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Comment by caseyross | Hacker News Reader

According to the article, the officer directly asked him if he had a large amount of US currency in the car. There's no way to weasel out of answering that kind of direct question if you've already been cooperative with other questions. It's possible, though uncertain, that he might have kept his money by categorically refusing to talk from the start of the stop.

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With state cops you are allowed to lie under many circumstances (exceptions: identification, under oath, on reports and forms).

He could have just straight up lied, or interpreted the question in a way favorable to him (I thought you meant millions, not less than $100k).

He cooperated at all points and was doing nothing wrong. The logical conclusion is that being truthful and cooperative is not going to keep you out of trouble.

Your statement is wrong. You are allowed to stop answering questions at any time and request legal council.

If you suddenly clam up when they get to a specific question, they're probably going to be able to guess the answer.

That's why the statement at the top of this thread is

> The lesson here is clear: do not cooperate with the police

Suddenly clamming up is a problem, doing so less suddenly is not (I'm elsewhere in this thread roughly advocating for clamming up about anything not directly related to the traffic stop)

Clamming up when a patrol officer goes off script means nothing more than you know that he knows that you know he's off script.

In the US, that doesn't mean anything legally speaking. They might know then that this means you have a lot of cash on you, but that's not probably cause for a search. They still have to get permission or a warrant to search.

I don’t know about probable cause for a search, but legally speaking, clamming up to a specific question, as opposed to explicitly invoking the 5th amendment right, currently means something in trial, as ruled in Salinas v. Texas.

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-246

I don’t see how telling the officer you have $87k is probable cause for a search, anyway.

Isn't it a probable cause to search your car, since it's the car and the cash that has broken the law, and has no rights to privacy?

No.

First, it is not illegal to have a car or cash.

Second, in the US at least the government does recognize a limited right to privacy in the form of the 4th amendment which spies to States as well. An officer cannot search you, your car or your home without a warrant from a judge or a tangible reason to believe you are committing a crime.

Or if you agree to a search!

"This doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the traffic stop, so respectfully I'm going to exercise my fifth amendment rights on principle".

The correct way to handle this during a routine stop is to inform the officer that you do not answer questions. In the US, you are not required to answer any questions.

Also, the police have a limited time to conduct the stop. Once they give you back your license, you can immediately leave regardless of what the officer requests that you do. The stop is over at that point, and they cannot legally detain you any longer.

> the officer directly asked him if he had a large amount of US currency in the car.

That’s a very specific question. Did the officer already know the answer?

I think they ask everyone that question so they can take the money. It's a very profitable question when the cops get to keep the money

> officer directly asked him if he had a large amount of US currency

That reminds me of something I think I read. Is there are companies that specialize in identifying motorists that are carrying large amounts of cash. They make money by selling that info to the police.

Can you put more info on this? :)

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