Is this legal?

In a word? Yes. Most likely the police where looking for someone in
the area and were just checking each person.

I notice a lot of replies below mentioning DUI and stuff, and I'm
rereading the letter trying to see if there was any mention of her
husband being drunk... and I dont see it.

Most times, if you are in the car and have keys in the ignition and
you're drunk...you're busted. If you have possession of the keys
too...you may still be busted.

Now...if you had NO KEYS in your possession at all and were just
sleeping it off in your car, they should have no case against you
whatsoever since you hadn't the capacity to start the car and drive
off.

Last time I was in this situation when I was single and not in a
condition to drive home, I put my keys somewhere that nobody could
possibly find them (including the cops if they searched the car). The
cops came and TRIED to bust me...and then I said I was just waiting
until I sobered up and would have my "friend" bring me the keys when I
did. I invited them to look around to prove I had no keys...and no
capacity to start the car. Since I wasn't parked illegally, they had
no choice but to let me go back to sleep.

If the keys are in the ignition, this may legally count as operating a
motor vehicle. I think you can be charged with a DUI if the keys are
in the ignition even if the car is not moving, so the same would
probably apply here.

Here's my thought on this. If I have nothing to hide, it doesn't
bother me. If they are trying to catch someone with my vehicle type
involved in a robbery or a hit and run, again, no sweat, it wasn't me.
If they were just asking people of my ethic heritage and/or age for
the heck of it, yes it would bother me but again, I have nothing to
hide.

http://www.aclu.org/files/kyr/kyr_english.pdf

At this time, Mississippi does not have a 'stop and identify' law.

In the United States, interactions between police and citizens fall
into three general categories: consensual (“contact” or
“conversation”), detention (often called a Terry stop, after Terry v.
Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)), or arrest. “Stop and identify” laws pertain
to detentions.

Different obligations apply to drivers of automobiles, who generally
are required by state vehicle codes to present a driver’s license to
police upon request.

Consensual
At any time, police may approach a person and ask questions. The
objective may simply be a friendly conversation; however, the police
also may suspect involvement in a crime, but lack “specific and
articulable facts”[4] that would justify a detention or arrest, and
hope to obtain these facts from the questioning. The person approached
is not required to identify himself or answer any other questions, and
may leave at any time.[5] Police are not usually required to tell a
person that he is free to decline to answer questions and go about his
business;[6] however, a person can usually determine whether the
interaction is consensual by asking, “Am I free to go?”[7][8]

4 Writing for the Court in Terry v. Ohio, Chief Justice Warren
stated,

And in justifying the particular intrusion the police officer must
be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken
together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant
that intrusion. — 392 U.S. at 21

5 Writing for the Court in Florida v. Royer 460 U.S. 491 (1983),
Justice White stated,

The person approached, however, need not answer any question put
to him; indeed, he may decline to listen to the questions at all and
may go on his way. — 460 U.S. at 497–498

6 Writing for the Court in United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544
(1980) Justice Stewart stated,

Our conclusion that no seizure occurred is not affected by the
fact that the respondent was not expressly told by the agents that she
was free to decline to cooperate with their inquiry, for the
voluntariness of her responses does not depend upon her having been so
informed. — 446 U.S. at 555

7 The ACLU publication Know Your Rights When Encountering Law
Enforcement states,

You can say, “I do not want to talk to you” and walk away calmly.
Or, if you do not feel comfortable doing that, you can ask if you are
free to go. If the answer is yes, you can consider just walking away.
Do not run from the officer. If the officer says you are not under
arrest, but you are not free to go, then you are being detained.

8 If the encounter is consensual, a person approached need not
actually leave to terminate the encounter, but may simply ignore
police. In Michigan v. Chesternut, 486 U.S. 567 (1988), Justice
Blackmun explained the Court’s holding that Chesternut had not been
detained, stating that the police conduct “would not have communicated
to a reasonable person that he was not at liberty to ignore the police
presence and go about his business.” — 486 U.S. at 569

i know you might be trying to go for the "but it's not moving
therefore he's not really driving" theme but...

he's OPERATING the vehicle. "operating" does not necessarily mean
"moving". It includes turning the car on, off, and ... common
sense.


the real issue with "requirement to present id" is... whether or not
they can as the passengers.


since you've already shown that he wasn't a passenger but the driver -
you answered your own question.

it might not be the answer you wanted to hear, but it is the one that
fits what you've asked.



so out of curiosity, did he have his ID on him?

The real question is... are you OBLIGED to present the police with
your ID card.

Just like when police ASK to search your vehicle. Once you say "Yes"
then their search isn't a violation of the 4th Amendment.



I tried looking through Mississippi law but ... I got bored and quit.
Why don't you try asking at your Town Hall for the information on the
laws?

I work at the front desk of a hotel and the local police come in
regularly asking for the copies of guest IDs we take at check in.
Then they run them to see if they have any warrants. I've worked at a
few hotels and they've done this at each one, so it's a regular
practice in my area, if not all over.

Sounds like a cop who needs to find some real cop work to do. I would
think a business owner would NOT appreciate a cop harassing
customers.

Generally: If a cop is treating EVERYONE the same, it's legal. It's
when he starts to focus on gender, race, ethnicity/skin color, etc.,
is when it becomes illegal.

This cop jsut seems like a dick who needs to get back to his job.

My Dad was a very good cop, but he barely knows his Mazda from a
Mitsubishi. They all look the same to him!

My brother and I are pretty big car buffs, so it annoys us no end, but
that's just Daddy.

It has NOTHING to do with whether he's a good cop, though.

It's estimated that eye witnesses get up to half of what they see
wrong.

if they say they have just cause to ask the information, that's all
they need.

Perhaps there was an issue with people driving off and not paying for
the gas, so that's why the officer was there. Just making his
presence known and making people feel that they are being watched is
allegedly a crime deterrent (although as a cop's daughter, it just
annoys me!) Maybe they were looking for someone in particular who had
been reported to be seen in the area.

It's not really ethical, but they have a right to ask in the interest
of patrolling the area.

I would say it is if it's part of an ongoing effort by the police to
curb something like car theft, unlicensed driving, etc. Many police
departments have websites that you can go on a post this question to
the Chief of Patrol. I had an issue with our local highway patrol and
did this and got a call from the Lt in charge.

I am sure if they had a report of someone in the area doing something
suspicious or they got a tip on someone they can question everyone in
the area and ask for ID of everyone.

Its legal to do checkpoints and ask everyone for ID so this has to be
legal.

I would imagine that there would have to be some just cause for the
police to be questioning individuals like that and I'm sure they would
need to provide full disclosure of what the just cause is, even if
they are acting on a tip or report.

erratically, of course they can question that person. If all you had
to do was exit your vehicle to avoid being questioned, nobody would
ever get ticketed or arrested.