I'm a big fan of a few things in this world, and I am a hater of others. Saying this, I love it when these two worlds collide. I really like the state of Illinois and funny, witty license plates. I am a hater of St. Louis (mostly because I find the city to be very run down and I can't stand the sports teams). I had a rare chance to have these worlds collide when I was leaving work today and I got behind the car below. I noticed the license plate and it made me laugh. Naturally, I wanted to take a picture of it for my blog. Knowing how camera phones are, I took several shots of the license plate trying to get a good shot. I was able to before the car turned off the route I was already traveling. In my efforts to take a picture, I must have caught the attention of the driver of the car and called the cops. About five minutes later, I find a cop car in front of me with its lights on, a cop car behind me with its lights on, and a cop car beside me with its lights on. I pull over into a parking lot, and one of the cops gets out and asks for my driver's license and insurance. He also asks where I'm coming from. He goes back to his car and runs my information. The police officer then comes back to my car and asks if I have any video equipment in my car. I told him I had a rear view camera. He then told me that someone called in a complaint saying I was taking pictures of them in traffic. I started laughing and got out my camera phone, explained I write a blog, and explained how I thought the license plate was funny. The cop goes back and talks it over with the other police officers there, then came back to my car and said my story checked out and they let me go. The looks in the police officer's eyes said "We're sorry for wasting your time".
What would make someone so paranoid? Is this woman used to being stalked or followed by private investigators? (Lets just say she wasn't stalking material...oh snap) The woman had pulled into the lot behind me when the cops pulled me over, and I could tell she was displeased as she saw me going away without penalty. Why was I able to go without penalty? Because I didn't break any laws. The expectation of privacy of your license plate is zilch (see stoplight and traffic cameras). If that isn't enough for you, see State of Rhode Island v. Bjerke, Commonwealth v. Starr, State v. Richter, etc. Regarding photo laws, according to http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf,
"The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take photographs. Absent a specific legal prohibition such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take photographs. Examples of places that are traditionally considered public are streets,
sidewalks, and public parks."
To sum up, I would like to officially offer this lady back to St. Louis. Please don't let a copy of the constitution hit your butt on the way out of the Land of Lincoln.
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