ATTORNEY SAYS STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW RIGHTS WHEN 'BUSTED'

When it comes to Constitutional rights, few students know theirs,
said attorney Marcus Berghahn Wednesday night in a "Know Your Rights"
event sponsored by UW-Madison Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

It is important to know legal rights and what is allowed in certain
situations or you may get pushed around, said UW-Madison graduate
student [name redacted].

Berghahn addressed concerns of drunk driving and legal procedures.

"It's still drunk driving if you're sitting in the car with the car
running [and you're drunk]," Berghahn said. "If you should ever find
yourself in a scenario and you realize you're drunk and you're in the
car, pull off the side of the road, take your keys and throw them out
of the car."

[name redacted] said she was concerned about police finding pictures of
students online, particularly on Facebook, partaking in underage
drinking, and whether this could be the basis for charging offending students.

"In a very theoretical sense, yes, that could be an option, but it'd
be very difficult though for them to prove their case," Berghahn said.

Berghahn also talked about house parties in Madison and what
students' rights are when police come knocking on their doors.

The only scenario when students have to let them in is when police
have a search warrant; otherwise students should not open their doors, he said.

However, housing policies vary.

"In a resident assistance house, if they smell smoke, they can call
the police, ... open the door and arrest you," he said. "It's the
Diminished Expectation Privacy."

UW-Madison sophomore Tim Melgard explained how students may benefit
from knowing their rights.

"I believe it will allow them to understand what they can and can't
do with cops and prevent further altercations," he said.

Berghahn said the two most important rights people have when dealing
with police are in specific situations, namely when police do not
have a search warrant.

"'I do not and will not consent to a search of my person or any
property without a warrant, and I do not wish to speak with you
without a lawyer present,'" Berghahn told the audience to say to
offending police.