The Glade 4.0

Terry doesn't deal with arrest in a broad term but provides an out in 4th amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches without warrant. It has little to do with the other methods of indicating one is under arrest and excuses none of them.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

Anyway...Yes this is a gross violation of the rights of the individuals in question.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

Snippet from a case:

http://supreme.justia.com/us/414/218/case.html
U.S. Supreme Court
United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218 (1973)



It is very clear here how a traffic stop is different from an arrest. If it was a normal traffic stop, he wouldn't have placed them under arrest.

edit:

Also police officers can search any vehicle once the driver is placed under arrest. So by Elmo's standard, since all traffic stops are arrests, a police officer can search any vehicle just whenever.

It was County vehicles. The local government conspired to prevent the exercize of free assembly.

Phelps should sue, and he should win.

This is unacceptable behavior by the County.

Also in contemporary English, if a police officer made a remark "I arrested 10 people today", it would not mean he made 10 routine traffic stops for speeding tickets or broken brake lights. There is not even ambiguity here.

Ah, see, I initially missed that they were county-owned vehicles. My mind parsed it as "pickup trucks from Rankin county" the same way I didn't assume they were blocking in cars operated by the State of Kansas.

So my earlier comments should be taken in the context of applauding a crowd-sourced act of civil disobedience, not a government sanctioned suppression of free speech.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I don't see where it specifically says that it was county (as in the local gov't) vehicles. Rankin county pickup trucks can just as well mean pickup trucks owned by Rankin county locals.

Additionally, if they were county gov't vehicles, why would the police wrecker service be called. Seems that is an extra step when all the county has to do is move their own vehicles.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

It is ambiguous wording, yes. Perhaps another article might provide clearer.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I'm curious here. Am I interpreting this comment correctly by thinking you are saying it's great that citizens are suppressing peoples right of free speech, but if it had been the government then somehow it becomes bad?

An armed society is a polite society.

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I don't care for their tactics or what they stand for but they have the right to protest. I served my country to protect our rights not to protect only what is popular.

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I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

In the paragraph immediately receding the quoted paragraph, it is stated that many things were put in place at great expense to the county. Seems clear that those were county trucks, not private citizen trucks. After all, why mention just trucks? If private citizens had done this, wouldn't cars have also likely been in the mix?

You're sure there are no cases where the police officer has a basis for an arrest but has decided not to arrest you if you cooperate with them so he can arrest someone else? I'm sure it does happen.

Like Somalia?

My defense of the idea of private citizens standing up to the WBC is the same as supporting people standing up to Bullies.

If they WERE government vehicles... then I think that was a bit too far.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

I wonder what people would be saying if this had been a group of blacks who wanted to protest something, and they had been treated this way.

The people in Somalia are terribly polite; especially if you shoot back.

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Yes. Just like I'd be pleased if the hotel took its sweet-ass time having the vehicles towed from their lot, but would be upset if a policeman refused to ticket cars double-parked to box the WBC people in as they were parked on the street.

Or how I support a restaurant's right to refuse service, but not a county engineer's.

As I said, a citizen parking their truck in such a fashion would be an act of civil disobedience. And as I've flatly stated in the past (usually when it comes up in relation to pirates' claims that their piracy is civil disobedience), I'm perfectly happy to see civil disobedience punished as appropriate for the disobedience. It is, after all, disobedience. So I'd expect the trucks to be towed if they were civilians' on a private lot. Or ticketed if they were on public property. And I'd expect the hotel property's owner to receive (and, let's be honest here, probably proudly accept) some negative reviews in online travel sites if he dragged his feet in having them removed from his private lot.

I'm not arguing that the civilly disobedient people be protected from the consequences of their disobedience. Merely declaring that their disobedience is not in violation of the Constitution.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Thanks for the clarification.

I have to say, it's disappointing that you only seem to expect the government to support people's rights.

People also have the right not to hear other people's garbage. Sad that you think minority rights supercede majority rights.

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I can find no evidence that this actually took place. So far this is rumor from message board material, with at least one dispute from someone posing as a Brandon law enforcement officer declaring Phelps group never came to the area at all.

I have my doubts that the Phelps group would show up in this area. Rednecks galore with guns to the hilt, and not afraid to use them.

It goes along with the whole "You have a right to speak, but I don't have to give you an audience" thing, to my mind. Nobody was stopping them from talking (except the cops, who removed them from the scene under questionable pretenses, as I've previously mentioned).

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

You could be right, Sam. The initial link I posted came from Facebook this morning. Googling leads me to articles showing peace-loving non-violent displays of support like this: http://www.studentprintz.com/the-south-rises-against-westboro-1.2183326

I'm seeing local articles before the funeral announcing that Westboro was planning to come to the funeral, and an article announcing what was going to be done about it: http://beta.clarionledger.com/article/20110416/NEWS/104160337/-1/archive/Plans-in-place-to-minimize-protest-at-funeral








Also noteworthy, it is against the law in Mississippi to disturb a funeral:

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I guess I can see that, and even agree with the mentality. I just think that specifically blocking in their cars, with the sole intent of illegally preventing them from getting somewhere is crossing a line.

I assume the police fined them for that, so what is the issue?

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