IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE
During the 2015 Oscar telecast, Chicago rapper Common and R & B singer John Legend won the Oscar for the song Glory, from the movie Selma. In a speech given by John Legend, he talked about this country’s incarceration problem. What stuck out is that he said there are more African-American men in prison today than there were held in slavery in 1850. Let’s think about that, and here are some statistics to think about as well:
I. There are approximately 2.2 million people incarcerated in jails and prisons in the U.S.
2. 4.8 million are on probation or parole, yielding 7.7 million people under some form of criminal justice supervision in the U.S.
3. 1 in 3 African-Americans age 30 to 34 are in prison, I in 36 Hispanics, I in 90 whites.
4. African-American men have a 32% chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives, 17% for Hispanics, 6% for whites.
5. In Illinois, for every 100,000 adults, 377 are in prison. In the U.S. it is I in 107.
6. Over 68,000 people in Illinois are in prison or jail.
These statistics do not tell the complete story, but it paints a picture, one that is important because if we know better, we do better. That means becoming familiar with the laws that govern the city and state that you live in, then there are the laws that are created by the Courts in response to some action taken by the government, and challenge to that action.
The 4th amendment guarantees our right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures…and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and persons or things to be seized. This amendment protects us from government interference with our homes not to be searched and things seized without a valid warrant or probable cause to do so. The Court took up the issue of probable cause to search in Terry v. Ohio, which led to the limited intrusion rule now known as a Terry stop, this ruling allows the police to stop anyone and perform a limited investigation, and search for weapons, but the stop has to be justified by a reasonable articulable suspicion that criminal activity is happening. Though Terry justifies a limited search during an investigatory stop, that search cannot be overly intrusive, nor can the stop serve as an excuse to search. This search is limited to things that can be used to harm officers during the stop, that means the search can only target your outer clothing and the surrounding area of .your immediate access, e.g. inside your car, but not inside your closed trunk or locked glove box without permission.
Keep in mind that all of this is without an arrest warrant or search warrant, but once you are arrested, or a search warrant is issued, a search can be done.
Unfortunately, because police profile people there is no defined way to act that will not get you stopped, or searched. The ACLU has been tasked with reviewing how C. P. D. interacts with citizens because of their Terry stop interactions.
This is why activism and mentoring is important, as well as obeying the law. To do this we must know the laws we face, and to become aware is as simple as visiting the legal section at the library, or exercising your right to freedom of information by requesting the rules, or general orders, from the police department so you will know their procedure, what they can and cannot do. You will be better served to inform yourself of the rules that govern police procedure as well.
Curtis “Delayahu” Ferdinand
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