1 in Heien v. State of North Carolina to dismantle the Fourth Amendment rights enjoyed by citizens around the country. They have given the police the power to arrest, detain, and search citizens even if they haven’t committed any real crimes!
The Fourth Amendment was designed by our founders to protect the citizenry against unreasonable searches and seizures. Having lived through the British occupation during the Revolutionary War, these men understood how important it was for citizens’ privacy rights to be protected.
It reads, in part: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”
The key here is the phrase “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Obviously, there are plenty of reasonable reasons for a police officer to search your person. If they have a warrant or witnessed you committing a crime, then it would be reasonable to detain and search you.
But what if you did nothing wrong? What if a police officer, for example, pulls you over and accuses you of breaking a law that doesn’t even exist?
Do you think the police should be allowed to search through your stuff in this case? Believe it or not, the Supreme Court believes they do!
Protect the 4th Amendment! Demand that Congress overrule this dangerous Supreme Court decision!
The Heien case stems from a traffic stop back in 2009. Maynor Javier Vasquez and Nicholas Heien were driving down the highway when they encountered slower traffic ahead. Vasquez, who was driving Heien’s car, hit the breaks in order to slow down.
Sergeant Matt Darisse, a police officer, was following behind and noticed that the car’s brake lights did not all light up when Heien hit the brakes. So, he pulled the car over for a faulty brake light and during the traffic stop, the police officer became suspicious and ultimately found cocaine in the car.
There’s only one problem: Vasquez and Heien didn’t actually break a law. There is no law in North Carolina that requires all brake lights to be functioning. In fact, the law merely requires one working “stop lamp.” So even though the car’s right brake light was dysfunctional, the presence of a left brake light met the legal requirement under the law.
By all accounts, these men did nothing to warrant being pulled over. The officer didn’t know the law and falsely interpreted it when he stopped the vehicle. The Supreme Court decided that doesn’t matter.
The Court ruled that even if a police officer is 100% wrong to detain or arrest an individual, any evidence obtained can still be admissible in court. Listen to me when I tell you that this is one of the worst assaults on our Fourth Amendment rights!
Average citizens are told that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” We are expected to know every single law that is on the books. However, when a police officer doesn’t know the law and wrongfully stops you, he or she can now detain, arrest, and even search you without fear of reprisal.
Yes, these two men had cocaine in their car. But that doesn’t change the fact that they never should have been pulled over in the first place. This police officer abused his power and made up the laws as he went along.
By refusing to hold police officers accountable to knowing the laws they are supposed to enforce, the Supreme Court has given police and government officials free reign to violate the law and our civil rights!
The President of the Rutherford Institute, a legal organization that helped fight in this case, wrote that this ruling constitutes a “one-way, nonrefundable ticket to [a] police state.”
The real question is where will this stop? If police officers are allowed to make the law up as they go along and violate citizens 4th Amendment rights, how many lives will be unnecessarily ruined?
As I said already… The founders wrote the 4th Amendment for a reason. Yet, over the years, this fundamental right has been eroded. It’s time to take a stand! It’s time to demand that our civil rights be strengthened and preserved!
The 4th Amendment is not for sale! Force Congress to STOP this madness and protect your rights!
I am not anti-cop. I support our brothers and sisters in blue who work to uphold the law and keep our country safe.
But allowing the police to detain and search individuals for practically any reason is absolute power. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The Fourth Amendment is clear: government officials cannot subject citizens to unreasonable searches and seizures. Arresting and detaining someone for a crime that doesn’t even exist is the definition of unreasonable!
The Supreme Court got this one wrong and opened the door for significant abuse of power. But they don’t have the final say! Congress can still overrule them but the only way that will happen is if you stand up and demand that your Fourth Amendment rights be protected and preserved!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
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