- Would he be under arrest for hitchhiking, since it's illegal, or just taken off the road?
- Would he or his cousin have to show ID in order for him to be released?
- Would either of them have to pay a fine, or could she just take him home?
Thanks for all your help, guys!
Again, the jurisdiction for this scenario would be helpful, as a lot of the answers you get are going to vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and state to state.
In Nevada, it's not illegal to hitchhike unless in a place specifically prohibited from doing so. Along I-80, that means prison areas. I can think of three of those areas - outside Wells. Outside Carlin and then outside Lovelock. Then, it would most likely be the Highway Patrol that deals with you anyway and you won't be taken to a 'police station' but moved on somewhere else or cited and moved on somewhere else. If arrested, you'd go to jail. Period.
Because the Highway Patrol doesn't have their own holding facilities. Most places, outside of large metropolitan areas, don't have their own holding facilities but a county jail. Even then, in Nevada, you'll still have a county jail. In all but Las Vegas. But that's something of a misnomer as Las Vegas police are a metropolitan police department - which is basically a glorified sheriff's department.
How is the cousin getting the person out of jail? In most cases ID doesn't need to be shown if the cousin shows up with a bail bond. But if they're paying cash or the person is being released to the cousin on an OR then most likely would be asked for ID.
If the hitchhiker is arrested, he most likely would have a *bail* set. Unless given an OR by the judge or the sheriff of the county. (in Nevada, misdemeanors can be ORd by the sheriff of a county). A *fine* is money owed to the court AFTER a conviction.
In a response above, someone said that the cop probably wouldn't ask for ID when contacting someone just hitchhiking. I'm not sure where this would be true. Most of the time, you're talking to someone, you get the ID and run them for wants/warrants/cautions. You never know who you're dealing with, especially hitchhikers. But, all that's really required is a name and date of birth (and the S.C. has said that's all that's really required to be provided). SSN is asked for to narrow things down, but I don't know of *any* cop who is going to ask for an address when they're just doing a check on a person. The cop is also sussing the hitchhiker out for further scrutiny, asking questions about where they came from, what they're doing, why they're hitch-hiking. The likes of which will determine if they're going to make sure the hitchhiker is clear before they let them go on their merry way, or if they want to investigate further.
Rabe...