Next message: Richard R. Ryburn: "Re: REGISTRATION AND LEGAL ENCUMRANCES WHEN BUYING A BOAT 1"
>) What makes our vessels any less a home because it is not on solid
>) land. Parallels have been drawn to motor homes, but mobile or
>) 'pre-manufactured' homes can be just as mobile, why are their rights
>) not impuned? [...]
>A motorhome or mobile prefab home *is* subject to random stopping by
>the police while it is "under way";
Not quite -- the "Automobile Exception Rule" merely vitiates the
requirement for a *warrant* -- peace officers still need "probable
cause" to stop a vehicle. In contrast, the Coast Guard needs neither
a warrant, nor probable cause to stop a board a boat. The difference
is tremendous -- the Coast Guard can make random stops of vessels,
but the police cannot make random stops of cars.
>similarly, I don't think the Coast
>Guard does any boardings of boats that are in their slips in marinas.
Perhaps not, but they have the legal authority to do so. I'm not
a Coast Guard basher, but I think the law should be changed so that
if law enforcement wants to board my home, they should have probable
cause before they do so.
Cheers,
John Wallner
jwallner-xylan.com
