If this is the guy I think it is, he has some really good advice. There's a reason cops Mirandize folks ... and it has more to do with what can happen AFTER an investigation is complete than anything the vast majority of cops might do during an investigation.
Excellent vid. Seen it 20 times. Worth watching again.
On a similar note, here's a blast from the past:
On a similar note, here's a blast from the past:
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That is an excellent video; seen it several times. The cop who talks in the second part pretty much says he'll find something you say to use against you if you talk.
Yep! I never thought about the "anything you say can only be used against you," part in quite that way.
If they feel they have enough evidence to charge you NOTHING YOU SAY WILL CHANGE THEIR MIND!
If there is not enough evidence to charge you, something you say may give them enough evidence, so ask for an attorney, and don't talk to anyone else.
If there is not enough evidence to charge you, something you say may give them enough evidence, so ask for an attorney, and don't talk to anyone else.
I once sat on a jury, where the prosecutor, hammered on the defendant, for a remark he made to the arresting officer, something like " I'm in big trouble aren't I " as an admission of guilt. Just a simple statement anyone might make. So the say nothing is really good advice.
That's what got me. The best possible outcome of talking is nothing happens. Anything else is bad.
This, this, a thousand times this. Regardless of what a cop writes in his report, or tells the DA's staff FTF when he turns in his paperwork, it is up to the DA to prosecute/not prosecute. At that time you are either home free or will find that you would much prefer to be staked out in August naked on an asphalt parking lot and skinned alive with a butter knife.
An attorney I used to work for made a ton of money giving people this advice when they paid him their retainer (several thousand dollars upfront) and then mailed them a little flyer reminding them of this exact same advice every month when he received payment for legal services through the month from these same folks ...
1. Do NOT argue with the nice policeman or woman. You will NOT win. EVER. Do what you are told, when you are told. The only words that need to come out of your mouth are: "Yessir. Am I to understand that I am under arrest? If so, I would like to invoke my rights and contact my attorney before we go any further. Here is his card. I am sure you understand. Thank you."
Now mind you, this attorney was automatically assuming that these particular clients were gonna be caught with the goods because ... well ... they WERE up to no good and his legal fees were simply something they considered to be the cost of doing business ... BUT ... the same principles apply if you are in a particularly difficult situation (not your typical 10 over on a sunny day with no dead bodies strewn along the highway you were blowing down ... ).
2. There is a fine line between "not talking" and being a prick ... don't be a prick ... It will NOT do you any good at all. Remember, if you had been doing what you were supposed to, chances are HIGHLY LIKELY that you would not have been pulled over/stopped/made contact with the nice policeman you are now face to face with. So ... If he's just gotten you for speeding, or a taillight out, or an minor traffic accident, answer his questions, take your (rightfully earned) ticket, smile and be on your way ... If it's anything more serious than that, or if he asks to search, you POLITELY decline and he calls the dogs, see No. 1 above.
3. Do NOT try to explain anything to anyone, especially if there has been an accident of any kind (particularly firearms related), or you have been caught with contraband. Simply state that you are not feeling well and ask that I be contacted and that you to be transported to the hospital. It is much easier for me to explain what you did not say than it is for me to explain away something you did say.
3. You have paid me a LOT of money to represent you. I will do that to the best of my ability but remember, no where, in any conversation that we have ever had, or will ever have, did I promise you you would never go to jail. I will promise you, however, to vigorously defend your constitutional rights and make sure that you receive a fair trial.
I've posted all of these things here before and, generally speaking, this advice has fallen on deaf ears. Why? For the same reason said attorney would get phone calls from clients screaming at the top of their lungs that the police had brutalized them for no reason at all when, come to find out, they had come out of their car swinging when they got pulled over ... NOBODY wants to do what they are told ... NOBODY. They want to be able to tell the cops how it is and the cops are supposed to just take their word as gospel. Problem with all that is cops get lied to all the time. ALL THE TIME.
But ... ehhh ... it is what it is. Someone will watch the links and read the posts and decide that "not talking" to the police means they can pop up outta the car like they've got firecrackers in their butts, screaming profanities and spitting on everything in a uniform ... and then not understand why they got jacked up ... And the attorneys will STILL get their retainers, their legal fees and go home to sleep in their nice, warm beds at night while some poor smuck who wouldn't listen to reasonable advice he paid for is sleeping on steel with a 2-inch foam mattress that's 10 years old, listening to Bubba snore in the bunk below him ...
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