The Forgotten Amendment  Email Print  Perhaps the better word
would be "ignored." Inasmuch as the Constitution of the United
States has been a dead letter for decades, we might reasonably
conclude that the entire document, amendments and all, is
forgotten, or ignored. But some parts of it are more forgotten
than others!  The case of Larry Hiibel is relevant. Hiibel was
convicted of refusing to identify himself to a police officer.
Hiibel and his daughter had been arguing as they drove in his
pickup truck. The argument grew heated, and Hiibel asked his
daughter, who was driving, to pull over so he could step out and
collect his thoughts, so to speak. He was standing by the truck
when the officer arrived, having been told of an altercation
taking place in the pickup. Asked to identify himself, Hiibel
refused, asking why that was necessary. The cop replied that he
was conducting an investigation. Investigating what? The
policeman’s reply was nonsensical — he was investigating an
investigation. Eventually the off