Sunday, January 27, 2008

Possession ISN'T 9/10 of the law?

I can't tell you how many times I've watched "COPS" and seen the following scene:


A car is pulled over. The driver is pulled from the car and searched. Nothing is found. The passenger is pulled from the car and searched. Nothing is found. The passenger behind the driver's seat is pulled from the car and searched. Nothing is found. Then the police search the empty car and they find a small bag of drugs under the back of the driver's seat. The driver denies that it's his. The back seat passenger denies it is his. The police officer tells the driver that unless someone confesses to putting the drugs there, the driver, who was sitting in that seat and was in control of the car, will be charged with possession of drugs. When the passengers deny even knowing the driver, the driver is "cuffed and stuffed" for possession of narcotics.


Keep that scenario in mind.


In Austin, Texas, a curious cat pokes its nose into a hole in a wall in an apartment complex. The renter, thinking she would find some food the cat was interested in, finds some DVDS. She watches a DVD and learns it is a stash of child "p0rn" (that's to keep my "G" rating). The owner calls the cops. They check with the previous renter who confesses to hiding the DVD.


Did the police even threaten to arrest the current renter? If it had been drugs, would they have checked the previous tenants? ANd if the previous tenant had denied any knowledge of the p0rn, would the current tenant have been charged, since the p0rn was in her possession?

No comments: