“America’s contemporary police officers now almost reflexively say: ‘Show me your I.D.’ I see hardly any difference from the familiar old German Gestapo demand: ‘Deine Papiere, bitte.’ (‘Your papers, please.’) Or, less politely: ‘Zeig mir deine Papiere.’ (‘Show me your papers.’) If you are stopped by police but not placed under formal arrest, then you are not obliged to give your name or produce identity documents unless an officer can state a reasonable articulable suspicion of an actual crime that has been committed or that is about to be committed. Without that reasonable articulable suspicion (under the Terry v. Ohio doctrine), you are free to stand mute. Only with a properly articulated suspicion of a specific crime, as supported by evidence (and the “reasonable man” doctrine) are you obliged to give your name and produce identity documents. (The only exceptions are for formal arrests with Miranda warnings, or traffic stops for specific infractions worthy of a citation, where by law you must display your driver’s license, vehicle registration, and in most cases, proof of insurance.) An officer’s vague suspicion is insufficient cause to demand identification. The Fourth Amendment protects the rights of all American Citizens ‘…to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.’ So stand firm, folks!” – James Wesley, Rawles
The Editors’ Quote of the Day:
