It’s important for all Americans to understand their constitutional rights when it comes to interactions with law enforcement and the justice system. These include the right to remain silent, the right to legal counsel and the right to be free from illegal searches and seizures.
It’s also important to understand that this doesn’t mean you can refuse to identify yourself to an officer when asked to. The Texas Failure to Identify law specifies when a person is required to provide accurate identifying information to a law enforcement officer.
When stopped while driving
It’s a violation of the Failure to Identify law if a driver “who is lawfully detained by a peace officer for an alleged violation of a law…fails to provide or display the person’s driver’s license on the officer’s request for the license and…intentionally refuses to give the person’s name, driver’s license number, residence address, or date of birth to the peace officer on the officer’s request for that information.”
When stopped under other circumstances
It’s also a violation of the law if a person “intentionally refuses to give his name, residence address, or date of birth to a peace officer who has lawfully arrested the person and requested the information.” An officer also has the right to expect someone to identify themselves if they have “good cause to believe [they’re] a witness to a criminal offense.”
Giving accurate information is critical
It’s an even more serious violation of this law to knowingly give false information. That includes name, address or birthdate. That’s the case whether it’s provided on a document, like a driver’s license or passport, or verbally.
This might all seem confusing – particularly if you’re in a situation where you don’t think an officer had a valid reason for pulling you over or detaining you. What’s important to remember is that you need to provide this basic identifying information when it’s requested. Then you can invoke your right to remain silent and your right to an attorney. Otherwise, you’re just getting things off to a bad start and providing more reason for an officer to be suspicious.
If you are arrested, it’s crucial to get legal guidance as soon as possible. This can help you protect your rights. Even if an initial stop was illegal, this guidance will help protect you from being unfairly convicted of wrongdoing.The post What are your responsibilities under the state’s Failure to Identify law? first appeared on The Law Office of Anthony B. Cantrell.
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