Thread: CA: Police Roadblocks To Remove Unlicensed Drivers

Update.

Police roadblocks to remove unlicensed drivers challenged

From wire service reports

A controversial police technique to remove unlicensed drivers from the roads is being challenged on civil rights grounds, and another federal court decision is expected soon, it was reported today.

Police across California are using temporary roadblocks to find unlicensed drivers, and impound their cars. But Latino rights groups say that practice is discriminatory and aimed at undocumented workers, who are unable to pay for their cars' steep impound fees.


Los Angeles and Orange counties have joined several other agencies in supporting a state law that requires cars driven by unlicensed or uninsured motorists to be impounded on the spot, and towed to a storage yard.

Three civil rights law firms have sued several agencies, including the City of Los Angeles, for impounding cars owned by illegal aliens, who are barred by state law from getting drivers licenses. The suit claims that Latinos are being singled out in an unconstitutional, sweeping move that violates constitutional protections against unreasonable police conduct against all persons, not just U.S. citizens.

``We've heard a lot of complaints from the Latino community,'' said Bill Flores, a San Diego County Latino organizer, in an interview with the Oceanside North County Times. He noted that the impound fees of $1,500 must be added to towing and administrative fees that can go above another $400.

The groups argue that the cars should be parked safely and the motorists cited, so the cases can be heard in court. Some licensed drivers have lost their cars when they could not find their insurance documents at the roadblocks, or if they lent the car to an unlicensed driver, and could not afford to get them out of impound.

But the government attorneys argue that state law is aimed at protecting the public by removing the cars driven by unlicensed, uninsured drivers from the streets immediately.

The state law, they said in court documents, is an extension of police powers to keep the roads free of unlicensed and uninsured drivers.


But recent decisions by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have prompted a statewide association of police chiefs to warn its members that impounding cars merely because the driver is unlicensed is an unconstitutional seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.




USER COMMENTS ( 5 of 180 total | view all )
"Californian"
California is controld by Mexicans. The rest of the country gave up on us in the 70's. There will never be another Los Angeles Mayor that does not speak Spanish and the governor will be next. Without the support from the rest of the nation we will be lost. I have lived here all my life and love the area, I just hate the people. There are little pockets of Americans left but right now my house is in the middle of millions of Hispanics that have no interest or need to learn English. It will take the nation to save us from this violence, corruption and illiteracy.
- haddit
posted: Tuesday, July 24th at 7:03 AM


"Only Citizens can be prosecuted"
It is amazing that police have used road blocks for years and the courts have upheld the use of them. But once an ILLEGAL ALIEN is caught up in one, then by god it is unconstitutional. Only citizens can be prosecuted for stealing/forging ID's, stealing SS#, lying on I9 forms and driving without license or insurance. Maybe we need to demand the same rights as ILLEGAL ALIENS from the courts and government. Get free health care, pay no taxes and freedom from laws of the land.
- Ron posted: Tuesday, July 24th at 7:01 AM


"A step further"
inpound the car and use the money to deport them. period.
- martin
posted: Tuesday, July 24th at 6:51 AM





http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/8659077.html

CA is not going to have tax payers to pay their bills. Talking about discrimination. If americans were driving without a license your car would be impounded and like Paris you could be put in jail. Why are illegals different?

"and the governor will be next."

I can barely understand the governor they have now!

You are right CCUSA. From all I have read, citizens are leaving California in droves. Eventually, they will go begging to the federal government wanting our hard earned tax dollars. And when that time comes............

Back in the 70's when I first got my drivers license I borrowed my Mom's car. I had forgot to take her registration. I was stopped for blocking an intersection. THEY INPOUNDED MY CAR! Since I could not prove whom the car was registered to, I had to pay the ticket & fines, and show the registration before I could get the car back. TODAY YOU JUST HAVE TO YELL DISCRIMINATION! How lawless can we get?

Originally Posted by Beckyal

CA is not going to have tax payers to pay their bills. Talking about discrimination. If americans were driving without a license your car would be impounded and like Paris you could be put in jail. Why are illegals different?

They aren't, they have just delusionally been brainwashed to think they're special.

Personally, I think they're "special" in the bat sh*t crazy kind of way.

How political correctness continues to erode this nation I will never understand. I have never and will never be "politically correct" I call things as I see them. I was barred from publishing in my local newspaper but was able to post again when I threatened to use my first amendment rights as nothing I ever said was "hate speech" it just didn't fit well with a politically correct view.

My first article after being able to post again was about how political correctness was hurting everyone except those who demand special rights. I was raised in a time before political correctness I have spent the last 5 years teaching my younger siblings (10 year difference) that this is not how things are done, and to have common sense.

You call them how you see them, and do not relent in the face of opposition I strive for it, and I look for it. During a course I was required to take in college "public speaking" I did a presentation on Nano Technology. I was given a D (for not keeping my audiance in mind) While a black american (there is no such thing as an african american) read a cat in the hat book and got an A. I called her out on it in front of the class after I received my grade and made her explain her bias grade. She attempted to say that the words I was using in my speech were too complex, I interrupted her and said the last time I looked this was a college course not an elementary school if you want to continue looking down on us students as idiots and should be kepted away from "complex words" then that is your agenda, but don't take it out on people who have a bit more intelligence and can learn beyond books of small words.

She refused to talk to me after that, or even have me in her class after chewing her supervisors as* our and threatening litigation of discrimination I was given a full refund, unfortunately I never returned to college after experiancing such a bad taste of discrimination I doubt I will ever go back as I see higher learning institutions now as diploma mills.

I've met people who flip burgers and have a degree. Yes I am aware that it is uncommon but call me a little old school here. That if you want to learn then you will seek knowledge. I've out debated people who have Ph. D's and consider themselves above "uneducated" people such as me. I've worked with Doctors, lawyers, and the extremely rich in my area (Home automation get's you into all sorts of wealthy people's lives) and the one common denominator I have noticed is that it doesn't matter what degree you have, or how much money you have, you can still be a moron.

I agree. I went to college, but I never look down on people without a degree. Life experience, hard work and common sense are just as important. In fact, I know quite a few successful people who have no college education.

Two of the most intelligent, capable and yes, even educated (real education) people I knew had a 4th grade education.

I have met a whole boatload of people with a veritable salad bowl of letters after their names who were painfully ignorant.

That is not to say I do not admire education, I do, but a diploma does not necessarily equate to an education.

I had a very short college career. It dawned on me pretty quickly that there was going to be a lot of garbage I was going to have to sit through and I had neither the time, money nor inclination to do it.

Somehow it irked me to have some woman sit straddled legged on her desk and try to tell me that everything I thought somehow had something to do with sex.

Also to have a math professor who was so resentful because he was teaching at a community college, he spent all his classtime insulting the students. What frightened me was, most the the class was made up of Vietnam Vets. I expected and kinda hoped any minute one of them was going to jump over their desk and 'educate him'.

He would write a problem on the board and challenge a student to solve it. Of course, usually no one knew it. He would say, "Oh, no guts huh?'
He pulled that with my husband.

My husband stood up and recited a poem and Spanish an asked him to translate.

'Well, I don't speak Spanish'.

"What, no guts, huh?"

Then my husband told him, "I know how to speak Spanish o- and I can teach you how. You know math - can you teach us, or can you only stand up there and insult people."

No more college for either of us.

Originally Posted by CCUSA

I agree. I went to college, but I never look down on people without a degree. Life experience, hard work and common sense are just as important. In fact, I know quite a few successful people who have no college education.

And I know quite a few college educated people who lack any common sense

I do not want to imply that I don't regret very much that I didn't go to college when I was younger and had no other responsibilities. It is something that bothers me a lot.