Show me your Papers! Do You Have to Show a Cop Your Identification?

cop your identificationA car mechanic in Alabama was working on a customer’s car in the parking lot of a church when he was illegally arrested by a police officer for failing to provide the officer with any identification. A portion of the video of the arrest can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSY_jhhMlIA. The video shows a police officer approaching the mechanic as he was jacking up a red Toyota Camry in the parking lot of the church. The mechanic’s stepson was standing nearby. The officer began questioning the mechanic, who responded that he was fixing a car for his customer. The officer then demanded that the mechanic provide his driver’s license or other form of identification, which he refused to provide. Consequently, the mechanic was arrested for obstructing an investigation. Further details about the case can be read here: https://www.al.com/news/2023/09/federal-judges-side-with-mechanic-suing-huntsville-the-public-is-free-to-ignore-police-questions.html?utm_source=TMP-Newsletter&utm_campaign=76d04af6bb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_10_04_11_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e02cdad9d-76d04af6bb-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the mechanic’s civil rights lawsuit against the police officers the city of Huntsville, Alabama could proceed forward and that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity. The decision can be read here: https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202114396.pdf.

In Nevada, upon request from a police officer, does a person have to provide his identification? In general, the answer is no. Under NRS 171.123(3), a person does have to identify himself if a police officer has reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. However, there is no obligation to provide identification and the law additionally says that the temporarily detained person “may not be compelled to answer any other inquiry of any [police] officer.” This “stop and identify” law was at issue in a Nevada case that made it to the United States Supreme Court in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, 542 U.S. 177 (2004), and can be read here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-5554.ZO.html.

It should be noted that the requirement to identify yourself to a police officer is required only if the police officer has reasonable suspicion of a crime. If the officer does not have reasonable suspicion of a crime, you do not have to identify yourself to the officer.

If you have been charged with a crime, or believe you are being investigated for one, please call the Nobles & Yanez Law Firm to discuss your case privately with an experienced attorney.