Wednesday, December 22, 2010

We're the ones paying to shred the Bill of Rights

In NHTSA's No Refusal Weekend Toolkit you can find some interesting talking points about why motorists' rights under the Constitution and Bill of Rights should be bent, folded, spindled and mutilated:

  • The BAC test is one of the most important pieces of evidence in a DWI arrest. The prosecuting attorney will review the evidence to determine whether to pursue a DWI offense, reduce the case to a lesser offense, or dismiss the case. 
  •  Allows prosecutors to obtain evidence including alcohol and other impairing substances in the arrestee’s system. 
  • BAC testing preserves evidence for independent testing. 
  •  Answers jury’s expectations regarding the “CSI effect” (i.e., they always have that sort of evidence on TV) 
  • May decrease the breath test refusal rate and may decrease the number of trials. 
  • May increase your conviction rates based on solid evidence. 
  •  Increases training opportunities for law enforcement and prosecutors. 
  •  Brings diverse groups together in a law enforcement effort and fosters understanding among these groups. 
  • May establish better relationships with area hospitals. 
  • May provide judicial protection for law enforcement officers and nurses in DWI cases. 
  • Provides due process for arrestees. 
  • Makes a bold statement about your commitment to DWI enforcement.

Let's make a joke out of the 4th Amendment because it'll make it easier to make cases against motorists suspected of driving while intoxicated! That's just the ticket. By compelling motorists to give evidence to the police by threat of forcible blood draw we might also reduce the number of motorists who choose to exercise their right to trial by jury.

Would that bold statement be that we don't care what the Constitution or the Bill of Rights says -- we're going to do what we want to do when it comes to suspected drunk drivers?

And all of this comes from your tax money. That's right, NHTSA is using our tax money to promote an initiative to curb the Constitutional rights of the citizenry. This is Big Brother at its worst. We can't have labor unions using members' dues money for political activity, but we have to sit by while the state takes money out of our pocket to push for curbing our rights on the highway.

How's that for limited government?

No comments: