4 ms·

It's already legal to lie to the police, at least the state police. You can't lie to the FBI, though.

miles 6y ago
> It's already legal to lie to the police Apparently not in Maui County[1]: Stern was arrested for Rules and Orders, pertaining to face mask violation. ... An additional charge of Unsworn Falsification To Authorities was added. [1] https://mauinow.com/2021/01/22/maui-police-respond-to-complaints-of-paʻia-drum-circle-colorado-man-arrested-for-mask-violation/ https://mauinow.com/2021/01/22/maui-police-respond-to-compla...
aidenn0 6y ago
IANAL, but my understanding is that in some jurisdictions, lying to the police is Obstruction of Justice. In addition, lying to the police can be de-facto illegal by being the primary evidence they have that you are guilty of some other crime "Why would s/he lie if s/he weren't guilty?".
- mc32 6y ago
  They can’t punish you for lying, but they will use your lies against your credibility at trial. Nothing wrong with that. It’s better to stay mum than lie.
mc32 6y ago
The FBI is notoriously bad. They make people lie and then use it against them: See Martha Stewart. I’m neutral on her. But the FBI went way overboard on a peanuts case. It’s like they lose face if they lose. But get Epstein and friends and they let them plea bargain, etc.
- andrewla 6y ago
  > they lose face if they lose Well, they gain face if they win, and the only way to get ahead in a bureaucracy like the FBIs is to pump up the numbers. As I recall, the agent who was in charge of the Martha Stewart case in particular rose to a significant level of prominence, despite the fact that they never managed to convict her of anything securities-related.
jessriedel 6y ago
It's not legal in California: > Under [California Vehicle Code 31], it is a crime to knowingly give false information to a peace officer while the officer is performing his duties https://www.wklaw.com/providing-false-information-to-a-police-officer https://www.wklaw.com/providing-false-information-to-a-polic... > No person shall give, either orally or in writing, information to a peace officer while in the performance of his duties under the provisions of this code when such person knows that the information is false. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=31 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio... Despite being part of the vehicle code, this applies outside of traffic situations as far as I can tell.
- selimthegrim 6y ago
  Isn't this only about ID?
  - jessriedel 6y ago
    My links? No.
linuxftw 6y ago
In many places it's not legal to lie to the police or any government official, in the US other otherwise.
valuearb 6y ago
Not just FBI, it’s illegal to lie to any federal agent from any agency. EPA agent asks you if you dumped some wastewater from your companies property into the sewage system. You, unsure of whether it was legal, lie and say no. Later it’s established that your dumping was perfectly legal, but you go to prison for your lie.

> It's already legal to lie to the police Apparently not in Maui County[1]: Stern was arrested for Rules and Orders, pertaining to face mask violation. ... An additional charge of Unsworn Falsification To Authorities was added. [1] https://mauinow.com/2021/01/22/maui-police-respond-to-complaints-of-paʻia-drum-circle-colorado-man-arrested-for-mask-violation/ https://mauinow.com/2021/01/22/maui-police-respond-to-compla...

aidenn0 6y ago

IANAL, but my understanding is that in some jurisdictions, lying to the police is Obstruction of Justice. In addition, lying to the police can be de-facto illegal by being the primary evidence they have that you are guilty of some other crime "Why would s/he lie if s/he weren't guilty?".

mc32 6y ago
They can’t punish you for lying, but they will use your lies against your credibility at trial. Nothing wrong with that. It’s better to stay mum than lie.

mc32 6y ago

The FBI is notoriously bad. They make people lie and then use it against them: See Martha Stewart. I’m neutral on her. But the FBI went way overboard on a peanuts case. It’s like they lose face if they lose. But get Epstein and friends and they let them plea bargain, etc.

andrewla 6y ago
> they lose face if they lose Well, they gain face if they win, and the only way to get ahead in a bureaucracy like the FBIs is to pump up the numbers. As I recall, the agent who was in charge of the Martha Stewart case in particular rose to a significant level of prominence, despite the fact that they never managed to convict her of anything securities-related.

jessriedel 6y ago

It's not legal in California: > Under [California Vehicle Code 31], it is a crime to knowingly give false information to a peace officer while the officer is performing his duties https://www.wklaw.com/providing-false-information-to-a-police-officer https://www.wklaw.com/providing-false-information-to-a-polic... > No person shall give, either orally or in writing, information to a peace officer while in the performance of his duties under the provisions of this code when such person knows that the information is false. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=31 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio... Despite being part of the vehicle code, this applies outside of traffic situations as far as I can tell.

selimthegrim 6y ago
Isn't this only about ID?
- jessriedel 6y ago
  My links? No.

linuxftw 6y ago

In many places it's not legal to lie to the police or any government official, in the US other otherwise.

valuearb 6y ago

Not just FBI, it’s illegal to lie to any federal agent from any agency. EPA agent asks you if you dumped some wastewater from your companies property into the sewage system. You, unsure of whether it was legal, lie and say no. Later it’s established that your dumping was perfectly legal, but you go to prison for your lie.