“What’s written down in the Constitution is one thing, and the real practice is another.”

“What’s written down in the Constitution is one thing, and the real practice is another.”


by digby

This is a fascinating Youtube about a citizen who politely stood up for his constitutional rights when some police officers took it upon themselves to search his car without probable cause and he took the time to challenge it in court:

I verbally objected to an unconstitutional search of my vehicle in Electra, Texas. Police officers Matt Wood and Gary Ellis maliciously responded by issuing me two false citations. I got a copy of the dashboard-camera video at the pretrial hearing. It showed all. City attorney Todd Greenwood demanded I give my copy of the evidence back, and tried to have me arrested when I refused.

Todd Greenwood then compared rural Texas to the movie Deliverance, and warned me “What’s written down in the Constitution is one thing, and the real practice is another.”

All charges dropped. Section 1983 anyone?

Here’s what Greenwood said verbatim and it’s just amazing:

I’m sure he’s right about all that, by the way. It’s just interesting to hear a government attorney say it all out loud.

.
.