I had the unexpected opportunity to exercise my 4th Amendment rights last week, thought I'd share the story.
I got pulled over by the highway patrol for expired plates (way expired - I barely drive and STLPD has bigger fish to fry - basically, I'm a worthless scofflaw) on I-44 which is a major drug artery in the Midwest. By this point I know the traffic stop drill pretty well, so it's engine off, keys on dashboard, hands on the wheel. The Trooper is respectful, bordering on courteous - a bit rare, since they tend be be hard-asses - and I'm respectful right back.
Now, when he lit me up he was too close to me, and since I don't have a line of sight out of the center rearview mirror in my truck thanks to the utility cap, it took me a few extra seconds to see him in my sideview and signal my intent to pull over. And when I made it to the shoulder, we were on the outside of a curve, so I proceeded a ways to a straight section where I thought we'd be more visible to traffic. He told me that sort of thing makes him nervous, since it gives me time to stash drugs or stash/ready a weapon. I assured him it was no such thing, and let him know my reasoning, which he seemed to be surprisingly appreciative of.
After a brief conversation about my plates and several questions about my possession of drugs or weapons (beat up old truck going the speed limit, utility cap with no windows, expired plates, bearded young-ish looking guy in ratty work clothes - I understand his curiosity) he said, "How would you feel about me taking a look in your vehicle?"
To which I replied, "Honestly, officer, I'd rather you didn't."
"Why's that?"
"Because I believe I have the 4th Amendment on my side here."
After a brief pause, he said, "Well, okay. I'm going to go back to the car, see if there are any K9s in the area. But if nobody's close by, I'll let you go on; I don't want to hold you up too much today."
At this point, I should interject: my father is a criminal defense and civil rights attorney. His work has given him a bit of an anti-cop bias, because he only sees the cases where they berkeley up and do his clients harm. He's always told me, in this situation, that if they bring out the K9, the K9 is going to "find" something, whether or not there's anything to find. All it takes is a signal from the dog, prompted by either a legitimate scent or a cue from their handler (and there are no universally prescribed signals) to establish probable cause. And if they're going to the trouble of physically searching your vehicle, they're going to "find" something themselves.
So, I'm calmly sweating bullets while the trooper's in his car. What's done is done, and hell, I have the day off - why not go to jail to stand up for my rights? I legitimately don't have anything to hide in this case, so let's just see what happens now.
The trooper comes back to the window, hands me my license and insurance information, and begins explaining the details of the citation. Not a word was said about the search or the K9. We exchanged pleasantries and I was on my way.
So, sometimes exercising your rights is as easy as exhibiting that you're aware of them.
