26 October 2012

In This Era of Unemployment, Can Criminals Provide a New Job Source?

According to a Cali Court they could (if police could not pull over a car if they saw a passenger who was a wanted felon):

"Appellant contends that since Officer Hopkins had no suspicion of criminal activity or wrongdoing by him, the officer may not stop his vehicle. He argues [that] an investigatory stop [is allowed] only if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person driving was involved in a completed felony. Therefore, he argues, he could not be stopped. If we were to adopt such an untenable rule, then legions of criminals throughout the land could hire drivers, who are upstanding citizens with no past criminal involvement, to chauffeur them around our streets and highways in open, notorious view. As smug passengers they could wave to the police who could only watch in frustration as they passed by. A momentary stop of an automobile by police to investigate a passenger reasonably believed to be involved in a past crime is proper. It creates a minimal inconvenience to the driver of that automobile, when balanced against the government's interest in apprehending criminals." In re William J., 171 Cal. App.3d 72 (1985).

I wonder if the pay scale increases depending on how serious the crime the fugitive is accused of?

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