"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?"
All of us have heard this countless times on TV shows and in movies. It is known as "Miranda Rights" and we all have them. The problem is that most of us have no idea what they mean or when they must be read by the police. We also don't understand that we always have these rights whether they have been read to us or not. That is where the problems for most defendants lie.
The police must read a defendant his or her rights once they are in a custodial interrogation situation. Usually no one is in custody unless they have been arrested but many times are questioned prior to arrest. This is when most information is received by the police. Later the defendant complains that the rights were not read before questioning but since they had not been placed in custody no reading of the rights was required.
In fewer situations the defendant has been placed in custody but not questioned. During the trip to jail the defendant begins to talk without being asked anything. Once again, anything said can be used since there was no custodial interrogation. All of this leads to many convictions based solely on the statements of the defendant and no one else.
Since we all have the "Miranda Rights" regardless of being told so then it is important that we assert them rather than wait until it is too late. There is no duty to "cooperate" with the police. You cannot be charged with a crime of silence since that is the right mentioned in "Miranda". That doesn't mean you should lie to the police since that is a crime.
It has been my experience in over 25 years of practicing law that no client of mine has ever helped his or her own cause by talking to the police when the client is a suspect in a crime. There is always time to talk later after obtaining the advice of an attorney. The police cannot offer to "go easy" or "reduce" a charge and be able to honor that promise since that is the domain of the prosecutor or district attorney and judge.
I never advise anyone to lie or be disrespectful to any police officer. I just advise that they don't talk to the police before talking to an attorney. This also means that I advise my clients to never agree to any search of a home or vehicle without a warrant. Once the client agrees then there is no basis for an appeal of an illegal search, the same as in the case of a voluntary verbal statement.
My opinion applies to all cases, including serious traffic matters such as DUI. By talking to the police and answering questions about the number of drinks one may have had or talking with slurred speech the defendant is simply providing the officer with the probable cause necessary to ask the driver to take a breath or blood test.
I contend that a large number of people are convicted of crimes simply because they opened their mouths. That is why I say "KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT".