2Tall: Jay-Z’s Alarming Lack of Effective Legal Counsel

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Yeah, so I’ve been working on search and seizure cases all day as they relate to traffic stops and this is pretty much all I can think about.

[Verse Two]
The year is ‘94 and in my trunk is raw
In my rear view mirror is the mother fucking law
I got two choices yall pull over the car or
bounce on the double put the pedal to the floor
Now I ain’t trying to see no highway chase with jake
Plus I got a few dollars I can fight the case
So I…pull over to the side of the road
And I heard “Son do you know why I’m stopping you for?”
Cause I’m young and I’m black and my hats real low
Do I look like a mind reader sir, I don’t know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo?
“Well you was doing fifty five in a fifty four”
“License and registration and step out of the car”
“Are you carrying a weapon on you I know alot of you are”
I ain’t stepping out of shit all my papers legit

Here Jay is definitely in the wrong. Police officers can ask anyone to step out of the car for any reason, even in situations as innocuous as a routine traffic stop. It’s an issue of officer safety, and one of the very few times the courts have allowed the routine extension of a stop (possibly the only instance for the 9th Circuit). It doesn’t matter how legit Jay’s papers are.

“Do you mind if I look round the car a little bit?”
Well my glove compartment is locked so is the trunk and the back
And I know my rights so you gon’ need a warrant for that

Here Jay is right. Probable cause would be required for such a search. However, it could be that reasonable suspicion is required to even ask for consent, especially if the officer is no longer in the act of citing Jay for his speeding violation. It’s a fascinating and yet mostly stupid part of the law. While the officer is performing actions reasonably required to complete the purpose of the stop (checking a driver’s license, calling in to check on warrants, etc.), he can ask you pretty much anything he wants, about as many unrelated topics as he feels like, as long as it doesn’t slow down his work (this is the result of a recent Supreme Court case and still largely controversial). However, once he stops working toward fulfilling the purpose of the stop (for instance, if he stops writing the ticket and leaves his pad in the car because he wants to ask you about the Kennedy assassination or whatever), then any unrelated question he asks is an extension of detention and therefore a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights. Any evidence gained thereby could be suppressed.

“Aren’t you sharp as a tack are some type of lawyer or something?”
“Or somebody important or something?”
Nah I ain’t pass the bar but I know a little bit
Enough that you won’t illegally search my shit
“We’ll see how smart you are when the K-9’s come”

This threat to bring in the drug dogs seems to shut Jay up, but it would be completely illegal if the officer tried to do it. Reasonable suspicion is required to progress from a simple traffic stop to a drug investigation. Again, it’s all a matter of timing. Nothing about the drug sniffing dogs themselves are unconstitutional. Police can’t keep Jay there any longer than necessary. If the dogs were already on the scene, and they sniffed Jay’s car while the officer was writing him his “55 in a 54″ ticket, this would not be a violation (at least not in the 8th Circuit). However, if it will take time for the dogs to show up, then the officer would need reasonable suspicion, and Jay’s gangsta look (with his hat real low and whatnot) would not be enough to qualify. So the one time Jay is within his rights to complain, he says nothing.

I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one
Hit me

I would argue that Jay’s 100th problem is lack of effective legal counsel. So yeah, this is what I do all day. Also, I don’t get paid for it.
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Aaron is an unpaid and often confused judicial extern who hopes readers do not use this in place of actual legal advice. He and Elliot were roommates for several years at St. Cloud State University, otherwise known as the “Stanford of Central Minnesota.” Aaron currently attends law school in San Francisco.

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