There are a lot of kids on here that haven't taken the time to learn the law and for them that is unfortunate. But I take exception to your thread title. How do we know YOU know more than 1 point of law. Most people who come to this site come to learn to grow and not the law. There are many on here who try to educate others on growing and when it is brought up a little on the law. We do know the law but prefer not to make statement to insult the ones that do not. The people making stupid statement are the minority but seem majority because the people who do know pass comments like your with a grain of salt and move on. I was a part of the hippie movement and we learned the hard ways how not to trust law enforcement. We learned the law out of having to stay out of the system.
Search my threads, I had no friends in high school and took a stimulant ADD medication. Because of that I read tons of books and a whole lot about law. I have a book on my shelf called "Marijuana Law", I bought this when I was 17, I didn't try pot till I was 23. Also I know the state penal code almost as well as my best buddy who is a fresh out of the academy cop. His academy had online practice tests for the penal code portion of state exam to become a peace office. I score in the high 80s without looking over any books. While I might not know chapter and verse numbers I know my state law (maybe not yours) pretty well backwards and forwards. When I took my concealed handgun class, I actually knew more than the instructor about state law and actually cited cases he had never heard of.
I am not going to say I am an expert but I know state law just as well as any cop on the beat.
Also I started out in the "gun community" on the web, where if you actually have to use deadly force and kill someone its very common for cops to try and get you to make a statement that you murdered the person. A cop will say, "wow man, you sure did kill that guy", and since you are so shaken up you say "ya....well I guess I did didn't I". This looks HORRIBLE in a courtroom if you ever go to trial, the DA will convince the Jury that you actually said "hell ya I killed him and that piece of shit got what was coming to him".
Like I have said before, I have a lot of acquaintances (I really don't call them friends anymore) who are in law enforcement and the idea of being a cop has crossed my mind more than once.
On top of all this though is your rights guaranteed by the Constitution. I think a lot of kids today learn enough about the Constitution and specifically the Bill of Rights to pass their test and forget it all. They have no idea that when a cop asks to search their home or vehicle they can tell him to fuck off and slam the door in his face. If you are on a traffic stop, the cop has told you why he has pulled you over and is now asking to search your car, you give him an answer and a question. "No, am I being detained here?" He can either say "yes" at which point he had to prove that he has enough to arrest you, or "no" in which case you ask if you are free to go. He can not deny you this right without arresting you. Traffic stops are a funny creature when it comes to the constitution. In theory as soon as the officer walks up to your window you can ask if you are being detained and if he doesn't say yes, you are free to go. You can try this and take it all the way to the Supreme Court but frankly I don't have the time or money.
