On 5/19/06, John Galt wrote: > > The property that these people are living is public land, and therefore > these American citizens have every right to be there, and they do have the > right to make arrests if they find undocumented (read illegal) peeps > living > out there: > > http://www.constitution.org/grossack/arrest.htm
Nothing gives any citizen the right to go hassle someone else without clear evidence of wrongdoing. They would need to establish that these people are illegals and they are living in the area. Without that evidence, they risk lawsuits and harrassment charges themselves. You don't have the right to hassle someone just because you think they might be doing something wrong. I admit I was wrong about it being an actual responsibility. Apparently in > CA you don't have to interfere in something like this unless you have been > trained to give medical aid, and such aid is required. That being said, > in > CA you can arrest someone for even a misdemeanor, unlike in DC and VA > where > you can only do so in the case of a felony. Again, evidence. This is why the Minutemen have apparently been so careful not to confront anyone on the border, only to call Border Patrol and report sightings. They know they are walking a fine line between activism and vigilantism and they don't want to get arrested. http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2004/termsofart_marsh_julaug0 > 4.msp > > It goes on to show that: > > "THE IDEA THAT CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE for policing their communities > dates > back to before the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the sheriff, or "Shire > Reeve," could call on any free male subject to serve on a posse. Free male > subjects were expected to constrain felons and in some cases to administer > justice. Once a representative of the king declared someone to be an > "out-law," anyone could kill or capture that person without further > intercession from the authorities. > > Police forces are actually a relatively recent development: Up through > early > 19th-century America, the only forces were private ones hired by the > wealthy > to protect their interests. In the tradition of British common law, it was > considered a citizen's duty to step in and make an arrest when he > witnessed > a crime. Magistrates and sheriffs were employed to help citizens process > criminals; it was not the job of the former to catch the latter." What exactly is your point? This isn't 11th century England. We live in a modern industrialized nation that has professional police forces, Border Patrol, INS, and National Guard. We don't have posses to go round up bandits. Also, it has been repeatedly found in the Supreme Court that the government > and law enforcement agencies do NOT have to protect you. > > http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162325,00.html Yes, everyone has the right and responsibility to defend themselves, but that has nothing to do with harrassing people who are minding their own business. So therefore you have not only the right, but the responsibility to act in > your own defense, and the defense of your community, supported all the way > to the Supreme Court of the United States, and going back into British > common law. -- --------------- Robert Munn www.funkymojo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:207186 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
