Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Reasonable Suspicion

“Simply put, a police officer needs reasonable suspicion of a crime before he can detain someone, and merely possessing a handgun is not reasonable suspicion of a crime,” says Ed Stone, president of the gun rights group georgiacarry.org and co-counsel for Mead. “In this case, the encounter went beyond merely detaining Zachary Mead for having a handgun; the deputy in this case actually seized the handgun and took it with him.”
I guess that all depends on the meaning of the word "reasonable."

And "suspicion."

1 comment:

  1. The definition of "reasonable" varies depending on the Title and Statute being applied. Most define it along the lines of (paraphrased), "what a normal, sane person would think". Since the arresting officer didn't conduct a study, have it peer-reviewed and then published in a scientific journal, the de facto meaning is actually, "unlimited" or "undefined".

    It doesn't matter. One interpretation is a blank check for mob rule, the other a blank check for government authority. I don't think malice is involved. I think it's just a desire for legislative expediency in conjunction with apathy toward individual liberties.

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