Is there a law that says you must have I.D. on you at all times, even if your not driving? LEO says they can arrest you for not having I.D.
What LEO told you that? What jurisdiction? Your LEO friend will never see my driver's license unless I am operating a motor vehicle. And, God help the poor soul who demands my Social Security Number for no good reason. On the other hand, if you are carrying a gun, you MUST have your GWL with you. It's probably the same with hunting/fishing licenses, if you are doing it, you must have it with you.
Thats what I thought, but I keep hearing stories from people who have been threatened to be arrested for not having I.D. on them. I'm not talking about driving or carrying a weapon or anything special. I'm talking about just being a passenger in a vehicle or walking down the street. Does this law change from state to state or is this on the Federal level?
Some states have "stop and identify" laws. Georgia does not. The only thing resembling a stop and identify law in Georgia is a statute that requires you to identify yourself if you are loitering or otherwise behaving suspiciously (OCGA 6-11-36). However, if you're going about your business, a police officer cannot just stop and ask for ID. Keep in mind that, as far as I know, the constitutionality of such laws is in question. Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada is the most significant case on the subject, and in this case the statute only required you to identify yourself, not produce ID. It was the understanding of the court that merely responding with your name verbally satisfies the statute. In addition, the court left open the door that, if the person had a reasonable belief that giving his name may incriminate him, he might have 5A protection against answering the question. Everything beyond that is a legal gray area. If you want to exercise your 4A rights against having your driver's license run, I would suggest getting a Passport card. If you have a passport, getting the card is only an additional $20 for 10 years, and provides a government ID that does not have your address and does not have a DL# they can just call in over the radio.
One difference with hunting/fishing licenses in Georgia is you must show it, if asked by a LEO or DNR.
Isn't this the same as driving, only if you are doing that activity. Can they require you to show a fishing license while you're walking around at the mall and ticket you if you're not? Those activities only require you to produce it when you are doing them (driving, fishing, hunting, etc.). Carrying a gun does not require you to produce a license, only to have one.
There is no state in the Union which requires its citizenry to carry government issued identification 24-hours a day, or At All when not performing a licensed activity. This does not preclude an officer lying to you or to anyone else about the matter. Officers are not required and there is no penalty for now doing so when not under oath. It also does not stop an officer from arresting a citizen who does not produce government issued identification when demanded. An officer can arrest for that as easily as he can arrest someone for 'eating a ham sandwich on Sunday, to the detriment of the public good'.
What about a "Pat down"? When does an officer have the right to make you" spread em" and pat you down?
Watching the 'Cops' type shows on tv: the police always hassle the heck out of passenger/s in the car they have stopped demanding ID. Intimidation works.
He never has the right, although depending on the situation he may have the authority or even the duty.
The cost of the passport card is $55 for first time applicants, and $30 for renewals. But it doesn't really buy you much in the context of what is being suggested. This is because it is not necessary to have your driver operators license number (OLN) in order to perform a GCIC/NCIC check via the radio or in vehicle computer terminal. The passport card has your name and DOB. That is all that is necessary to initiate a check against GCIC and NCIC, it is done all the time to verify whether the driver of a vehicle that doesn't have their license in their possession actually has been issued a valid license, or is unlicensed (the difference equates to getting a small citation, or going to jail). If you are in the system and have a license, it will yield your OLN and drivers info, criminal history and photo. If you just have a Georgia issued ID card in the system, GCIC will yield your criminal history and photo.
Those results you listed, I'm assuming you mean of course, is if the check is ran through the in-vehicle computer. I don't really see how a radio initiated ID check yields a photo. Oh, quite true, I mean demand.