5 ms·

One flaw with this advice is that it's difficult, impolite, awkward and unrealistic to stay perfectly silent. How about "my lawyer would be happy to answer all

• sjcsjc 10y ago
  From the article: Other than that, Duane says, you should fall back on four short words: "I want a lawyer."
• ryanmonroe 10y ago
  If the police are trying to get you to talk without a lawyer, they're the ones being impolite. You're just trying to avoid being thrown in jail.
• Zigurd 10y ago
  Of course you should be polite. It's possible to speak and say nothing up until you need to say "I see you have some important questions. Let's arrange a time when my lawyer can be present."
• jimmywanger 10y ago
  That is _exactly_ what the police want to exploit when they're questioning you - social norms and politeness. When you're having a conversation, we're conditioned to find long pauses awkward and uncomfortable. That's why when you start not saying anything during a conversation, the other person will jump in and start filling the dead air. It's useful during negotiations, because the person will start jumping in with concessions, trying to make things less awkward, when you let silences stretch out when it's "your turn to talk". Just remember, the police are not your friends. They want something out of you. Don't give them a single inch. "I want a lawyer" or "I want my lawyer" and then shutting up has nothing difficult, impolite, awkward, or unrealistic about it. If you're worried about politeness when the cops are trying to pin a crime on you, I really don't know what to say except think about how impolite it would be for them to arrest you.