Is possession of stolen license plates a felony or a misdemeanor?

Cops rarely "prove intent" that's up to the DA.

But they love to imply and charge if they think you're an arse.

Cop cars have license scanners that will instantly report if the plates were reported stolen.

I know putting fake or stolen registration stickers on your license plate is a felony.

Cops don't have to prove intent...the burdon of proof is on the State...it's up to the prosecutor to prove intent

Your attorney only has to bring up reasonable doubt...to the jury

Why would you want to steal a license plate. If you put it on a car and an officer runs it it will show up as stolen and then you, your vehicle, your passengers and your car will become suspicious.

Just stop doing illegal stuff.

What if you steal a plate, replace it on a second car, steal that plate. Then the person you stole the second plates from has a plate and will probably never notice that it is a different number and report it. Especially if you do this in a rural area or a long term lot. It could not be noticed until they get pulled over themselves at some point a month down the road.

Good idea or not?

Let, for purposes of argument, assume I am not a criminal but am writing an episode of Better Call Saul.

License plates are illegal...unconstitutional

You have the right to travel without them

Depends on the locality and the jurisdiction, either way a basic rule is don't mess with other people's cars

If you can't afford the tabs then don't drive

If your plates are stolen or misused report it

These types of laws seem pretty common sense

Your better off to have NO plates than STOLEN plates

Cop pulls you over and asks where your plates are just say they got stolen

In an ideal world as the founders foresaw it perhaps

However 18th century philosophy didn't foresee 20th century development, and rules of the road had to be established for motorized vehicle

Obviously no court has overturned license plates since they were instituted over 100 years ago

Now the Federal Reserve is another subject entirely ...

possession of stolen property, intent makes no difference in most laws besides self-defense. You either are in possession or not. They don't care what your story is. Its either option A or B and its probably a felony.

RCW 9A.56.160
Possessing stolen property in the second degree—Other than firearm or motor vehicle.
(1) A person is guilty of possessing stolen property in the second degree if:
(a) He or she possesses stolen property, other than a firearm as defined in RCW 9.41.010 or a motor vehicle, which exceeds seven hundred fifty dollars in value but does not exceed five thousand dollars in value; or
(b) He or she possesses a stolen public record, writing or instrument kept, filed, or deposited according to law; or
(c) He or she possesses a stolen access device.
(2) Possessing stolen property in the second degree is a class C felony.

So if a person switches plates from car A to car B in a parking lot (in order to take B's plates), then the owner of car B is a felon when the owner of car A reports the missing plates, without having actually done anything or having any knowledge of it whatsoever.

You can understand why some people hate the government. It is not hardly irrational.

Because it's a Vehicle license plate it might upgrade it to a first-degree charge, if when your arrested if you have a gun it could change it Aswell especially if your holding illegally. They would just start stacking charges.

Bad idea.

OK, obviously if you are doing multiple illegal things that would result in multiple charges. Thank you for point that out, Dr. Obvious.

But can you explain why? It seems like a good idea to me.

Because "What if you steal a plate". I didn't even need to read anything after that.

if your friend leaves drugs in your car

Your teen leaves illegal images on your computer

You bought a stereo from the guy on the corner

Intent don't matter unless and only unless you imidiatly call the police and become the reporting party. Then that changes everything.

Friend goes to jail, teen goes to jail, stereo is taken with no compensation. Possession laws

Sometimes just being armed or not makes a difference, when a weapon is in the same vehicle that the stolen plates are on it could make a major difference, like 5 or 10 years.

Maybe in your bagger state, but not around here.

They say 'Possession is 9/10ths of the law' but you never hear the whole thing. 'Poessession is 9/10ths of the law but intent is the whole of the law.

Most crime requires general intent.

I bet this guy is a cop or lawyer who has helped twist the system into what it is today.

In general, my understanding is that proof of intent is a required element in almost all criminal law except ones arising from negligence. There is even a fancy Latin term for it.

[link to www.law.cornell.edu (secure)]

Hey idiot why come here and ask if you know better anyway?
I hope you get caught and arrested

Hes saying that it is a misdemeanor, but if you use it to commit crimes or are found doing something illegal while in possession of the plates, its going to result in steeper sentencing and additional charges.