It’s not just Pete and Ademo— Massachusetts cops seem to be serial lawbreakers.
When driving to Smith College today to see heroic Afghan politician Malalai Joya, I was pulled over in Deerfield, Massachusetts, a few miles south of Greenfield. (Why? Who knows.)
I received a ticket for having an out-of-date registration and had my car towed.
Fair enough. That’s the law in Massachusetts, and my registration expired back in ’09. I knew the risks of driving my car. (If you were wondering, I’m not intentionally engaging in car registration civil disobedience— the lapse was the result of procrastination, some confusion about the law [much harsher than Texan laws], and coordination problems with my mom [the car’s in her name]. If it weren’t for a minor paperwork delay during the last week, I might actually have had it registered by today.)
But that didn’t satisfy the officer. He went on to interrogate me about drugs in my car. I laughed and answered no, I don’t have any. In light of my personality, and the nature of the traffic stop, it was hard not to laugh. It was an absurd leap. He asked again, and I denied again, still chuckling. (He didn’t seem to appreciate the absurdity of his questions.)
He did a real-life version of “no srsly”— and you should be honest with me because even if you aren’t, I’ll search your car and find your drugs. I did a real-life version of “no fer realz”— and, by the way, don’t you need some kind of probable cause to do that?
I was informed that having an outdated car registration was probable cause. Except that, according to a quick internet search of legal dictionaries, this is totally false: “assume that a police officer has stopped a motor vehicle driver for a traffic violation. In the absence of any other facts indicating criminal activity by the driver, it would be a violation of the Fourth Amendment if the officer conducted a full-blown search of the driver and the vehicle. The mere commission of a traffic violation is not, in and of itself, a fact that supports probable cause to believe that the driver has committed a crime.” (Probable Cause)
So, rather than spending the evening listening to Malalai Joya, I rode home in a tow truck, $350 poorer (towing + ticket) and feeling somewhat violated. Needless to say, I am extraordinarily less likely to visit the Greenfield area again. (Keene police have never searched my car. In fact, I’ve only been pulled over once here, in over two years.)
The tow truck driver suggested that the police in this area are more likely to search cars, in an effort to stifle the allegedly thriving drug trade between New Hampshire and Massachusetts— because apparently Massachusetts police officers are allowed to circumvent the constitution when it inconveniences them.
Legal advice is welcomed.
