Walk It Through: The Scanner
A crime only during a crime, three documents on request, and a fourth degree crime.
A driver who follows local news mounts a police scanner on the dashboard.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One car and one scanner. Federal radio law, local rules, and what counts as a crime in progress are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Insurance identification cardOne of three documents a driver has whenever in charge of a vehicle on the highways, with the license and the registration certificate, shown when a police officer or judge asks in the course of duty.
- Degree of crimeHow the code grades a crime, from first degree down to fourth. A crime of the third degree carries between three years and five years and a fine up to $15,000.00.
- Disorderly persons offenseThe grade below the crimes, punishable by not more than 6 months and a fine up to $1,000.00.
- Petty disorderly persons offenseThe lowest grade, punishable by not more than 30 days and a fine up to $500.00.
- EludingKnowingly fleeing or trying to elude an officer after a signal to stop, in a vehicle or vessel: a crime of the third degree, or the second if it creates a risk of death or injury.