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Many people might be familiar with this video, titled "Don't Talk to the Police" which is a two-part talk delivered by Regent University law professor James Dua

Many people might be familiar with this video, titled "Don't Talk to the Police" which is a two-part talk delivered by Regent University law professor James Duane and a Virginia Beach police officer: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8167533318153586646&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8167533318153586646&... It discusses many of the same issues, citing one primary reason for not talking to the police as the tremendous, unknowable breadth of federal law and the fact that you can't possibly know what strange provisions you might be in breach of. Professor Duane quotes Supreme Court Justice Breyer: "The complexity of modern federal criminal law, codified in several thousand sections of the United States Code, and the virtually infinite variety of factual circumstances that might trigger an investigation into a possible violation of the law, make it difficult for anyone to know in advance just when a particular set of statements might later appear to a prosecutor to be relevant to some investigation." Duane memorably points out that it's illegal to be in possession of a lobster of a length that is too short under Honduran law, even "if you acted in self-defense." I strongly recommend it as an extremely entertaining and informative talk to anyone who hasn't previously seen it.

mpk 17y ago
Having read the article I came here to comment and specifically mention this video. I highly recommend taking the time to watch this video if you haven't seen it already.
fatdog789 17y ago
I most point out that Regent University is considered one of the worst law "schools" in the nation. It's a "Christian" school that teaches "God's law", not the law of the United States as it actually exists. Take anything that comes out of that school with a huge, heaping grain of salt. (Example: The most memorable statement is about Honduran law -- but Honduran law lacks the scienter requirement that forms the basis of US criminal liability.) Also, state police will not report you to the federal police (except for immigration violations, and drugs in most states). State police fucking hate federal police agencies b/c the federal agencies utterly disrespect local law enforcement. Finally, federal law only applies to interstate activities (usually, connected in some way to commerce). Without that crucial nexus, the federal government can prosecute you all it wants, but every court in the nation (except maybe in Texas and the Deep South) will throw out the case, with prejudice, and possibly even sanction the prosecutor for malicious prosecution.

mpk 17y ago

Having read the article I came here to comment and specifically mention this video. I highly recommend taking the time to watch this video if you haven't seen it already.

fatdog789 17y ago

I most point out that Regent University is considered one of the worst law "schools" in the nation. It's a "Christian" school that teaches "God's law", not the law of the United States as it actually exists. Take anything that comes out of that school with a huge, heaping grain of salt. (Example: The most memorable statement is about Honduran law -- but Honduran law lacks the scienter requirement that forms the basis of US criminal liability.) Also, state police will not report you to the federal police (except for immigration violations, and drugs in most states). State police fucking hate federal police agencies b/c the federal agencies utterly disrespect local law enforcement. Finally, federal law only applies to interstate activities (usually, connected in some way to commerce). Without that crucial nexus, the federal government can prosecute you all it wants, but every court in the nation (except maybe in Texas and the Deep South) will throw out the case, with prejudice, and possibly even sanction the prosecutor for malicious prosecution.