Obligation To Identify
| States with “stop and identify” laws | |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Ala. Code §15-5-30 |
| Arizona | Ari. Rev. Stat. Tit. 13, §2412 (enacted 2005) |
| Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. §5-71-213(a)(1) (loitering) |
| Colorado | Colo. Rev. Stat. §16-3-103(1) |
| Delaware | Del. Code Ann., Tit. 11, §§1902, 1321(6) |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. §901.151 (Stop and Frisk Law); §856.021(2) (loitering and prowling) |
| Georgia | Ga. Code Ann. §16-11-36(b) (loitering) |
| Illinois | Ill. Comp. Stat., ch. 725, §5/107-14 |
| Indiana | Indiana Code §34-28-5-3.5 |
| Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. §22-2402(1) |
| Louisiana | La. Code Crim. Proc. Ann., Art. 215.1(A); La. Rev. Stat. 14:108(B)(1)(c) |
| Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. §84.710(2) |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. §46-5-401 |
| Nebraska | Neb. Rev. Stat. §29-829 |
| Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. §171.123 |
| New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §594:2, §644:6 |
| New Mexico | N.M. Stat. Ann. §30-22-3 |
| New York | N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law §140.50 |
| North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code §29-29-21 (PDF) |
| Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code §2921.29 (enacted 2006) |
| Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws §12-7-1 |
| Texas | Texas Penal Code §38.02(a)(b) |
| Utah | Utah Code Ann. §77-7-15 |
| Vermont | Vt. Stat. Ann., Tit. 24, §1983 |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. §968.24 |
As of February 2011, there is no U.S. federal law requiring that an individual identify himself during a Terry stop, but Hiibel held that states may enact such laws, provided the law requires the officer to have reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal involvement, and 24 states have done so. The opinion in Hiibel implied that persons detained by police in jurisdictions with constitutional “stop and identify” laws listed are obligated to identify themselves, and that persons detained in other jurisdictions are not. The issue may not be that simple, however, for several reasons:
- The wording of “stop and identify” laws varies considerably from state to state.
- Noncompliance with a “stop and identify” law that does not explicitly impose a penalty may constitute violation of another law, such as one to the effect of “resisting, obstructing, or delaying a peace officer”.
- State courts have made varying interpretations of both “stop and identify” and “obstructing” laws.
Read more about this topic: Stop And Identify Statutes
Famous quotes containing the words obligation to, obligation and/or identify:
“No obligation to do the impossible is binding.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“In other words, a democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“Once the curtain is raised, the actor ceases to belong to himself. He belongs to his character, to his author, to his public. He must do the impossible to identify himself with the first, not to betray the second, and not to disappoint the third.”
—Sarah Bernhardt (1845–1923)