Quote:
Originally Posted by NightWing
Marine Patrol has the authority to stop any vessel at any time to perform a safety inspection. That has been posted here before.
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If anybody doubts the policy, call NHMP. 293-2037
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I suggest you make that call. If I understand it properly, in NH v McKeown the Supreme Court ruled that the defendant had been "stopped" and therefore normal operating procedures, consistent with the laws of NH, must be applied. From the link below .... (emphasis added my me)
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SOP 2010 requires that "Marine Patrol Officers must operate in a uniform manner, consistent with applicable statutes and case law in conducting routine operations relating to stopping and detaining boaters on public waters." The SOP instructs officers that "boats shall not be stopped on the public waters for purely discretionary reasons." It further provides, in relevant part, that "[t]here must exist in the opinion of the Marine Patrol Officer, at a minimum, an articulable suspicion that the operator, or other occupant of the boat is in violation of some criminal or boating law, rule, or regulation; . . . or that the boat lacks the required safety equipment." As defined by the SOP, articulable suspicion includes, but is not limited to, "visual, audible, tactile, or other sensations experienced by the officer, which give rise to an apprehension on the officer’s part, that the conditions" set forth above exist."
http://www.nh.gov/judiciary/supreme/...4/mckeo073.htm
Whether you agree (or not) that the PFD inquiry was a "stop" or whether there was sufficient cause to be "stopped", the law stands that you can't be stopped unless there's good reason to suspect you're in violation of some rule or regulation.