First of all, you should never be talking to the police regarding a crime that you are suspected of committing. The information that you give will never help your case or throw the police off your tracks. That only works on television. A partial confession, where you try to minimize your involvement, won’t put you in any better position. You can be held accountable for a crime even if you did not actually commit the offense itself. Often, your statement that you were “just the lookout” or that you only “drove the guy to the scene” will get you into just as much trouble as if you gave a full confession. The State can still proceed against you on theories of principal and accomplice to that crime. If you deny involvement, the statements can be used against you if later proven false or misleading. Your confession doesn’t win you points with the prosecutor either. If anything, the prosecutor now has a better case against you and will probably increase the penalty.

Remember that you have constitutional rights when being questioned by police. As you have heard on COPS, you have the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney during questioning, and the right to have an attorney appointed for you if you cannot afford one. These are what are commonly referred to as your “Miranda Rights”. These rights must be observed by the police if you are in custody and they ask you questions designed to elicit an incriminating response. Be aware though, Miranda doesn’t apply if you were not in custody or were making unsolicited, spontaneous statements.

If you are suspected of a crime, whether or not you have been read your Miranda Rights, invoke you right to remain silent and ask for an attorney. Give only your general information for booking purposes like name, address, and date of birth. (There is an exception to this rule. You must answer questions related to a crash investigation at roadside to determine the cause of the crash. These statements are protected from use by the accident report privilege. Make sure the officer states that he is using the statements for his “accident investigation.” Be careful though, the officer might then read your Miranda rights and ask you those same questions over again. At that time, you should invoke your right to remain silent.) When you invoke your rights, do so without hesitation or question. Say, “I invoke my right to remain silent and want my attorney now.” If you say, “maybe I should have an attorney”, or, “I don’t think I should say anything”, these can be treated as equivocal responses that may not protect you.

Now let’s assume you did not read the above paragraphs until you were charged with the crime and have already made statements to the police. An attorney can seek to suppress the statements for several reasons.
1. The police never read you Miranda or did so incorrectly.
2. The police read you Miranda, but you didn’t understand the rights.
3. The police read you Miranda but you never waived the rights.
4. You waived the rights but only after being intimidated, threatened, or coerced.
5. You waived the rights but only after being promised leniency.

©2004 Law Offices of Blaine McChesney