App Idea: legal situation advisor

The laws regarding what cops can and can't do to us vary by state.  For example, in NYC the Ninth Circuit said that random bag searches don't violate the 4th amendment.  According to a highly upvoted reddit post, a key reason for this is the fact that people who are subjected to this have the option to leave the subway instead--an option the cops probably won't tell you about and might not even be aware of.  So expect a story in the future detailing what happens when I'm randomly picked for a bag search and I refuse.  It should be a good one, unless they just shoot me in the back, in which case my posts will cease entirely.

Moving on.

In any situation, anywhere, I like to know the exact legal minimum amount of cooperation I am required to give to cops by law.  For example:

If I'm drinking in a bar and a cop asks for my id, do I have to give it to him, or can I tell him to fuck off?  What if its a member of the liquor control board standing next to a cop?

If I'm walking on the street and a cop asks for my id, do I have to give it to him, or can I just tell him my name and city of birth?

Cops who do traffic stops appear to have started to ask for your phone number.  Do I have to give it to these assholes?  What will happen if I refuse?

In my opinion, these are all important legal questions, because sometimes the laws are set up to fuck you over if you refuse certain things.  For example, when you get a driver's license, you a forced to sign an agreement saying that you will submit to those bullshit roadside sobriety tests.  And in this case, everything is flipped backwards.  The cops DO act like you have the right to refuse, except you don't exactly, because you already agreed you would do it, and your refusal guarantees a 128 day suspension (depending on juridiction).

So, it can be rather imperative to know the law.  In fact, you may also find it necessary to quote the relevant court cases to the officer, just in case they don't.

I am thinking of a simple app where you select a situation (they're asking for id, traffic stop, bag search, crossing the border) and it will use your position to look up the state and federal laws relevant to your situation.



Actually, on a related note:  I was also thinking of a different app, where you type in a speeding ticket number and it finds you a lawyer for that precinct.  As I found out during my cross country trip, doing so can be quite the challenge.  Some juridictions (like the middle of montana and south dakota) don't actually have "speeding lawyers" who specialize in getting people out of speeding tickets.