New York Times, August 26, 2004

THE LAW

Give Your Name to the Police? Advice to Protesters Differs

By MIKE McINTIRE

Published: August 26, 2004

Some civil liberties groups are advising protesters at the 
Republican National Convention to refuse to identify themselves 
to police officers, despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that 
the police have a right to obtain such information from people 
suspected of breaking the law.

The advice appears in pamphlets, circulated in print and on the 
Internet, that instruct demonstrators on their rights if 
confronted by police officers. It conflicts with other advice, 
including that in brochures by the New York Civil Liberties Union 
and the People's Law Collective, warning that people detained for 
questioning risk arrest if they refuse to identify themselves; a 
law collective leaflet recommends providing no information 
"except possibly your name."

Among the groups suggesting that people not reveal their names or 
other identifying information are the Center for Constitutional 
Rights and the National Lawyers Guild chapter in New York City, 
which both suggest that demonstrators who are approached by an 
officer should "say nothing and walk away." If demonstrators are 
prevented from leaving, the groups advise remaining silent and 
asking for a lawyer. Both groups advise providing a name and 
identification only if a demonstrator is arrested.

The advice against providing identification appears to run counter 
to a Supreme Court decision in June that upheld a Nevada law 
requiring people to identify themselves to the police when asked. 
In that case, a Nevada rancher named Larry D. Hiibel was arrested 
when he refused to give his name to an officer investigating a 
report of a domestic assault.

While New York is among 20 states that allow the police to demand 
identification, its law, unlike Nevada's, does not specifically 
authorize officers to arrest someone for failing to comply. Given 
that ambiguity, it seemed prudent to advise demonstrators against 
providing their names, said Bruce K. Bentley, a legal defense 
coordinator with the lawyers guild.

"The law in New York remains to be tested," Mr. Bentley said. 
"There may be a case in the next week during the convention where 
somebody is approached, they are asked their name, they refuse to 
comply and they're arrested. That would be a test. Right now, it's 
an unresolved question."

Inspector Michael Coan, a spokesman for the New York Police 
Department, said officers would consider the details of each case 
before determining how to respond to a refusal to provide 
identification. He said the department had not changed its 
procedures since the Hiibel decision.

"Our guidelines allow a police officer to stop and ask somebody 
for ID based on reasonable suspicion that a crime may have been 
committed," Inspector Coan said. "If someone refused to provide 
identification, how long we detain them would depend on why we 
stopped them."

The issue of how demonstrators and the police will interact looms 
large over the planning for the Republican convention, which is 
expected to generate large protests beginning Sunday. The city 
has marshaled a huge law enforcement presence, mostly out of 
concerns of a possible terrorist attack but also to deal with the 
hundreds of thousands of protesters expected to gather in New 
York throughout the week.

Civil liberties advocates have gone to great lengths to prepare 
demonstrators for possible confrontations with the police. A 
pamphlet by the Center for Constitutional Rights warns protesters 
against provoking the "army of police officers in the streets" by 
doing things such as jaywalking or violating a state law that 
prohibits three or more people from wearing masks in a public 
place.

When it comes to answering questions, the pamphlet advises people 
to ask first if they are free to go. If an officer refuses to let 
them leave, they should ask for a lawyer and not "answer any 
other questions or make any remarks."

Jeffrey Fogel, legal director for the rights center, said New 
York's law permitting the police to ask for identification was 
poorly written and "does not say what the citizen is to do when 
confronted with the demand, or what the police officer is to do 
in the absence of compliance with the demand."

"Obviously, you can avoid any risk at all by giving up that 
information," he said. "But you're in a difficult position to 
know what to do."

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