El Scott
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It is not illegal to run a license plate at random. There is no expectation of privacy on your back bumper. Besides it is a state owned license plate..........not your personal property.
So if I run someone's tag and it comes back revoked or something I tell them I ran their tag and it came back revoked and that is why I stopped them. Been there, done that, have a closet full of t-shirts.
Edit:
If you're really a lawyer then you must know there is nothing illegal about randomly running tags. I doubt your claims.
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nc_hull
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There doesnt need to be a specific reason or offence to stop you, the fact that someone is driving a motor vehicle on a road gives a police officer the power to stop the vehicle and request to see driving documents. If a Police Officer is stopping the vehicle then it is good practice to run the registration number first to make sure there are no reports on it. for example that it is wanted in connection with a shooting.
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charlsyeh
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this question sounds like it is coming from someone who does not have a clue or lacking common sense. it is not against any law to run tags.judging by the words in your response you must not even have a high school education. you believe your made up story because i do not.common sense tells one that aawyer would not come into this forum to ask questions.if you were really a lawyer you would no that it is not against the law to run someone's tags. you did not know that answer so people can see that you are not telling the truth.a lawyer would also know that common sense it not learned in a school;you have also proved that
----------retired texas deputy sheriff----------
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Josh
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No it is not illegal to run plates at random, and no the reason does not change. How could it? The citation says what the offense is. i can't cite you for speeding and tell them you were DUI when in court.
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Right Wing Extremist
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why would it be illegal to run plates for no reason?
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Mr. Goodhi
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No,
they run plates on their slow times.
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Bee Bee
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A police friend said they do that because so many policemen in our state were getting shot there at one time.so,if an incident did happen, they would know who they were looking for. But I don't know if they still do this ,since it has been a few years since we've had a shooting locally.
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killert_dawg
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No yu can run peoples plates when ever you want no reson not to mostly on slow days.
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D squared
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You are aware that most Police departments run the plates on vehicles parked at motels and hotels. They come through the parking lots and run tags. Also, in Chicago they have special vans with cameras mounted in all directions. The van is driven down the streets and the cameras scan all the parked cars license plates. If you have unpaid tickets guess what? Your car gets booted!! Happy motoring!!!!!!!
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raviet31
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No, it is not illegal, but most departments prohibit running plates for no reason as a violation of departmental resources. One example, would be an officer running a neighbor's plates because they were parking in their driveway. The Courts provide officers with a lot of discretion to make decisions as to pulling over vehicles and running plates.
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PERSONALTHING
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actually now can stop without any reason....booooo
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Roadrunner58-79
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As far as I am concerned, it is illegal to run people's plates for no reason. NO on the last question.
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futfut1
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No, only people with no licenses and screwed up registrations and no insurance are afraid of having their plates run.
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In your rearview mirror
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that is how you find stolen vehicles/fake tags/expired registration.
No its not illegal. And by running it, it doesn't go on your record or anything so you don't have to worry, unless your plates have something wrong with them.
and in THIS country (USA) you do need a reason to stop someone, or it would be an illegal seizure.
edit:
It is a privilege to drive, not a right, therefore, by wanting to drive, you must get your car registered and must submit to inspections/random checks of your plates. If you don't want it to happen, don't drive.
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Flowers
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every time a cop is driving behind you they are running your tags, I don't care because I don't have anything to hind
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Variable
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You complain of having no privacy but why do you think you drive around with a tag attached to your car that has an individual number that has your information attached to it? Sorry, I couldn't resist that.
Seriously though, this is becomming a hot issue and I seem to recall hearing that the Supreme Court may even be hearing this though I can't say for sure.
However, it's a moot point because you drive around a vehicle with a registration plate attached to it. The registration information is contained in the files of the DMV, a government agency and I see no reason why a government record such as that should not be public information. So, with that said, why would public information not be available to the police?
As for the debate over it, if the courts would decide that they can't be run randomly, and I doubt that they will, they would most likely simply require a "reasonable suspicion" of a crime or traffic offense or something to that effect.
It sounds as though in your case that you were probably driving erratically and the cop ran your plate before he pulled you over.
You have to seperate the actions. Just because he ran the plates doesn't mean there was a problem with the plates, and if there was, you apparantly were not charged with that, you were charged with erratic driving. In that sense, the two actions are basically unrelated.
Additional note: if you are a lawyer, you must certainly be a poor one or you would have known the answer to such a basic legal question. Sounds like the responses here struck a nerve. If you wish to invoke an intelligent discussion, perhaps on a law forum or something, you will most likely find people who agree with your views regarding privacy and unfair taxation. However, you asked a question here and I'm sorry that the answer wasn't what you had hoped for.
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