You have been given a Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. You have the right to remain silent. I highly recommend that you exercise that right and not talk to the police in a criminal investigation without first speaking with an attorney.
In a criminal matter, you should not talk to the police or any other government agent without first consulting your attorney. I don’t care if you’re innocent. I don’t care if it’s the truth. It doesn’t matter if you have an alibi or not. There is NO way to predict whether or not anything you say can be used against you. That is because you have no idea what “evidence” they have (or will) come up with. It is not possible for anything that you say to help you. But it is very possible that harmless things that you say will hurt you. Make NO statement to the police under any circumstances. You have the RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, and you should! Here are the reasons why:
1. There is no way that it can help. You are not going to talk your way out of getting arrested however the more you talk the more likely it is that you will talk your way into handcuffs.
2. If you speak to the police and the conversation is not recorded in some way then it’s your word against the officer’s regarding what was said. In the years that I spent as a prosecutor I saw officers misremember a sequence of events or an explanation countless times. Often times an officer’s testimony is all that the State needs to convict you. If something that you testify to conflicts with whatever the officer “remembers” that you said that night, you could be convicted based on what the officer said you said. If there is no recording and no neutral witness to back you up, the jury or judge will likely believe the officer sitting there in his uniform swearing that what he says is the truth.
3. Even if your conversation is recorded, something could mysteriously happen to the recording after you give your recorded statement. If the recording is lost of destroyed you may have no way to prove what was actually said at the time of the statement. Don’t be fooled into thinking this cannot possibly happen to you. And when it does then you’ll right back to square one: your word against the officer’s as to what was said.
4. Cops are trained to keep you talking. That is because the more you say the more likely it is that they can find something that can be used against you. I don’t care if you think the cop is so nice and seems to be on your side. They are trained to seem that way. It is your best choice to simply tell them “I’d like to call my lawyer” and have NO further comment. Be polite. Be respectful. Don’t say anything more.
5. Officers are human beings. They are not robots. They have wives, husbands, toddlers and teenagers and all of the stresses of everyday life that the rest of us do. I say this to show that they are people too. They can and do make mistakes. It is likely that when a police officer arrives to a scene that he or she would have a totally different perspective than you and that may cloud how they listen to what you have to say to them. You may think you are focusing on one aspect of the incident and they are hearing and focusing on something completely different instead.
6. If you are guilty, you may admit your guilt without any benefit in return. If you are innocent and scared enough you may admit guilt in order to get what you think is a deal. You should not rush into any “deals” until after you have called your attorney and had the benefit of legal advice.
7. Some people think that they should talk because they are innocent. However even innocent people should exercise their right to remain silent. This is because even if you are innocent and only tell the truth, you may still give the police some information that can be used to help convict you. You may inadvertently say something inaccurate that is totally irrelevant to the actual crime being investigated. But once it is proven to be a lie, the State can and will use it against you to get a conviction.
Too many Americans view the Fifth Amendment as a shelter for wrongdoers. It really isn’t a shelter so much as it is a vital Constitutional right that is important for people to protect themselves from undue governmental intrusion into your life.
Let the police do their job. That is to find evidence that the crime was committed and of who committed the crime. You do not have to give them anything by speaking to them! Exercise your rights and tell them you want to you call your lawyer. Then immediately call us at (877) 538-6294 so that we can help you protect your rights.
