Support NeoGAF

[darscot]

Don't see ruling like this everyday.

Here's the abridged version. Black guy with a fancy car gets pulled over and busted for drugs, Judge throws it out because you can't pull people over and search them for driving a nice car.

 

[Willco]

Don't see ruling like this everyday.

Here's the abridged version. Black guy with a fancy car gets pulled over and busted for drugs, Judge throws it out because you can't pull people over and search them for driving a nice car.

... but the guy did have drugs in the car. I mean, it'd be one thing if it was some upstanding guy who was detained and searched because of his color and he had nothing, but that clearly wasn't the case.

 

[pestul]

Police testified they pulled Khan over because he had a suspended licence. As they approached the vehicle, the smell of cocaine "lept out at them."

Wtf.. I didn't know the smell could leap out to you..

 

[darscot]

... but the guy did have drugs in the car. I mean, it'd be one thing if it was some upstanding guy who was detained and searched because of his color and he had nothing, but that clearly wasn't the case.

That' why I'm surprised by the ruling. Normally they just so it's ok we violated your rights in the end your guilty, but not this time.

 

[norinrad21]

Great judge, I would love to buy him a beer

 

[Willco]

Wtf.. I didn't know the smell could leap out to you..

Yeah, that quote was pretty humorous. Both sides seem to be lying in the case.

... "A friend and/or family member left cocaine in the car after borrowing it." Haha, yeah right. It's not my cocaine! Oldest excuse in the book.

... "The smell of cocaine lept at us." Yes, that happens when you're RACIST. Nice try, Hitler.

 

[darscot]

Great judge, I would love to buy him a beer

You mean her a beer.

 

[norinrad21]

You mean her a beer.

yes and FHUTA after that too for a job well done

 

[darscot]

yes and FHUTA after that too for a job well done

LOL, I normaly hate the silly acronyms online but that one is still golden.

 

[Slo]

Hurray for keeping police officers honest!
Boo for letting the guilty go free!

 

[DopeyFish]

The officers approached the vehicle and demanded a search just for the hell of it. They found cocaine, yes... but since it was waiving the rights and failing to comply with proper procedure, any evidence found is pretty much inadmissable since it was gathered by law-obstructing means.

 

[Slo]

The officers approached the vehicle and demanded a search just for the hell of it. They found cocaine, yes... but since it was waiving the rights and failing to comply with proper procedure, any evidence found is pretty much inadmissable since it was gathered by law-obstructing means.

And? In a perfect world, criminals would have no civil rights, and innocent people would never be hassled by the cops.

Never gonna happen, but that's the ideal.

 

[DarienA]

And? In a perfect world, criminals would have no civil rights, and innocent people would never be hassled by the cops.

Never gonna happen, but that's the ideal.

You know someone is a criminal on sight?

 

[Slo]

Ofcourse not, that's the problem.

 

[DarienA]

In a 23-page judgment, Justice Anne Molloy ruled the two Toronto police officers who arrested Khan lied about the suspended licence.

She also had the cocaine brought to the courtroom during the trial, and opened the bag at her feet. "I could smell nothing," she said.

OWN3D

 

[levious]

I don't know how it is in Canada, but in the US, probable cause is so easy and open ended, I never have sympathy for cops when they screw something up like this.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Ofcourse not, that's the problem.

nah the problem is the cops think they do... black men in fancy cars...

 

[maharg]

If the smell of cocaine 'leapt up at you', wouldn't that very likely make you high on it? Sounds like the cops were snorting some and needed an excuse in case a drug test was done.

 

[Shinobi]

Good ruling...I'm sick of seeing this shit, regardless of what the guy has done.

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

If you could smell coke then you wouldn't be worried finding it or not.

 

[bishoptl]

Good ruling...I'm sick of seeing this shit, regardless of what the guy has done.

I second this motion - I don't believe the plaintiff for one minute about the coke not being his, but the cops deserved a crackback in the grille for pulling this stunt.

Up your ass with a piece of glass, Toronto PD!

 

[aoi tsuki]

If you can smell coke you're probably using it.

 

[Shinobi]

Up your ass with a piece of glass, Toronto PD!

:lol

 

[jenov4]

It was also confirmed that the guy knew nothing about the cocaine in the car.

 

[MetatronM]

You do in America. You don't follow procedure, you don't get a conviction. As it should be. I don't care if the guy was guilty as hell, if the cops do something illegal, the guy should get off.

Well, personally, I think it would be more logical that both sides face punishment, but I suppose that's just the way our justice system works.

 

[DarienA]

You do in America. You don't follow procedure, you don't get a conviction. As it should be. I don't care if the guy was guilty as hell, if the cops do something illegal, the guy should get off.

How do I put this politely.... do the blinders you wear hurt much? Seriously.... what you see only scratches the suffer of what some police departments don't get away with... you barely hear about what they do get away with.

 

[Hitokage]

And? In a perfect world, criminals would have no civil rights, and innocent people would never be hassled by the cops.

Never gonna happen, but that's the ideal.

Ignoring the fact that there wouldn't be criminals in a perfect world, criminals would have their guilt proven before being stripped of their rights.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

It was also confirmed that the guy knew nothing about the cocaine in the car.

How can that be confirmed?

 

[MASB]

Well, personally, I think it would be more logical that both sides face punishment, but I suppose that's just the way our justice system works.

Exactly, that would be the best way to do things. If a person is guilty, then they should be punished no matter what. If the cops did something wrong in the process, then they should be fired, punished, etc. Not have a situation in which the criminal gets off and nothing happens to the cops as well.

 

[jooey]

If the smell of cocaine 'leapt up at you', wouldn't that very likely make you high on it? Sounds like the cops were snorting some and needed an excuse in case a drug test was done.

it smells a lot like french leather interior.

 

[Hitokage]

Exactly, that would be the best way to do things. If a person is guilty, then they should be punished no matter what. If the cops did something wrong in the process, then they should be fired, punished, etc. Not have a situation in which the criminal gets off and nothing happens to the cops as well.

Except the United States Constitution is quite clear that a person cannot be denied liberty or any other right or privledge without due process of law. Quite possibly, if the police fuck up they risk losing the legal authority to punish the offender.

One of American law's original ideals was to do more to protect the innocent than to punish the accused. Being an ideal, this has not always been the case, but I don't see why we shouldn't strive for it.

 

[maharg]

I was simply pointing out that you see this happen more often in the US.

More often than....?

 

[maharg]

There are people who are misinformed on the way the law works on both sides of the border. Search and seizure without due process is as illegal in Canada as it is in the US.

It doesn't get a lot of press when it happens either way, though, which is why someone might find it unusual.