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For what it's worth this is what I would say... Look, I’ve been told in the past that it’s not a good idea to talk to the police without a lawyer present. The

For what it's worth this is what I would say... Look, I’ve been told in the past that it’s not a good idea to talk to the police without a lawyer present. The people who told me this were experts on this sort of thing and the point they made is that innocent people have been convicted by accidentally saying something that implicated them. They also made the point that this has happened even when the police officers themselves believed the person was innocent because those officers turned the case over to a District Attorney who really just wanted a conviction. So while I know you’re just doing your job by trying to get me to talk to you I need you to understand my outlook on this which is that my life might depend on me keeping my mouth shut right now. What I will say is that I’m completely innocent of these charges and I think you’re wasting your time talking to me. Beyond that I’m going to keep my mouth shut from this point on and wait for my lawyer. Thanks for understanding. ...As far as any false claims the police might make they don't have the right to do anything without a warrant so I'd use vaguely the same speech as above but substitute in "I've been told you need a warrant to search my person or possessions" Edit: I just IMed a friend who is a lawyer and he made a good point on searches. When the police claim they have the right to search your person or possessions you want to do two things. First, explicitly say you forbid them to search unless you are legally required to allow them to do it. Second make them take physical action (e.g. if they want to search you tell them you won’t empty your own pockets but you won’t resist if they search your pockets). Do these two things and you’ll never be searched unduly.

dotBen 16y ago
"I need you to understand my outlook on this which is that my life might depend on me keeping my mouth shut right now." I wouldn't say that, it implies guilt (by the letter of the law and justice an innocent person's life wouldn't depend on them keeping their mouth shut). Further more, the specific phrase "my life might depend on me keeping my mouth shut" could be interpreted by a cop as being more than what you mean - eg maybe you are harboring a criminal who has threatened to kill you. As geeks, I think we have a tendency to 'front load' a lot of this as we try to explain our logic. A short "No comment" is best and the more you say, even in trying to justify your logic, opens up opportunity for a cop to use something against you.
- TomOfTTB 16y ago
  I'm sorry but that logic will get you thrown in jail for the exact points you outline. Police are people and they don't like a jerk and they don't like someone who seems to think he's smarter than they are. You say just "No Comment" and they aren't going to like you and that is going to make them go after you harder. What the statement I put above conveys is a few things. 1. That I respect the cops and their job and that I know they aren't after me personally(and hence won't try to parse every sentence I say and take it out of context like you did) 2. That I've been told by people that I believe to be knowledgeable that even innocent people can be convicted of a crime they didn't commit by saying something stupid and that's the reason I have a choice in not talking to them (and hence putting the "stupid" burden on my by implying "I don't think I'm smart enough to be in a discussion with you") 3. I explicitly stated "I'm not guilty" letting the cops know I'm not trying to be smug with them and that I do want them to know I'm not guilty. Bottom Line: By saying "No Comment" you're trying to prove you're smarter than the cops while my statement lets them think they're smarter than me while still giving them nothing they can use against me
  - branden 16y ago
    The more you say the more that can be twisted against you. "I'm not guilty." -> "Not guilty of what? We haven't accused you of anything. Why are you acting like you've been accused? What exactly are you not guilty of?" And so on. The response with the smallest attack surface is "No comment."
    - TomOfTTB 16y ago
      First, the only reason you don't talk to cops is because you don't want to give them something they can use against you in court. So unless there's something in that statement that they can use in court (which there isn't) it doesn't matter. Second, once you've asked for a lawyer interrogation MUST STOP by law. So there will be no follow up questions. Finally, you're making the same erroneous assumption as dotBen above in that you're assuming the relationship with the Cops has to be adversarial and then treating it as such (which is exactly what makes someone look guilty). What I'm saying is your best bet is to empathize with the Cops and realize that they don't like grilling people. So your goal should be to keep things amicable and give them "an out" so they don't have to interrogate you.

dotBen 16y ago

"I need you to understand my outlook on this which is that my life might depend on me keeping my mouth shut right now." I wouldn't say that, it implies guilt (by the letter of the law and justice an innocent person's life wouldn't depend on them keeping their mouth shut). Further more, the specific phrase "my life might depend on me keeping my mouth shut" could be interpreted by a cop as being more than what you mean - eg maybe you are harboring a criminal who has threatened to kill you. As geeks, I think we have a tendency to 'front load' a lot of this as we try to explain our logic. A short "No comment" is best and the more you say, even in trying to justify your logic, opens up opportunity for a cop to use something against you.

TomOfTTB 16y ago
I'm sorry but that logic will get you thrown in jail for the exact points you outline. Police are people and they don't like a jerk and they don't like someone who seems to think he's smarter than they are. You say just "No Comment" and they aren't going to like you and that is going to make them go after you harder. What the statement I put above conveys is a few things. 1. That I respect the cops and their job and that I know they aren't after me personally(and hence won't try to parse every sentence I say and take it out of context like you did) 2. That I've been told by people that I believe to be knowledgeable that even innocent people can be convicted of a crime they didn't commit by saying something stupid and that's the reason I have a choice in not talking to them (and hence putting the "stupid" burden on my by implying "I don't think I'm smart enough to be in a discussion with you") 3. I explicitly stated "I'm not guilty" letting the cops know I'm not trying to be smug with them and that I do want them to know I'm not guilty. Bottom Line: By saying "No Comment" you're trying to prove you're smarter than the cops while my statement lets them think they're smarter than me while still giving them nothing they can use against me
- branden 16y ago
  The more you say the more that can be twisted against you. "I'm not guilty." -> "Not guilty of what? We haven't accused you of anything. Why are you acting like you've been accused? What exactly are you not guilty of?" And so on. The response with the smallest attack surface is "No comment."
  - TomOfTTB 16y ago
    First, the only reason you don't talk to cops is because you don't want to give them something they can use against you in court. So unless there's something in that statement that they can use in court (which there isn't) it doesn't matter. Second, once you've asked for a lawyer interrogation MUST STOP by law. So there will be no follow up questions. Finally, you're making the same erroneous assumption as dotBen above in that you're assuming the relationship with the Cops has to be adversarial and then treating it as such (which is exactly what makes someone look guilty). What I'm saying is your best bet is to empathize with the Cops and realize that they don't like grilling people. So your goal should be to keep things amicable and give them "an out" so they don't have to interrogate you.