Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in North Carolina
Can police ask for ID in Grocery Store parkng lots?
In the past couple weeks I have noticed police officers randomly stopping people carrying alcohol from the store to there cars in the parking lots of my local grocery store. I haven't been stopped yet but was wondering what my rights are if they ask to see mine. I know it isnt a big deal and it will only take 2 minutes of my time to do it, but to have them pull you out in the middle of a parking lot would be awfully embarrassing, plus if I'm carrying an armfull of groceries it would be a hassle to set them down and pull out my wallet. The way I look at it is that I have already proven my age inside the store, I shouldn't have to get pulled aside in a parking lot just to prove it again. I see it as a violation of my 4th amendment right to privacy. They might have every right to ask but I should have every right to say no.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Can police ask for ID in Grocery Store parkng lots?
You do not have to submit to a warrantless search by law enforcement under the circumstances you describe. You have a legal right to say no. Of course the consequences could be most inconvenient as police officers are not the defenders of those rights and you may have to hire a lawyer and go to court to assert them.
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