Quote :

"Judge Rules In Favor Of Duke Students In Underage Drinking Case POSTED: 3:55 pm EST November 3, 2005 UPDATED: 10:39 pm EST November 3, 2005 DURHAM, N.C. -- A Durham judge ruled Thursday afternoon that Alcohol Law Enforcement agents violated the rights of eight Duke students who had been cited for underage drinking. In late August, Durham police and ALE officers cited approximately 200 Duke students for underage drinking during the first week of classes after officers raided three parties at houses off-campus in the Trinity Park area. Earlier in October, many of the students cited agreed to pay a $200 fine, perform community service and write a paper about how alcohol affects the body. Eight of the students said their rights were violated and took their case to court. Defense attorneys claim the agents did not have a search warrant and did not read the students their Miranda rights. Agents had testified that they could not wait for a warrant because they were worried intoxicated students would leave and get behind the wheel of a vehicle. They also said Miranda rights were not needed in the case. District Court Judge Craig Brown ruled in the defense's favor and said ALE agents should not have been in the house without a warrant and they should have read the students their rights before questioning them. "In this country, law enforcement officers must obey the law like a private citizen," said Tom Loflin, the attorney who represented several of the students. Mike Nifong, Durham’s district attorney, said he would review the ruling, but he doubted his office would appeal the case. Charges will likely be dropped against the students. "I still maintain ALE agents did the correct thing," ALE District Supervisor Jeff Lasater said. "It is well known that students who drink or underage people who drink can certainly cause motor-vehicle accidents, injuring themselves and other people.""

linky:http://www.wral.com/news/5243720/detail.html

I have been wondering for weeks how they got away with this raid in the first place. Aparently they just surrounded a house during a kegger, blocked all the exits, and detained everyone there for 2+ hours with no individual probable cause. (whether they were drinking or not) The case got dismissed on the grounds that the cops should not have been inside with no warrant. I am suprised no one challenged it on the grounds that the cops cannot detain and conduct a search on such a large group of people without first having grounds for suspicion that each individual is commiting a crime.

Any of you that have ever dealt with the ALE know that they are the lowest form of cocksmoking scum on earth. They will threaten to chop your balls unless you admit you were drinking and seal the case for them. Most students do not know any better than to cooperate with them and end up getting a ticket for making the case for the cop.

11/3/2005 10:55:43 PM

I think predatory tow truck drivers are a little lower on the scumbag scale

but i havent run into ALE bs yet

11/3/2005 11:00:32 PM

more like ALE: 99billion, Students: 1

11/3/2005 11:12:35 PM

Yea

Next time ALE gets

Why don't you tell them your rights.

11/3/2005 11:17:15 PM

The beauty of the whole thing is that they wrote something like 200 drinking tickets during those raids and none of the evidence can be used in court.

11/3/2005 11:58:18 PM

You people should learn from this. When you get charged with some bullshit, fight it. You'll find that most cops aren't interested in doing everything right to actually convict you in court. They just try to intimidate you or pretend to be your friend to coerce an admission of guilt. Plus, when you fight it in court, you make charging people with bullshit prohibitively expensive.

It's good to see that people that are apparently to young to drink aren't too young to stand up for their rights.

11/4/2005 12:53:48 AM

more like

rich kids 1
the law 0

11/4/2005 1:03:15 AM

^

11/4/2005 2:00:13 AM

Quote :

"Agents had testified that they could not wait for a warrant because they were worried intoxicated students would leave and get behind the wheel of a vehicle."

More like worried they would walk to their friends apartments and not get ticketed. Quick! Fire gunshots in the air to request assistance!

[Edited on November 4, 2005 at 2:50 AM. Reason : .]

11/4/2005 2:49:55 AM

So how does this apply to the noise ordinance for us, now that a precedent (sp?) has been set?

11/4/2005 4:28:05 AM

Quote :

"more like rich kids 1 the law 0"

lol true

11/4/2005 4:32:10 AM

"my daddy is a lawyer and i am NOT paying a $200 fine. DAD! HELP!"

11/4/2005 7:25:38 AM

Quote :

""Agents had testified that they could not wait for a warrant because they were worried intoxicated students would leave and get behind the wheel of a vehicle.""

Maybe the ALE should have done their job and arrested them behind the wheel. That's a bullshit excuse to get parents to side with them

11/4/2005 7:34:11 AM

Quote :

"more like rich kids 1 the law 0"

so true

duke sucks

11/4/2005 8:15:00 AM

Quote :

"Maybe the ALE should have done their job and arrested them behind the wheel. That's a bullshit excuse to get parents to side with them"

+1

It still pisses me off how most of the news outlets only reported on one side of this story (kind of like the NPO *yawn*). There was only one channel so far that bothered to interview one of the people who were locked in the house for over two hours (illegally detained) and had not even been drinking. Imagine you dropped in for a few minutes not even drinking and then got caught up in some raid as if your a terrorist.

Their argument that they were trying to prevent people from driving drunk is null because they could have just as easily (and legally) set up a sobriety checkpoint down the road from the party. If public safety was their goal they would have done that and took some drunk drivers off the road (legally). Instead they trapped everyone in a house like they were drinking with bin ladin and extracted confessions or breathalyzers from as many people as they could.

11/4/2005 8:21:34 AM

Well, obviously not everyone at Duke is rich.....just everyone I've personally met.

11/4/2005 8:36:55 AM

You know why they did it right? Because of all you students that have let them get away with it in the past. Take them to task and make fucking with college students just as difficult as going after criminals. Then they won't be able to cherry pick college students.

11/4/2005 8:38:02 AM

durham cops suck

11/4/2005 8:48:07 AM

Quote :

""I still maintain ALE agents did the correct thing," ALE District Supervisor Jeff Lasater said. "It is well known that students who drink or underage people who drink can certainly cause motor-vehicle accidents, injuring themselves and other people.""

I think it's less likely for an underage drunk person to drive than an "overage" drunk person. The fact that any amount of alcohol in your system is an automatic DUI for anyone under 21 is a pretty decent detterent.

11/4/2005 8:54:54 AM

So what CAN they do whenever their's a party?

Do they actually have to have a warrant to come in, or can they come in if they see in plain sight a keg or somebody drinking, etc.?

11/4/2005 9:05:34 AM

durham power crazy cops suck

11/4/2005 9:06:39 AM

^^^ their's is also the fact that a lot of the underagers espicially freshman probably didn't even drive / (have cars at Duke) in the first place

11/4/2005 9:26:36 AM

Cops aren't trained to think about things like that. I'm sure what campus life is like at Duke is the last thing an ALE agent would know about.

11/4/2005 11:04:05 AM

i wonder how ALE officers go home everynight and feel good about themselves. i don't see how they justify and think they are doing the rightous thing by busting those damn 19/20 year old doing the hideious crime of consumin alcohol at a party/bar/wherever

11/4/2005 11:17:33 AM

^its safer then getting shot at enforcing other laws. I'm a fan of using our law enforcement resources to combat higher priorties. My list....

Durham
1) Rape
2) Armed Robbery
3) Carjacking
4) Gang Activities
5) Larceny
.
.
.
98) Parking Tickets
99) Student House Parties
100) Jaywalking

11/4/2005 11:23:28 AM

^so you're not concerned with murder?

11/4/2005 11:37:02 AM

i'd put busting kids smoking pot at 97.)

11/4/2005 11:39:22 AM

Quote :

"Cops aren't trained to think about things like that. I'm sure what campus life is like at Duke is the last thing an ALE agent would know about."

Yeah I agree. not to mention most of the college students are smarter with 3-4 beers in them than all the ALE agents combined.

Quote :

"i wonder how ALE officers go home everynight and feel good about themselves. i don't see how they justify and think they are doing the rightous thing by busting those damn 19/20 year old doing the hideious crime of consumin alcohol at a party/bar/wherever"

They are wanna be narcs that were too stupid for the job and got stuck chasing students around colleges trying to catch them with a beer. If they were capable of that level of thought they would understand the plight of what they do and would realize they are wasting oxygen each time they breathe.

[Edited on November 4, 2005 at 11:47 AM. Reason : jhgjhg]

11/4/2005 11:42:51 AM

Quote :

"more like rich kids 1 the law 0"

that is the biggest load of shit ever

the kids got off because the cops broke the rules

you dont have to have a ton of cash to find a lawyer that is familiar with the 4th amendment

11/4/2005 11:43:07 AM

What I don't understand is why anyone gives a shit that college kids are drinking?

You are all old enough to decide who should be president, you're old enough to join the military and die in a war, but you cannot drink.

I pray for a day when politicians don't bend to the will of big money insurance lobbyist and stop passing stupid ass laws like 21 as the legal drinking age.

What's more funny is people who take moral offense to those breaking these laws when the only moral behind them was saving a few bucks, and generating money through fines for the government.

If you want to drink until you die from alcohol poisoning, be my guest. We used to make decisions on our own in this country and not let the government make them for us.

[Edited on November 4, 2005 at 12:09 PM. Reason : sdaf]

11/4/2005 12:08:17 PM

Quote :

"Quick! Fire gunshots in the air to request assistance!"

Ha! One time I was at a party that got broken up by the ALE and they were walking around the side of the house and one guy tripped in a big hole in the lawn and the other guys started "MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!" into their radios, it was pretty hilarious to see fat, stupid ALE guys play SWAT Team.

11/4/2005 12:16:23 PM

Doesn't surprise me. My aunt use to volunteer for the Durham PD and I heard some very shady things about the ALE.

11/4/2005 12:23:18 PM

^^ rofl


"MAN DOWN!"

11/4/2005 12:28:16 PM

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 4:12 AM. Reason : drnk]

11/5/2005 4:04:00 AM

edit

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 4:12 AM. Reason : ediktg (drunk)]

11/5/2005 4:11:39 AM

HAHA

your party got busted.

pwnage.

11/5/2005 4:18:26 AM

Quote :

"We used to make decisions on our own in this country and not let the government make them for us. "

11/5/2005 8:04:53 AM

Hopefully these college grads will remember this shit when they are rich businessmen, politicians, and lawyers and put a stop to it. Then the ALE agents will have to find a new job working for someone who drank alcohol underage in college.

The problem in the triangle is that we have too many people working in law enforcement and not enough crime to keep them busy. The start making up new stuff to crack down on like "nuisance parties" or underage drinking. Next year it will be blow jobs and jaywalking. Where I grew up, the police never bothered people for having a good time. They were busy trying to fight real crime with not enough officers who make $6.50 an hour.

We need to thin the herd at the RPD and we need to send more of the state troopers and ALE clowns east and west where they are needed.

The root of hte problem though, is that the legislatures don't do a good job of making clear their reasons for passing a law. The drinking age was set at 21 in hopes of protecting people under 21 from the dangers of alcohol by discouraging them from consuming it. This law was not meant to punish but to prevent. It was not meant to prevent them from enjoying alcohol. It was also not meant to punish any parent who let their child have a sip of beer or wine.

In truth, the ALE shouldn't exist. We don't need a special police force for alcohol. Prohibition was a mistake and along with it, so was the ALE. Lawmakers should abolish this pointless agency before it tries invent another reason for it to exist.

11/5/2005 3:00:37 PM

since I've been avidly following the underage drinking issue in Durham (by this I mean, I remember a story about underage drinking from Durham earlier in the semester)

it seems to me that the score is ACTUALLY something more like Student House Parties 1 : Durham ALE 2 or 3

11/5/2005 3:34:20 PM

what i don't get is why they even got off in the first place. this is just like that fucking mexican who got out of a DUI because the lawyer said the cop was racial profiling. ALE (remember, ALE stands for ALCOHOL LAW ENFORCEMENT) was doing their fucking job. that is all. it would be one thing if he busted up a party and everyone was a law abiding citizen, but THERE WAS UNDERAGE DRINKING GOING ON. that is illegal. they should still get punished meanwhile the cops should be punished as well. but the kids should not get out of the ticket, just like the mexican should not have gotten out of a DUI since he was twice the legal limit while driving a car.

yes, i used to drink underage and get in trouble, but when i got caught, i took it like a fucking man and not a spoiled brat crying to mommy and daddy.

11/5/2005 7:31:35 PM

^ exactly.

Quote :

"If you want to drink until you die from alcohol poisoning, be my guest. "

That's ok with me too, in that case its your ass (and liver) that are on the line. But how about the motherfuckers who are driving home after this? They are endangering innocents, and that is not acceptable. Better safe than sorry; I side with the ALE.

11/5/2005 7:39:45 PM

^^ apparently you're not a big fan of due process

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 7:41 PM. Reason : ^ too]

11/5/2005 7:40:35 PM

unfortunately, most people killed in drunk driving accidents dont get a chance at due fucking process

11/5/2005 7:47:05 PM

you can talk all day about how underage drinking leads to DUI

but in reality, and as far as the law is concerned

just because someone is drinking at a party in no way means that they are about to get behind the wheel

11/5/2005 9:19:13 PM

Quote :

"unfortunately, most people killed in drunk driving accidents dont get a chance at due fucking process"

your an idiot. how can you honestly think those clowns were worried about somebody driving. if they were trying to stop drunk drivers they would have set up in front of the party and nailed drunk people that left and tried to drive they could have pulled them over before they even got to the first stop sign.

I was not there but I would be willing to bet my ass when they raided the house they let anyone over 21 walk right out (drunk or not) so they could focus on extracting confessions from all the underage people and write drinking tickets. The ALE agents work solely on quantity not quality when busting people.

11/5/2005 9:22:44 PM

Quote :

"just because someone is drinking at a party in no way means that they are about to get behind the wheel"

maybe some people are responsible enough to have a DD, but there are countless cases of just the opposite happening. i think you guys are caught up in the whole "fuck the cops" mentality here, blindly saying that all ALE agents are just out to getcha.....if you would settle down for a second you might realize that situations are a lot more complex than they might seem when reported in the media

Quote :

"they would have set up in front of the party and nailed drunk people that left and tried to drive they could have pulled them over before they even got to the first stop sign."

you know what? the cops can't do that anymore, thanks to crying alcoholics like the 8 kids in that article....they'll be called out for 'selective entrapment' or some shit, even though there's a drunk driver behind the wheel

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 9:33 PM. Reason : ]

11/5/2005 9:29:31 PM

Quote :

"I was not there but I would be willing to bet my ass when they raided the house they let anyone over 21 walk right out (drunk or not) so they could focus on extracting confessions from all the underage people and write drinking tickets. The ALE agents work solely on quantity not quality when busting people."

That is my question. Did they let those of legal drinking age leave the house, or did they try to detain them for supplying alcohol to those underage?

11/5/2005 9:51:21 PM

Quote :

"you know what? the cops can't do that anymore, thanks to crying alcoholics like the 8 kids in that article....they'll be called out for 'selective entrapment' or some shit, even though there's a drunk driver behind the wheel"

please turn on your brain before posting further. the cops can set up a checkpoint anywhere they damn well please. that is why on brent road weekend they put the roadblocks guess where..............................you got it!!! on the way to brent road.

It would have been very simple for them to sit in their undercover blazer and wait for a visibly drunk ass to come out of the party and drive off. Seeing the person visibly drunk would constitute propable cause for a stop and make a clean DWI case. They were not there to stop people from driving drunk obviously because they were INSIDE the house. The cars are all OUTSIDE and last time i checked you need to be in some type of VEHICLE to drive drunk.

Since you catch on slow I will try to make an analogy. A cop looking for dwi's INSIDE, is like a fishermen looking for fish the fucking AIR.

if the ALE is looking to stop drunk DRIVERS a good place to spot them would be on the ROAD. if they are looking to write DRINKING TICKETS a good place to find them would be a KEG PARTY. The two have no relation to each other. The ALE was not trying to make the roads safer. Them saying that was just a publicity ploy for idiots like you to fall for (which obviously worked). They were trying to write fucking DRINKING TICKETS which is what they did. If they were trying to stop DWI's they would have charged some people with DWI.

11/5/2005 11:21:40 PM

Quote :

"maybe some people are responsible enough to have a DD, but there are countless cases of just the opposite happening. i think you guys are caught up in the whole "fuck the cops" mentality here, blindly saying that all ALE agents are just out to getcha.....if you would settle down for a second you might realize that situations are a lot more complex than they might seem when reported in the media"

No, we err on the side of the innocent. If we create an environment where the innocent occassionally get punished with the guilty, then people have no reason to obey the law. When law enforcement screws up, they lose respect and in turn we all are less safe. The integrity of the law, law enorcement, and the justice system are crucial for controlling crime and maintaining public order.

11/5/2005 11:21:56 PM

it's useless trying to reason with people who cannot connect the fucking dots. but the bottom line is clearly stated in the article:

Quote :

"ALE officers cited approximately 200 Duke students for underage drinking"

they were doing something ILLEGAL, and they got CAUGHT. end of story

11/5/2005 11:51:57 PM