Headlights in the mirror
It is nine at night and you are ten minutes from home with two friends in the car. Lights come on behind you. You pull into a lit parking area. The officer asks for your licence and registration, and then: "Where are you all coming from tonight?" Your registration is in the glove box, and your phone is in your jacket pocket.
What could you do?
Pick a response to see how it usually plays out.
The general principles
- Producing a licence, registration, and proof of insurance is generally required of a driver.
- The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination covers questions, not documents.
- Consent to a search is a choice; declining preserves the legality question for a court to decide later.
Safer next steps
- Stop somewhere lit, engine off, interior light on, hands on the wheel.
- Announce every reach before you make it.
- If asked to search: "I don't consent to a search." Once, calmly, then stop.
- Write down time, place, officer name and badge number, and tell an adult at home that night.
Some states have stop-and-identify laws requiring a person to give their name in certain circumstances, and rules for passengers differ from rules for drivers.
Tell a parent, guardian, or trusted adult the same night, even if nothing went wrong. If something did, a legal aid organization can advise your family for free, and a ticket's court date is the place to contest it.
Related lessons
Support you can reach
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (opens in a new tab)
Know-your-rights guides on speech, protest, police stops, immigration, and student rights, plus state affiliates that take complaints.
- LawHelp.org (opens in a new tab)
Directory that finds free legal aid programs in your state for housing, family, school, work, and more.
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