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Originally Posted by Tired of Waiting
This is where most people go wrong and LEO's take advantage of that fact. They do not have to read you your rights under general contact. They can ask any question they want. If you answer, oh well. They don't have to tell you, "you have the right to walk away, the right not to talk to me, etc, etc.".
Most folks don't know this, and the LEO's use your lack of knowledge to their advantage.
In this case it didn't work out for them.
ToW
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I agree with what you said but am still left pondering how I, John Q Public, is supposed to know when I'm being "stopped" and when I just engaging in friendly banter. Two examples at the extremes would be a MP running down my wake with it's blue lights and siren on, and the 2'nd being the MP at the gas dock asking me about the weather (or donuts
). In the first case it's seems obvious to me that I am required to stop (and can face additional penalties if I don't) and in the 2'nd, obvious that I'm free to leave. But when, as in this case, the MP asks about something that's in his perview to enforce, how am I to know it's the 2'nd type and not the 1'st ? Where is the dividing line ? I don't expect to be read my rights until/unless I'm under arrest and the LEOs are allowed to detain w/o arrest.
p.s. - An aside, if the PD pulls you over and asks "Son, do you know how fast you were going ?", obviously you should just shut up and say nothing (been there, done that). That said, I always have thought there should be an additional fine for the person who says "No officer, I have no idea how fast I was going !". Either they're lying or they're clueless about how they're driving. Personally I think the latter is worse than both the former (and perhaps the offence).