Drug Wars tooooo close to home!

Originally Posted by jinx

Yeah but, the actual law says "for any lawful contact by law enforcement" which, as far as I know, is not having a cop walk up to anyone they want on the street and demand ID. That's what I wanted to know about before getting upset.

It's all about how the initial contact is made.

In fact, the law does now allow a cop to walk up to anyone on the street and demand ID by criminalizing "trespassing" to a much higher level...to mean standing on any public or private property (assuming one is here illegally)...from a city park to a 7-11 store, you can now be charged with "trespassing"...if the cop thinks (no standard) that one is suspicious, he charges "trespassing" and the burden of proof is on the victim to prove he/she is a citizen or legal resident.

The law is fraught with Constitutional issues, from the supremacy clause to 4th and 14th amendment issues.

I dont think it can stand up to the test...but time will tell.

added: a member of Congress, Brian Bilbray (R-CA) offered his perspective on determining "suspicion":

"They (cops) can look at the kind of dress you wear, there’s different type of attire, there’s different type of…right down to the shoes, right down to the clothes."

One would hope the AZ law enforcement community has a tougher standard...but the fact is, there is no standard.