Hey folks, we’re delighted to have received so many questions already, and so we’ve taken some time to answer a few of the easier ones. We will try to answer as many as we can leading up to the first parties on Thursday night, either in Q&A posts like this one or longer posts.
What is the difference between cops and BLCE officers? Do the BLCE officers have any special privileges or powers?
The BLCE officers are members of a state police task force. They are bound by the same restrictions and limitations as local police and other state police officers.
I want to have a party in my backyard. Can the police raid it? And if they do, would they have any powers different than if they had raided a party in my living room?
As discussed in the house parties post, being at a party is not cause for arrest. If you are on private property, the police still need to announce their presence and have reason to suspect that you are committing a crime. While underage drinking is a crime, cops cannot detain everyone at a reasonably large party and individually determine if they are under 21, as was well established in Commonwealth v. Mistler.
A fenced-off backyard still counts as private property. However, if the yard is in public view, then the actions of the guests could give the police cause to come in and arrest people. If you’re partying in public, don’t yell things like “I’m 18, these 6 shots really hit the spot!” or start doing lines of coke off the beer pong table. Also common decency and such, but hey, it’s not our role to judge. As long as the music is low and you assume that anything within earshot or public view is fair game, fenced-off outdoor parties are provided the same legal protections as indoor ones.
Cops have arrived at the party. Should I try and sneak out?
As previously mentioned, cops cannot arrest you for solely being at a party; that in of itself is not a crime. If the cops do arrive, you may simply walk out the door, calmly. If a cop tries to stop you, ask simply if you are free to go. If they say yes, awesome. If they say no, then you are being detained and should follow the steps outlined in our house parties post, as well as remember that you should under no circumstances self-incriminate, possibly requiring you to explicitly invoke your right to remain silent. Finally, you should under no circumstances run or rush out. This could be viewed as suspicious behavior and give the police grounds to detain you.
In response to me not admitting to crimes or not consenting to them searching my person or house, the police are threatening me with disorderly conduct. What should I do?
Usually, you are not actually being disorderly; such behavior is well defined in the Pennsylvania Penal Code. If you are generally being orderly and respectful, then the officer is trying to intimidate you into self-incriminating or incriminating other guests. They may even arrest you, to further intimidate you or other people in the immediate vicinity. If you have a friend clearly witnessing the situation, then if you do go to court, the charges will likely not hold. In the absolute worst case scenario, disorderly conduct in this situation is a misdemeanor. To conclude, we’d like to reiterate that police officers can, and will, lie and intimidate to get you to incriminate yourself or other guests for more serious offenses. It is not helpful to them for you to get arrested on a trumped up disorderly conduct charge.
Keep the good questions flowing, folks.
Cheers,
BW&TR
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