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The point of the article (and any similar advice) is that 4 is not possible

Brendinooo 4mo ago
The police couldn't creatively turn a five-minute interaction into my day/week/month getting wrecked? You can be held for ~2 days without charges being filed, right?
- digitalPhonix 4mo ago
  If they wanted to do that, your chances of "I talk, and it screws me" are pretty high anyway. Also, don't take my word for it - here's a US police officer saying the same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE (skip to the second half) He wouldn't talk to police.
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- cryptonector 4mo ago
  Losing days is better than losing decades.
jfengel 4mo ago
Convicting you of a crime is not possible. But there are many, many ways in which you can be screwed, from forcing you to spend a weekend in jail to having a prosecutor offer you a plea deal that you can't risk refusing. The police have a lot more power in any encounter, and there is no way to avoid having them make your life worse. About the only truly concrete advice is that if you are guilty of something then you absolutely, positively must get a lawyer before saying anything at all. The magic words are “I will not answer any questions without my lawyer present,” and any variation from that exposes you to the risk of the police creatively misinterpreting you. The magic words can help you beat the rap, but they cannot help you beat the ride. If they decide that you are going to jail, then you go with them, and nothing you say or do (or not say or do) will prevent that. And you will stay there until your lawyer shows up.
thayne 4mo ago
It absolutely is. In theory, staying silent or getting a lawyer shouldn't hurt you in court. But it could lead to the police focusing their investigation on you and/or making your life difficult.
- nobody9999 4mo ago
  >It absolutely is. In theory, staying silent or getting a lawyer shouldn't hurt you in court. But it could lead to the police focusing their investigation on you and/or making your life difficult. This is addressed explicitly and at length in the video linked in TFA.
sillystuff 4mo ago
But, 4 is possible. After Salinas v Texas, you must positively assert that you are exercising your right to silence, not simply remain silent. The prosecutor in a murder trial argued, at trial, that silence of the defendant (during police questioning) was evidence of his guilt. The supreme court in Salinas v Texas allowed this. * The defendant also selectively answered some questions, so perhaps there is nuance, but to be safe, a positive assertion of right to remain silent seems prudent. IANAL, and would love if an actual lawyer would comment on this.
UncleMeat 4mo ago
Don't worry. If the lawyers prosecuting you illegally point out your silence as suspicious to the jury, the supreme court can just decide that actually this didn't impact the jury enough so your conviction stands. Great country we live in /s.

The police couldn't creatively turn a five-minute interaction into my day/week/month getting wrecked? You can be held for ~2 days without charges being filed, right?

digitalPhonix 4mo ago
If they wanted to do that, your chances of "I talk, and it screws me" are pretty high anyway. Also, don't take my word for it - here's a US police officer saying the same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE (skip to the second half) He wouldn't talk to police.
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
cryptonector 4mo ago
Losing days is better than losing decades.

jfengel 4mo ago

Convicting you of a crime is not possible. But there are many, many ways in which you can be screwed, from forcing you to spend a weekend in jail to having a prosecutor offer you a plea deal that you can't risk refusing. The police have a lot more power in any encounter, and there is no way to avoid having them make your life worse. About the only truly concrete advice is that if you are guilty of something then you absolutely, positively must get a lawyer before saying anything at all. The magic words are “I will not answer any questions without my lawyer present,” and any variation from that exposes you to the risk of the police creatively misinterpreting you. The magic words can help you beat the rap, but they cannot help you beat the ride. If they decide that you are going to jail, then you go with them, and nothing you say or do (or not say or do) will prevent that. And you will stay there until your lawyer shows up.

thayne 4mo ago

It absolutely is. In theory, staying silent or getting a lawyer shouldn't hurt you in court. But it could lead to the police focusing their investigation on you and/or making your life difficult.

nobody9999 4mo ago
>It absolutely is. In theory, staying silent or getting a lawyer shouldn't hurt you in court. But it could lead to the police focusing their investigation on you and/or making your life difficult. This is addressed explicitly and at length in the video linked in TFA.

sillystuff 4mo ago

But, 4 is possible. After Salinas v Texas, you must positively assert that you are exercising your right to silence, not simply remain silent. The prosecutor in a murder trial argued, at trial, that silence of the defendant (during police questioning) was evidence of his guilt. The supreme court in Salinas v Texas allowed this. * The defendant also selectively answered some questions, so perhaps there is nuance, but to be safe, a positive assertion of right to remain silent seems prudent. IANAL, and would love if an actual lawyer would comment on this.

UncleMeat 4mo ago

Don't worry. If the lawyers prosecuting you illegally point out your silence as suspicious to the jury, the supreme court can just decide that actually this didn't impact the jury enough so your conviction stands. Great country we live in /s.