My spouse and I were just pulled over for speeding. The officer told us we were both being detained for “failure to comply” after we refused to answer his questions. Is this legal?

If the officer said he was stopping you for speeding, you are not required to speak to him. What he was trying to do was to get you to open your mouth and speak so he could try and see if he could smell alcohol.

Detaining you for “failure to comply” for not answering questions is unlawful and you have a good chance of taking the officer and his department to court. This is called deprivation of rights under the color of law. Find a good attorney and sue their pants off.

All you are legally required to do in a traffic stop is display your drivers license, registration and proof of insurance.

Your passenger is not required to identify themselves. They should just sit there and say nothing during the stop.

It is also best to say “I am envoking my 5th amendment right to stay silent. I want an attorney present during any questioning”. If he continues to ask questions, he has just violated your 5th amendment right.

And by the way, always record any interaction with law enforcement, even if the officer has a body cam. Those recordings have a way of disappearing when the officer has done wrong.

Edit and clarification: before invoking your 5th Amendment rights you should ask if you are being detained. If they say yes, declare your 5th Amendment right to remain silent ask for an attorney to be present. If they say you aren’t detained you should walk away.

You should be friendly and courteous at all times. Several comments have implied I was suggesting otherwise. You should always have an attorney present when questioned if you have been detained.

Apparently there are some lawyers in the audience that believe to understand the US Constitution you must have a law degree, and that my discussion of the US Constitution somehow equates to giving legal advise. In a word that is “bullshit”. Lawyers have long sought to control every aspect of our lives. That is why we have so many lawyers in the US Congress.

So to be completely clear, reading and understanding the US Constitution and talking about it in a public forum is not legal advice. If you think you need an attorney to change your diapers and give you advise on everything, be my guest.