Originally Posted by
saizai
This is why every defense lawyer in the country will give "shut the hell up other than explicitly invoking your right to counsel and to remain silent" as their first piece of advice for 99.9% of situations.
(BTW re silence used against you: you do have to explicitly invoke your rights. Otherwise, yes, refusal to answer can be used against you.)
A local TV station airs reruns of the old “Cops” show several times a day. Mostly filmed in the 1990s, I can’t believe they air some of these segments, because 80% of the time the five cops on top have one skin tone while the guy under the pile has a darker skin tone.
I try to analyze the confrontations like the lawyer I am not. One thing stands out. I have never seen
anyone “improve” their situation by talking. The guilty ones who try to lie their way out of trouble just dig a bigger hole for themselves. But innocent people who try to be helpful can also say too much. Civilians talking = advantage for the cops
always. Silence is a great idea. ^
Sadly, anyone who will not talk gets the automatic “What have you got to hide” routine.
The cynic in me thinks the show producers made a deal with the police to be allowed to film them. They promised to never air footage of civilians who knew their rights or used the right phrases at a roadside stop, because the last thing the police want is a public educated about the constitutionally correct things to say to resist their a-tho-ri-tah.
OT: fun betting game. Watch “Cops” when there is a bar fight or front yard brawl and guess which person is going to end up in handcuffs in back of the patrol car.
Spoiler alert: 99% of the time it is the guy not wearing a shirt.
