Pubdate: Fri, 12 Dec 2003
Source: Macon Telegraph (GA)
Copyright: 2003 The Macon Telegraph Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.macontelegraph.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/667
Author: Rick Waller

MUST TAKE ISSUE

I must take issue with Harry Stewart's letter regarding the recent Boyce 
case from the U.S. Court of Appeals. I find it disturbing that a citizen of 
a free country sees no problem with agents of the government stopping and 
searching vehicles with nothing more than a hunch. I do not want to live in 
a country where government agents can stop me without cause, make me show 
my papers and search my person and vehicle. Thankfully, our Constitution 
protects us from such abuse.

The issue in the Boyce case was whether the deputy had reasonable suspicion 
to lengthen the detention of Mr. Boyce beyond the reason for the initial 
traffic stop. Far from making a confession, Mr. Boyce denied that he 
possessed any drugs and would not consent to a search of his vehicle. On 
page five of the court's opinion, the court recites the facts as follows, 
"Ethe drug dogs arrived and alerted on Boyce's trunk. Once the dog alerted, 
the police searched Boyce's car."

The court found that the deputy did not have sufficient cause to make Mr. 
Boyce wait for a police dog to come to the scene and sniff his car. The 
court based its decision not on a hunch but on long-standing principles of 
justice found in the United States Constitution, a document that protects 
all citizens.

Rick Waller

Macon
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