The Ocala banner., 1921-08-19
SENATOR JOHN SHARPE Will
LEAMS ON THE RIGHT or
SEARCH


peating
Listen to whA he says on the ~right
of search
Mr. Williams Mr.. President, of
course it Is a familiar principle of
law that where a violation OF the law
is taking place in the presence of an
officer, he does not have to wait to
go around and make an affidavit and
get<a warrant II the senator from
South Dakota were attacking the SEN
ator from Massachusetts in my pres
ence and were constable or police
man or any other sort of peace Of
ficer even a justice, of the peace,
Would have a perfect right to go up
and arrest both parties and to bring
them before the proper tribunal.
There never has been any doubt about
that Now here comes this case, and
if it stood alone it would not make
any difference; but it has become the
rule and not the exception where q
man goes up to another and for some
reason suspects that he has in his
valise whiskey or wine or something
else and then proceeds to arrest him,
even if he had in his possession the
liquor, whatever it may be, it does
not follow for that reason that he is
violating the law
The mere possession of whiskey is
not crime under the Volstead act.
It is the possession of it for unlawful
purposes. re
Here comes man who takes for
granted. first, that there may be pos
session may be, not isand pro-
ceeds to open mans valise without
any warrant or anything else. In my
opinion the man Is perfectly justified
in knocking him down, and, If the Of
ficer were superior in strength to him
and he could not prevent the insult
otherwise, shooting him, If he had
anything to shoot him with. There
must be always a limit to the tyranny
of the man, for
Proud man.
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he's most
assured.
His CLASSY essence, like an angry
ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before
high heaven
As makes the angels weep
And there must be some protection
for the citizen; and where suit at
common law for damages for unlaw-
full arrest is not sufficient, then this
statute ought to provide it.
AS | said moment ago, it has be-
come the rule and not the exception.
This is not the only case noted with
pleasure that this particular court
pronounced rebuke to the officer.
Again and again, all over the country,
judges have informed officers that they
have no right to arrest men without
a warrant,
1t is not like seeing man with
pistol pointed at another, at the point
of committing murder. 1t is not like
seeing one man with his fist lifted.
about to strike another in the face or
elsewhere. It is not like seeing a
man breaking into 4 door of a resi-
dence at night, from which you can
assume that burglary is contemplated.
The reason of the law which enables
the officer to arrest for crime COM
mitted in his presence Is to protect
life, limb and property when there
is not time to do otherwise. Now, q
man could not contend that he is
opening another mans valise to pro-
tect life or limb. or to prevent an ir-
reparable injury to the public or to the
individual that could not be redressed
in any other way except by the i'm
mediate action of the officer. That is
the reason underlying the law cessat
ratio, cessat lex, ought to apply.
**s
II was mas not merely an arrest, but
prior to the arrest was the exercise of
the right of search; and that right
has always depended upon some legal
some warrant of some de-
scription- A man has no right to come
into my house at night upon the gener-
al suppositfon that | am about making
bomb with q view of destroying the
life OF the senator from Massachusetts,.
He has no right to come in to search
and see II have q weapon in my house
on the supposition that am going to
use it unlawfully. The right Of search
was fully protected away back yonder.
before the very remote ancestors Of
the first English-speaking people in
America had ever found out that
fharo was. . Mou U<rlx2 - e~. -. -