So the police want to interview you

If you are a possible suspect in a criminal investigation, the police may contact you. They can request an interview and there are several different techniques they can use to persuade you to talk to them. Do not do it. See below for more details.

Good cop

They may tell you that they just want “your side of the story” so they can “put the case to bed.” They can make it look like they’ve basically decided you didn’t do anything wrong and they just need you to confirm a few details so they can check a few boxes before officially closing the case.

Is it because they are trying to help you? Absolutely not!

The police are in the business of collecting evidence. They want you to let your guard down and give them proof. They want you to show your cards. Did they bother to show you their cards first? Did they show you witness statements? Did they give you a tour of their evidence locker?

Or do they just want to take a free look at your cards?

Bad cop

But they can take the opposite approach. They may tell you that you could have a lot of problems. They could say that at this point they only have one side of the story and if that is all they have to go on, they will arrest you and charge you with serious crimes. But if you come and talk to them, maybe they will go another way.

Is it because they are trying to help you? Absolutely not!

It’s just a different method and technique for collecting evidence.

The police may be fair to you, but they may not. It is not uncommon for the police to push for the prosecution of a case because they did not believe that its denial was “a strong denial.” Do you know for sure now that your denial will be the kind of denial that these particular police officers will definitely accept 100%? Absolutely not!

So, knowing that they want to talk to you for the purpose of collecting evidence, consider that if you are going to be prosecuted, do you want the prosecutor to have MORE evidence or LESS evidence?

Less. The answer is “less”.

Then what should I do?

Look, I love the police. I used to be a prosecutor and I know how difficult the job is and the good it does for the community. I also know how quickly a police officer will approach an attorney if they are found to be a suspect in a crime. So, don’t let them put you to shame, they could and would do the exact same thing!

If you lose this poker hand, they will take you in chains and put you in a cage. That is the brutal reality of criminal cases. So when the people who have the key to that cage ask you for a free look at their cards, politely decline and tell them you want a lawyer.

If they ask you why you want an attorney, ask them if they would agree to give up your Second Amendment right to have guns. They are not. Tell them that you do not agree to give up your Sixth Amendment right to an attorney.

But i’m innocent

No matter! The guilty go free and the innocent go to jail. Life isn’t fair and people aren’t perfect, so don’t expect the criminal justice system to be. It’s not what you to know, is what a judge or jury believe.

So if someone asks you why an innocent person would want a lawyer, ask if they are familiar with it. Innocence Project.

Ask them if they know Cornelius Dupree, who served 31 years in prison for a rape and robbery that DNA evidence showed he did not commit.

Ask them if they know Larry Ruffin, who died in prison 30 years after being sentenced for a murder and rape that DNA evidence showed he did not commit.

Ask them how many people have been exonerated for various Innocence Projects across the country. Ask them if they know what factors have led to so many wrongful convictions.

Innocent people, after being investigated, questioned and arrested by police officers, have been wrongly convicted and have died in prison, and these police officers know nothing about it.

Ask them why not.

Actually, it is best if you tell them that before speaking with them, you would like to speak with an attorney first.

Ok Eliot, but when Should Do I speak to the police?

See below for a detailed list of when to speak to the police.

• You are married to a police officer and they ask you what you would like for dinner. you are Really hungry. Go ahead and tell them what sounds good. But even then, be sure to qualify their statement – don’t tell them this is what you want for dinner, say instead that this is something that could be good. That way, you still have a plausible denial.

That’s. That is the list.

© 11/28/2016 Hunt & Associates, PC All rights reserved.