Most have had the opportunity to watch the video of San Francisco public defender Jami Tillotson get arrested for being a lawyer. Some lawyers out in Frisco have decided to do something about it, and have started the SFPD Constitutional Education Fund.
Clearly, the SF Police Department is not familiar with 5th and 6th Amendment rights to counsel guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. That, or they just don’t care.
We have decided to provide that information in the form of handy pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution to the entire police department. According to this article, as of 2012, the SF PD should have 1,971 officers in patrol or other crime-fighting, non-administrative duties. Therefore, to be safe, 2,000 copies should be sufficient to give one booklet to every officer performing non-administrative duties. Pocketconstitution.org offers these booklets at the bulk price of $0.85 per book.
They’ve started an indigogo campaign to raise enough money to give a pocket Constitution to every cop on the San Francisco police force. While the likelihood of cops actually reading the Constitution may be slim to none, it nonetheless makes the point that it exists and they, too, have to abide it.
I think this is a great idea, and anyone pondering what they can do to help “educate” the SFPD can make a contribution to the cause.
In fact, it’s such a good message that it would be wonderful if this idea spread across the country. Give every cop a Constitution. Maybe even a tat of the 4th on his forehead. Okay, I’ve gone too far, but at least one that fits on his Batman belt.
As an aside, those whose feelings were hurt when they offered what they perceived as reasonable arguments why Tillotson was wrong to interfere with the brave officers engaged in their vital business of capturing father-rapists, you might want to consider getting a copy of the Constitution for yourselves.
No matter how reasonable you think your personal view of the Constitution and the overarching power of the police to protect you from evil, you were so utterly and ridiculously wrong as to be unworthy of discussion. It’s not that you aren’t fabulous and brilliant. Actually, it is. The clear protections of the Constitution are not subject to debate on twitter with every clueless self-righteous dickwad with a keyboard.
But we’re sorry it hurt your feelings to be told this.
True!
Thin is also the line of aggregation.
So much wasted parking.
park!
Breathing is ok…
So you decided to pass on a Fugs opportunity and go classical instead? Interesting.
Opera…you ready?
Don’t be a wuss.
You need it.
Fugs?
We got it….
prepare for the non-aggregation heckling tour around the world.
Finland. why not start there?
Basted fucks… sold out their regional global karma.
I love you and all esteemed one but the “tour is-a-coming”.
Mount your “tractor” and sing….
LOL
At Halloween every year, instead of candy, I hand out pocket constitutions. If a child answers “yes” to my question “Is your mom or dad a cop”, I give them five copies and ask them to make sure their cop gets some for the uniform, for the car, and for the desk. No kidding. I even have spanish language versions to make sure its an easy read for bilingual cops. I keep the left overs in my cars and at my front door. (I run a nonprofit named Citizen Whistleblower via which we help people being mistreated by errant public officials–including cops, judges, prosecutors, etc.) It costs me a small fortune to do this. It used to be that the Constitution Center (in Philly) gave these away for free at their museum and I would grab a few every time I was there. The last time I went, they did not have any, which I think is a shame, because the merchant now responsible for providing pocket constitutions at the museum’s website is charging a lot of money for them and for shipping them, and they don’t have any competitors.
That will teach the little beggars which house to avoid.
Scott, thanks so much for the write-up. We encourage anyone interested to do the same thing in their own community. If anyone has questions about SFPD Constitutional Education Fund, feel free to contact me – tm[mylastname] at gmail.
Oh, for crying out loud. Email [email protected].
Yep, it’s a laudable goal: police should know the Constitution. But since the Heien decision, the notion almost seems quaint.
As an alternative, give the cops…
[Ed. Note: Balance deleted. This isn’t an invitation to substitute your cause for the one I’ve chosen to write about. You want me to write about a different one? All you need to do is ask. But you don’t get to free-ride to promote yours. Sorry, pal.]
Give the cops constitutional candy.
The recipe’s easy and handy:
Ink, parchment and paste,
And add sugar to taste.
Although liquor is quicker, it’s dandy!
It’s goanna happen Fubar. Santa Cruz mountains if Oakland is too claustrophobic for you. I won’t eat you or stick my dick in your ass I promise.
I think it’s a nice idea and great political theater, but not really useful. I love the Constitution! I really do! But by itself, it’s not a practical guide to legal behavior. Two hundred-plus years of court interpretations also apply. Besides, thinking is hard, especially if it’s about complex stuff.
Instead, an app — for smart phones and whatever other gadgets cops use — that provides simple answers to pertinent questions is required. The app would ideally have two modes of operation: 1) “X happened; what can I do about it?” and 2) “If I do X, what are the consequences?”
Of course, each app needs to be localized to take into account the ways laws are variously interpreted by jurisdiction, but that’s just grunt work and can be outsourced to whatever the cheapest pool of English-speakers exists at the time.
The copy-editing can be done by retired (or under-worked) judges and lawyers.
Oh yeah. An app. That will work.
I agree. I think its as useful as a petition….not very. I thought the discussion on this primary question — to what to we give more authority, the government or the rule of law?–was settled 3 centuries or so ago, and now our discussions are about more finessed issues. That a government entity–local police, freely act as if there is no Constitution, no rule of law, to right to counsel, etc. is a throw back to pre-civilized times.
Yeah. But, but… the Supreme Court! Congress! State legislature! Judge’s! County DA’s! They have spoken! Thus it is so! Who needs the stinking consteetootion!
Scott, thank you so much for posting this. We greatly appreciate your support of the project!
~Adam
Hope it helps. After all, readers of SJ are notoriously cheap bastards.