Walking away with the goods

Under the Fourth Amendment, people in the United States have the right to be protected against unreasonable searches and seizures. This includes the case of Michael Righi who was illegally detained and later arrested for refusing to show his receipt as he left a Circuit City in Pittsburgh.

As Righi was leaving the Circuit City with items that he had purchased, he was stopped and asked to show his receipt to a store employee standing by the door. Replying, “no thank you,” Righi continued out to the parking lot. As he walked through the doors, the employee called his manager to the front of the store and both employee and manager followed Righi out to his father’s car.

With the exception of stores such as Costco or Sam’s Club where a membership is required, a store does not have the legal right to detain you when leaving their store without accusing you of shoplifting. This primarily reflects the fact that once you have paid for the goods you have purchased, they belong to you and are no longer the property of the store. Furthermore, if they accuse you of shoplifting, the store must be able to provide evidence for their claim. If you refuse to show your receipt and the store does not accuse you of shoplifting, they may not do more than refuse to allow you to return to the store.

As Righi and his family attempted to leave, the employee and manager stood around the car in such a way as to prevent them from leaving. In an attempt to rectify the situation, Righi gave the manager three options. The manager could either accuse Righi of shoplifting and call the police, back away from the car and allow Righi to leave, or refuse, at which point Righi would call the police to report the manager for refusing to let him leave.

The manager refused to back down and Righi called the police. After a short wait an officer pulled up and asked for the story. As Righi began to explain, the officer asked why he did not just show the receipt to the employee. Righi explained that he did not have to do so; however, the officer disagreed. He then proceeded to ask for the receipt and driver’s license. Righi responded by turning over the receipt and telling the officer his name, refusing to turn over his license.

At this point, Righi was arrested and driven back to the station. During the drive, he asked the officer what he was being charged with. “For failure to produce [your] driver’s license,” to which Righi responded with, “what if I don’t have a license.” At no point during the encounter was Righi operating a vehicle for which a license would be required.

When identifying yourself to an officer of the law, in most states (including Indiana, under IC 34-38-5-3) you are only required to provide either your name, address, and date of birth or a driver’s license. This ‘or’ is the key; however, unless you are operating a motor vehicle for which a license is required, you are not required to show your license.

Eventually, Righi was charged with “Obstructing Official Business.” His father posted the $300 bail and Righi was allowed to return home. As of September 20, 2007, the charge against him has been dropped. Up until then, he was accepting donations to use in defense of his case in court which will now be turned towards charges he hopes to bring against Circuit City.