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The terms Police Officer and Peace Officer have very different definitions depending on the state/agency you are referring to. I will refer to PA law in addressing this. In PA, a Peace Officer has only limited powers of arrest based on his office. Constables, Probation Officers, Dog Catchers, and Meter Maids are Peace Officers under PA law. They can only act with limited authority and make arrests within a limited set of circumstances. A Police Officer is vested by PA Act 120 with powers of Investigatory Arrest. He can investigate a crime that a third person says happened and charge someone with a crime after the investigation. Because of this power, he has EVERY RIGHT to ask you any question he chooses to during the investigation into whether a crime was committed or not (and this power was heavily expanded in the ill conceived Patriot Act). Additionally, not answering or giving false information can also be crimes (obstruction, false reports to a law enforcement officer). Traffic and tax violations ARE laws and I have arrested and jailed 100s of people for these very infractions. So are Conscription Laws. There are people in America who are in jail right now because they were either a "Stop Loss" or an Active Duty/Active Reserve who were deployed and did not go. Summons are routinely sent through the mail and the PA method follows the Title 18 Standard (Title 18 is the US code referring to the enforcement of domestic law) that every other state we ever dealt with used as well. A mailman will attempt to deliver a Summons (with you signing for it) three times. If you sign for it, you will have ten days to report to Court and enter a plea. If they cannot deliver it, they will return it to the Court. If you do not respond in 10 days or the post office cannot deliver it (usually due to a refusal to sign), A Warrant is issued for your arrest (for failure to respond). Someone like me then shows up at your house. Depending on the severity of the crime, I might even enter your house without permission (in the case of a felony). You will then see the Judge to enter a plea and (most likely) a bail will be set. There is NO OPTION in this. You MUST respond to any legal charges presented against you. It doesn't matter whether you choose to sign a document or not. If you do not respond to even a Summons, someone like me will find you and arrest you. A Judge DOES NOT have to carry his oath. His oath is administered when he takes office. That is the start of his power. He has that power 24/7 in PA and never gives it up as long as he is in office. PA's check on Judicial Authority is that ALL Judges in the Commonwealth Of PA are ELECTED by the people of PA. Thus, his power is actually an extension of the people's power to judge. Once again, these are just the rules of court for PA. Other states might do things differently. |
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