NJ Supreme Court Puts Automotive Passengers in the Hot Seat

[mcscajun]

This was in the Opinion section of the Daily Record this morning here in Northwest NJ.

Passengers, watch out

Ruling could be trouble for 'back-seat drivers'

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

-snip-

In a thoroughly misguided opinion, the state Supreme Court this week ruled that police have the right to run checks on passengers riding in vehicles that are stopped. If police observe a vehicle committing a traffic violation of any kind, they certainly have the right to stop the vehicle and check the driver's credentials. After all, the driver prompted police attention by allegedly doing something improper.

But what is the foundation for checking out a passenger who had nothing to do with operating the vehicle? How can someone sitting in a car be deemed responsible for the actions that led to the stop?

The court opinion referred to a very scary U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said that when police stop a vehicle all passengers are considered "seized" and therefore, eligible for background checks. That certainly is a very odd way to interpret the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which is written to protect people from unwarranted government searches, not encourage them.

This ruling was made by a court that conservatives routinely condemn as too liberal. That's hardly the case here.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/OPINION01/802130327/1094/NEWS01

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. next it will be buses, trains and planes...

oh wait, it already is planes...

sP

[LiberalEsto]

2. It happened to my daughter in Maryland

Last year she a passenger in a car driven by a sober friend.

I don't know why they were stopped. I think probably just because they looked young. The cops gave her, a passenger, a breathalyzer test and found she was .01 below the legal limit. The driver was not charged with anything.

But because she was only 20 and not yet 21, she was cited for underage drinking. The court fined her over $500 because she was going to school 250 miles from home and couldn't come home to do community service.

I hate these stupid laws. I can't count how many times I had a drink before I turned 21, can you?