Originally Posted by
law dawg
That's the rub - in order for the officer to determine whether or not it's illegal they have to spend at least 1 second talking to you. My psychic powers only work on Wednesdays, so every other day I must actually talk to people to find out what's going on.
No, the "rub" is that you don't seem to understand simple concepts like "burden of proof" and "presumption of innocence". An officer doesn't get to detain you until you can demonstrate you have done nothing illegal. An officer gets to detain you only if there is evidence of wrongdoing.
Originally Posted by
law dawg
Because there are times when you can mail it in. I don't believe carrying the cash out of the country or into it is one of them.
Again, I'd love to see an attempted prosecution based on the fact that the form was filed by mail in advance. The form also says that it should be filed "at time of departure." Therefore, a narrow reading of the instructions suggests you would actually be breaking the law by having it filed by the time you are passing the TSA checkpoint, since you are supposed to be there at least two hours BEFORE departure. Having filed before entering the jetway would also be illegal, as you are supposed to wait until "time of departure," meaning you should file at the moment the plane pulls away from the gate.
Again, this is the problem with most LEOs. They think the law says whatever it is they want it to mean. So if you are stopped and you say "I already filed", they tell you it should be "filed at the time of departure". Get stopped in the departure lounge and tell them you are waiting to file until "time of departure" as the instructions indicate, then they will undoubtedly tell you you are in violation because you haven't filed already. In their view, the "correct" interpretation is whichever one screws the civilian in that particular circumstance.