Quote Originally Posted by taxfree4 View Post
Ignorance of the law is never a defense nor an excuse. How else is the officer going to know if you are in the vicinity of your home if he can't identify where you live? He's going to take your word for it? You answered your own question.
The bottom line here is that an LEO must have a reasonable reason for bothering you.

Here is what I know, thanks to my Dad who was an attorney for years in crime ridden Syracuse NY. He always told us that we should carry ID when out, but it is not required by law for most situations - - - like if you are just out walking the dog. There are obvious exceptions: buying or carrying alcohol; operating a vehicle on public waterways, lands or roads; hunting and fishing; carrying a gun; voting (recently); etc.

He told us that you SHOULD ALWAYS treat an LEO with respect and COURTESY. He also said that we had to identify ourselves to an LEO when asked. But that we had the right to see the LEO's own badge/ID before showing or telling them our own name and address. This establishes that the person is indeed an LEO (yes, some wackos like to impersonate LEOs ). Security guards should be treated the same as LEOs, despite that in many states they have no right to do more than call an LEO.

He taught that (thanks to the 5th Amendment) we have the right (and maybe even the responsibility) to shut the hell up. This is usually where these situations go wrong, when some idiot thinks it's a good idea to tell the LEO where to go/get off/how to do their job (stupid). Dad's advice was to answer factual questions about what we've seen or doing, but that we have to right to decline to answer questions that are personal, not relevant, or accusatory.

Dad was a WW2 Vet who graduated from Harvard University on the GI bill in 1948. He did three years of law school in less than 2 years. It wasn't until I was in my late teens before I realized how remarkable this was. He was the smartest person I think I have ever meet. His strategy for dealing with LEOs was given to me over 40 years ago, and it has served me quite well in many, many interactions with LEOs. He counciled SU students, faculty and small businesses for 40 years....

So anything that you've got to say on this subject that contradicts my Dad's advice means nothing...

Sorry.