Cop arrests driver for silence, then tells her she has the right to

[Origanalist]

After Arresting Driver for Silence, Cops Tell Her She Has a Right to Remain Silent

New Jersey state troopers said declining to answer a question is a crime.
Jacob Sullum|May. 6, 2016 10:59 am



After New Jersey state troopers arrested Rebecca Musarra for remaining silent, they informed her, "You have the right to remain silent." That should have been a clue that something was amiss with their legal justification for hauling her off to jail.

According to a federal lawsuit filed by Musarra, a Philadelphia attorney, and dashcam footage recently obtained by NJ Advance Media, Trooper Matthew Stazzone pulled her over for speeding on October 16 and asked for her license, registration, and proof of insurance. She handed over the documents but did not respond when Stazzone asked her a question. He repeated the question several times, becoming increasingly agitated and warning her that she would be arrested if she did not answer. Here is the vitally important question that Stazzone kept asking: "Do you know why you're being pulled over tonight?"

In other words, Stazzone was trying to get Musarra to incriminate herself. She declined to do so. Mind you, she did not say, "I decline to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me," or "I am asserting my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent." But she did eventually identify herself as an attorney, saying she was not legally required to answer Stazzone's question. Unimpressed, he proceeded to handcuff and arrest her with the assistance of another trooper, Demetric Gosa.

When Musarra asked if she was being arrested for remaining silent, Gazzone replied, "Yeah." Gosa added, "Yes. Obstruction." New Jersey defines obstruction of justice as impeding the administration of the law "by means of flight, intimidation, force, violence, physical interference, or through any independently unlawful act." Sitting quietly in your car while a cop asks if you know why you were pulled over does not fall into any of those categories.

continued...http://reason.com/blog/2016/05/06/af...r-silence-cops

[tod evans]

[sam1952]

I never get tired of that picture

[acptulsa]

Of course you have the Constitutional right to remain silent.

But that doesn't mean you have a right to give a 'roid raging uniformed moron 'the silent treatment'.

[TheTexan]

Well she was obviously guilty of something we just don't know what.

[phill4paul]

"The right to remain silent is not unlimited" - Justice Scalia

[CaptUSA]

The SC has already ruled on this.

In order to assert your right to remain silent, you have to indicate that you wish to remain silent. (complete BS ruling, but that's the way they ruled.)

[otherone]

She's lucky she wasn't shot.

[brushfire]

The SC has already ruled on this.

In order to assert your right to remain silent, you have to indicate that you wish to remain silent. (complete BS ruling, but that's the way they ruled.)

Whats more, you cannot be inconsistent or selective - its all or nothing. If you choose to exercise your right to remain silent, and then answer a single question, you then forfeit your right to remain silent.

[tod evans]

Whats more, you cannot be inconsistent or selective - its all or nothing. If you choose to exercise your right to remain silent, and then answer a single question, you then forfeit your right to remain silent.

[brushfire]

Meh... Enhanced interrogation tactics...

[staerker]

Surprisingly, the common legal interpretation of the 5th amendment is even more pro-liberty than the actual text.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

[brushfire]

Surprisingly, the common legal interpretation of the 5th amendment is even more pro-liberty than the actual text.

Perpetual war? Militia? Public danger? I'd have to agree... Its worth nearly as much as the paper its written on.

[JK/SEA]

She's lucky she wasn't shot.

we'll have to check back with her in a few months to see how shes doing...

[Danke]

She is special, she keeps telling them that. " i'm a lawyer " " my BAR number is ". "My dad was a prosecuting attorney for the state "

We need to go back to the old days, when lawyers weren't even allowed in the towns.

[EBounding]

She was arrested for contempt of cop.

[phill4paul]

Ka-ching!

Lawyer arrested for not answering questions gets settlement

TRENTON, N.J. – A lawyer arrested for not answering questions during a traffic stop for suspected speeding in New Jersey will receive $30,000 under a settlement with the state, court records show.

NJ Advance Media reported Wednesday that the settlement for Rebecca Musarra was reached in July.

Dashcam video of the 2015 arrest shows state troopers telling the Philadelphia lawyer that she has the right to remain silent after they arrested her for not answering their questions.

"I thought it was quite ironic that they had just arrested me and told me I had the right to do the same thing they just arrested me for," she said in an interview.

The video shows the troopers repeatedly asking Musarra if she knows why she is being stopped. When she doesn't respond, a trooper tells her, "OK, you're going to be placed under arrest if you don't answer my questions."

When she told them she didn't have to answer their questions, they told her to get out of the car and handcuffed her.

Musarra said she was detained in a local police station where a trooper told her she was obstructing justice by not responding to the officers. When she informed the trooper that it was not illegal to stay silent, he then apologized for the arrest and called the officer a "rookie," according to the lawsuit.

She was released the same night after a trooper told her he would do her a "favor" and get her car released from an impound lot without her having to pay any fees. The lawsuit also stated that a trooper chipped her driver's-side window when he tapped his flashlight against it during the traffic stop.

The department has not officially admitted wrongdoing, though officials sent Musarra a letter in March 2017 saying that an internal investigation found sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations of false arrest and illegal search.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/24...ettlement.html

[Anti Federalist]

The SC has already ruled on this.

In order to assert your right to remain silent, you have to indicate that you wish to remain silent. (complete BS ruling, but that's the way they ruled.)

Whats more, you cannot be inconsistent or selective - its all or nothing. If you choose to exercise your right to remain silent, and then answer a single question, you then forfeit your right to remain silent.

With all the restrictions and hoops that have to be jumped through to exercise your 5th Amendment rights, all you'll do is $#@! yourself up.

Assert your 6th instead.

See here:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...-Innocent-quot

[osan]

I am now numb and thereby immune to the effects of reporting such stoogery.

Just thought everyone should know that.

[Origanalist]

I am now numb and thereby immune to the effects of reporting such stoogery.

Just thought everyone should know that.

[osan]

You bastard.

[otherone]

Of course you have the Constitutional right to remain silent.

But that doesn't mean you have a right to give a 'roid raging uniformed moron 'the silent treatment'.

A female police officer pulled me over a couple months ago.
She came up to my window and stared at me.
I asked, "What did I do?"
She responded icily, "Nothing".
"Then why did you pull me over?"
Silence, as she casually regarded my license and registration.
Minutes went by. Finally, I blurted out, "C'mon, you gotta tell me what I did!"
Glaring angrily at me, she replied, "You should know what you did!"

[Origanalist]

A female police officer pulled me over a couple months ago.
She came up to my window and stared at me.
I asked, "What did I do?"
She responded icily, "Nothing".
"Then why did you pull me over?"
Silence, as she casually regarded my license and registration.
Minutes went by. Finally, I blurted out, "C'mon, you gotta tell me what I did!"
Glaring angrily at me, she replied, "You should know what you did!"

My ex wife is a cop now?????

[Weston White]

The SC has already ruled on this.

In order to assert your right to remain silent, you have to indicate that you wish to remain silent. (complete BS ruling, but that's the way they ruled.)

Well, isn't the act of remaining silent in itself a pretty clear indication that you are asserting your right remain silent?

[CaptUSA]

Well, isn't the act of remaining silent in itself a pretty clear indication that you are asserting your right remain silent?

You would think, wouldn't ya?! But apparently the Supreme Court disagrees with you.