Supreme Court OKs Stop and Search Based On Anonymous 911 Tips 461
An anonymous reader writes "On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers are legally allowed to stop and search vehicles based solely on anonymous 911 tips. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority opinion, reasoned that 'a 911 call has some features that allow for identifying and tracking callers' as well as for recording their calls, both of which he believed gave anonymous callers enough reliability for police officers to act on their tips with reasonable suspicion against the people being reported.
The specific case before them involved an anonymous woman who called 911 to report a driver who forced her off the road. She gave the driver's license plate number and the make and model of his car as well as the location of the incident in question. Police officers later found him, pulled him over, smelled marijuana, and searched his car. They found 30 pounds of weed and subsequently arrested the driver. The driver later challenged the constitutionality of the arrest, claiming that a tip from an anonymous source was unreliable and therefore failed to meet the criteria of reasonable suspicion, which would have justified the stop and search. Five of the nine justices disagreed with him." The ruling itself (PDF).
The specific case before them involved an anonymous woman who called 911 to report a driver who forced her off the road. She gave the driver's license plate number and the make and model of his car as well as the location of the incident in question. Police officers later found him, pulled him over, smelled marijuana, and searched his car. They found 30 pounds of weed and subsequently arrested the driver. The driver later challenged the constitutionality of the arrest, claiming that a tip from an anonymous source was unreliable and therefore failed to meet the criteria of reasonable suspicion, which would have justified the stop and search. Five of the nine justices disagreed with him." The ruling itself (PDF).
4 of 9 agreed with him (Score:5, Funny)
MOD PARENT DOWN!!!!!1!!1111 (Score:0, Funny)
I'm fifteen, I'm an average Slashdotter with a huge sense of entitlement, and the parent post makes me angry! Mod down!!!!111!!!11
Re:Anybody know the plate# for each scotus? (Score:5, Funny)
It's not a false report if you use enough soft language. "I *think* I heard something about something and they may have a thing in their car now!"
But then again, that all depends on what your definition of "is" is.
Re:That wasn't the question (Score:4, Funny)
While it may have worked out ok in this situation it is a very bad president.
It might be better than last few presidents we've had.
Re:Anybody know the plate# for each scotus? (Score:4, Funny)
I'm sorry, but BUYING a pair of shoes that costs more than $200 should be a felony!
Re:That wasn't the question (Score:3, Funny)
it is a very bad president
Come on, now. This is Obama's fault, too?