On 8 Mar 2007 17:25:34 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

People who bring boats to Florida from states where there is no
registration of boats or where it is considered "optional" are
informed about the Florida law, let off with a warning, and told they
have 2-weeks to finish up their visit to Florida *or* apply for a
registration.

There's the crux of the matter.

A warning implies that one has broken a law and the law enforcement
option is to issue a warning so that one doesn't (1) do it again or is
notified that a problem exists and needs correction.

What this guy is doing is judging intent ahead of time - if the
reports are as stated. He can't do that - in fact, a case could be
made for profiling if he does this on a regular basis. I'm surprised
that somebody hasn't done so.

It's a question of intent. He has the right to stop a vessel and ask,
but if the owner presents documents that indicate it is owned by a
person whose state of residence doesn't require registration or
visible evidence of registration, he does not have the right to issue
a warning for a law that has not been broken.

A warning is an official law enforcement document - law enforcement
officers and adminsitrations track warnings issued. In this case, to
issue a warning, he would have to be able to prove that the vessel has
been in Florida waters for longer than two weeks - which would be
impossible to prove. He can't issue a warning for less than two weeks
because no law has been broken.