Comments on: Identification

By: Bruce Epperson

Bruce Epperson — Sat, 08 May 2010 14:20:29 +0000

This situation was directly addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Anderson v. California, about 2004 or so. Anderson was riding his bicycle the wrong way in the street, was stopped by the police, and asked to produce identification. He truthfully replied he had none, and truthfully gave his name and home address. Under an existing ordinance (I forget if it was local or state, sorry), the police decided to take Anderson into custodial detention (i.e pre-arrest). As per appropriate police procedure, he was searched for weapons and contraband and a baggie of meth was found in his sock. The question was: was the custodial detention OK under the US and Cal. constitutions? (If it wasn’t, the baggie was inadmissable evidence, hence the big row.)

The Supremes decided the law authorizing the decision to take Anderson into custodial detention to verify his identity only on the basis of a traffic violation was OK, even though he was not operating a motor vehicle and hence no driver’s license was required. While a driver’s licence was explictly not required, it is constitutional for a government to have a law that requires all vehicular users to posess some form of “reliable, verifyable ID.”

Lower courts have decided that this is not the case for mere pedestrians. A lower court, in a case where a car driver held his driver’s license up to the car window, but would not roll down the window, said that a law that required the law enforcement officer be allowed to physically inspect the ID was OK.

NOTE! These were not decisions about the actions of police officers. They were decisions about laws that permitted certain actions by police. In every case, the officer was following a law or adopted administrative rule, not improvising.

-Bruce Epperson

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:02:51 +0000

Geo is correct there is no need to have a drivers license for riding a BICYCLE.
Any other statutes dealing with just plain identification in terms of Floridian law is unknown to myself and is beyond the scope of this website.

You were pulled over? On a bicycle? On a moped? On a scooter? In your car?
Did he say or mean some form of general identification?
Just curious.

By: Geo

Geo — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:25:00 +0000

Dave,

Thanks for that. I realized I should have included that in the original post, and have amended it accordingly.

By: Geo

Geo — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:27:41 +0000

I know a drivers’ license is not required to operate a bicycle. A bicycle is not a motor vehicle.

FS 322.03 – Drivers Must be Licensed; Penalties

(1) Except as otherwise authorized in this chapter, a person may not drive any motor vehicle …. unless such person has a valid driver’s license ….

The question was not about drivers’ licenses, but identification.

I suggest calling the police department and asking if a cyclist must have a drivers’ license, and if so the statute that requires it

Please let us know what they say.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:45:00 +0000

I was pulled over in downtown Jacksonville and was told by the officer that I could be given a ticket for not having my drivers’ license. The answer to the above question states, “I am not aware of any statute that requires possession of identification.”

I am not aware of a lot of things but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Is there anybody out there who knows for certain whether or not there is requirement?