If you look at a city charter, or a section of a city ordinance, what does “first amend” mean? The word “amend” means to change something. So, if the charter says that anyone can marry without getting their parents consent, and then the law changes and says that anyone who marries without their parents consent gets their parents consent, you could say that the example shows a violation of the first amend. However, let’s say that the amendment actually says that no marriage shall be performed without the consent of the parents.
Which of the two examples above is more likely to be an example of first-degree burglary? The answer to this question depends on how you want to view the laws of the line of consent. If you are using the previous example to show a violation of someone’s first amendment rights, you’re probably right. However, if you want to use the latter example to show that there are certain laws which are okay in one state but not in another, you’re going to have to use a different example.
For instance, let’s say that your neighbor’s window is broken: Your neighbor says that it wasn’t his fault because he was out with his girlfriend and didn’t see the broken window. This is a pretty simple example of a first amendment violation. However, if you used the same reasoning in deciding which of the following examples shows a violation of someone’s first amendment, you might want to look at a situation where there is an apparent problem. Perhaps your neighbor doesn’t like the way the police are treating him when he goes to the store during the evening.
Let’s say, for argument sake: that a police officer goes up to your neighbor’s house, knocks on the door, and asks to see his license. You’re surprised because you never knew that such a thing even existed. However, a license is often the only piece of identification a person has to make it into the driver’s seat of their vehicle. The first amendment protects the right to be let inside a car without having to produce your license to the police officer.
In some jurisdictions, a police officer may ask: you for your license after you have been detained. If you are in fact required to give your license to the police after they have asked you for it, then the first amendment protects you. That is, the police are within their rights to ask you for your license. However, they are not obligated to ask for it if you don’t feel like they should. Again, if you ever get pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence, you should definitely consult an attorney as soon as possible, especially if you are being questioned about your license.
If you ever are stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence: one of your first goals should be to ask for the license. There are a lot of things to consider before answering the question. First, you want to make sure you’re actually being searched. If the officer says no and searches you anyway, you should politely refuse to give it to him.
The issue here is the fact that you are giving the officer an authorization to search you without first obtaining your consent as well as your explanation as to why you are doing it.
