Lax, fill us in on your extensive courtroom experience. I know you're a law student and such. But I (along with several other officers on here) have never heard the term "tier" used in court on a traffic stop. Sure it might be in a article, but I've yet to see it used in a real court room. I've had traffic tickets go to city court, county court, state court never heard it used buddy.
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2 LEO / attorney questions that grew from another thread.
- Thread starter wozbean
- Start date
Lax, fill us in on your extensive courtroom experience. I know you're a law student and such. But I (along with several other officers on here) have never heard the term "tier" used in court on a traffic stop. Sure it might be in a article, but I've yet to see it used in a real court room. I've had traffic tickets go to city court, county court, state court never heard it used buddy.
Both times I was finger printed at the sheriffs station for my carry permit I was offered a job there. I have thought about it but even though i'm not rich by no means I just couldn't afford to live on the salary they start you out at. For what it's worth I have gotten 7 speeding tickets, 2 seat belt tickets, 2 following too closely, 1 expired tag, 1 illegal passing, 1 reckless driving and countless warnings. NEVER have any of these officers asked me about weapons and NEVER was are safety compromised because of it. 90% of them were cool and professional and even the 10% who were jerks didn't inquire about weapons. So when I ask questions about all these stories popping up like the on Lax shared it's not to "bash" LEO's. I'm just really trying to figure out what the hell is going on with these jumpy ass cops now days.
You can tell someone respects you when they call you buddy. : (
oh.....oh......I have a new quote........ how about this......... "not even a law student can Monday morning quarterback an LEO", I just need someone to say it like that for me. Pretty PLEASE.
I never heard it outside of ODT either. In fact, the article that was posted on here written by a law student was the first time I'd ever heard it used. Not saying its not used in some circles, just saying I've never heard those terms used in any context when discussing investigatory detentions, not at the academy, not on the street, not in court.
It is usually not used in the courtroom. You might hear it in a hearing on a motion to suppress, but usually only in the argument, not in the examination.
It is a term that is in common use in search and seizure jurisprudence. I believe Lax pointed that out. As did I.
You have never heard the term "res gestae" in court either, but you can find it quite a bit if you do a Westlaw or Lexis search.
Thomaston Ga has a population of about 10,000. Here in Cobb the population is right at 1 million. Even though the laws are the same everywhere in Ga, policing is not the same everywhere. About 150 LEOs are killed every year in the line of duty for that small amount of pay you mentioned. Georgia is usually always in the top 5 states having the most officers killed each year. Yes, we choose this job. Anyway, here in Cobb we see multiple situations that require a hire level of force than a smaller department sees. Not anymore dangerous, just more often. Trigger happy is not an option, we are better trained than that. Other than the range, I've only fired once on duty and that was after the bad guy shot at me 5 times first. Yes he is dead. You just never know who or what you are encountering. I will be the first to say there are some on this job who shouldn't be. We try to get rid of them or retrain them as their shortcomings are discovered. A lot of LEOs start out young and need experience to mature. Jumpy, maybe but they have to learn and that only comes with enough encounters. True, some are just Jackasses and I cringe whenever I hear one headed my way as backup. No one can explain why any cop does what he does in each situation except that cop. So in my 54 years of life, 20 in the Military and 16 as a LEO, I can say, I've always carried a gun with my belief being, to stop a bad guy with a gun, I need a gun; nothing else. The trick is figuring out just who the bad guy is. Thus the questions, conversation, and caution whenever I stop a car. Thanks
Dang Albert I wish I was your insurance agent lol. Now jumpy cops: just my honest opinion is this: in the academy you see tons of films about encounters where officers get ambushed on traffic stops. Most of the "jumpy" ones are probably new. I was always aware of the surroundings as well as never took my eyes off the person or persons. I always was polite until the person started actin like a prick. I learned give respect get respect and most of the time it worked out well. I've pulled over neo nazis all tatted up and actually scary looking dudes, I was on edge to say the least, but he was polite and the encounter went fine. People are different. On every stop though I went from level 3 (on my holster) to level 2 or sometimes gun I'm hand by my side, all depends on what my 6th sense told me. The people never knew it. We (LEO) don't know your intent, what's in the car or who is in the car. All I know is I am going home to my family and will do all it takes to make that happen. When I get pulled over I roll my windows down place my hands outside the vehicle and when the officer comes up I tell him I have a gun and it location. When he asks for my ID I tell him where it is and that in going to reach for it. I never tell him I'm LEO until I get my ID out and he sees it. I've never had a LEO "violate" my rights (been stopped more than I can count) but any advice I could give would be this: show respect and you will receive it, let the officer know if you have a gun if he asks, dont make sudden moves and be honest.
