When it comes to Constitutional rights, few students know theirs, said attorney Marcus Berghahn Wednesday night in a 'Know Your Rights' event sponsored by UW-Madison Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
It is important to know legal rights and what is allowed in certain situations or you may get pushed around, said UW-Madison graduate student ~Name Removed~.
Berghahn addressed concerns of drunk driving and legal procedures.
'It's still drunk driving if you're sitting in the car with the car running [and you're drunk],' Berghahn said. 'If you should ever find yourself in a scenario and you realize you're drunk and you're in the car, pull off the side of the road, take your keys and throw them out of the car.'
~Name Removed~ said she was concerned about police finding pictures of students online, particularly on Facebook, partaking in underage drinking, and whether this could be the basis for charging offending students.
'In a very theoretical sense, yes, that could be an option, but it'd be very difficult though for them to prove their case,' Berghahn said.
Berghahn also talked about house parties in Madison and what students' rights are when police come knocking on their doors.
The only scenario when students have to let them in is when police have a search warrant; otherwise students should not open their doors, he said.
However, housing policies vary.
'In a resident assistance house, if they smell smoke, they can call the police, ?? open the door and arrest you,' he said. 'It's the Diminished Expectation Privacy.'
UW-Madison sophomore Tim Melgard explained how students may benefit from knowing their rights.
'I believe it will allow them to understand what they can and can't do with cops and prevent further altercations,' he said.
Berghahn said the two most important rights people have when dealing with police are in specific situations, namely when police do not have a search warrant.
''I do not and will not consent to a search of my person or any property without a warrant, and I do not wish to speak with you without a lawyer present,'' Berghahn told the audience to say to offending police.
