A couple of summers ago one of my father's rent houses mysteriously burned to the ground. I live 15 miles from where my father lived at that time. This was before he became so ill that he had to move in with me.

My sister filed the police report on the arson and she told me that the police thought that maybe I started the fire since I was the trustee of dad's trust and any money in an insurance settlement would be paid to me. She also told me that they wanted to question me.

I didn't set any damn house on fire. I was asleep 15 miles away at the time.

So I was waiting on them. Sure enough the next day a couple of detectives made their way down my driveway to my front door. They knocked on the door. When I got to the door they gave me the old friendly routine that cops use so well and said, "Hi. We just wanted to ask you a few questions about that fire---just wanted to clear things up with some routine questions."

I looked at them and said, "Really?" "Well, I don't answer any questions from anyone in law enforcement without my attorney present." They said, "Thank you," and walked back to their car.

I never heard from them again. BTW, the real arson was caught six months later.

I bring this up because to assert your rights you don't have to go into detail or have a long story of why you don't want to talk. Just one sentence will do the trick. The police would like nothing better than to get you talking. Just keep it short and simple.

The cops will try to get you into a long and drawn out conversation, but all you have to say is keep repeating an easy line to remember. Either "I don't answer questions without my lawyer present," or "I am not making any statements." That is all you need to say.

rewdiazepam

OMG REW! If I and my LO had known this, we probably wouldn't be in this mess :-( I know this sounds simple, but you're the kind of folk that thinks they'll never be the subject of a Black Op's raid, I'm here to tell ya; it throws ya for a loop. Oh, the things I wish I'd known. Wish I thought it would be safe to send it to him.

Oh no, I don't for a minute think that I would never be the subject of one of their early morning raids. Not at all.

I do understand the pressure that people are under when a dozen cops come in the house very early in the morning when everyone is just getting up. They come in with weapons pulled, yelling and screaming, pushing people around, and acting like hooligans. I get all that. That would frighten anyone.

The reason they come in with such force and intimidation is that they want to immediately instill fear into the occupants, which makes it much easier for them to get someone to start talking or even confessing.

The saddest part of these raids is that most people downloading child porn are not violent and there really is no need for them to use such strong arm tactics. They only do that to show the inhabitants of the house "who is boss."

Many of the child porn downloaders are decent folk who have never had any dealings with law enforcement and do not realize they are under no obligation to talk to the cops.

I just think it is a good idea to have a memorized statement to give to the police when they want you to talk.

rewdiazepam

"Many of the child porn downloaders are decent folk who have never had any dealings with law enforcement and do not realize they are under no obligation to talk to the cops. "

That describes my husband, perfectly!!! The only dealings he has had with police is speeding tickets. I don't think he realized he had a choice to NOT say anything. They made us all feel so "safe and comfortable."

Yet some play the game of "We just want to hear YOUR side of the story" or "If you're innocent you have no reason NOT to talk to us" , etc.

Rew, you put it beautifully in a post a month or so ago.... something along the lines of: cops talk to suspects and witnesses; if you haven't witnessed anything, you're the suspect.

Yeah, cops never want to talk to anyone unless they are one of three groups of people----1) victims of a crime,
2) witnesses to a crime, or 3) a suspect in a crime.

If you have not been a victime and did not witness anything, you can be sure you are a suspect. Keep your mouth shut or use one of my memorized lines.

People have no obligation to talk to cops even if they are suspects.

rewdiazepm

The DAs in these crimes which are sexual in nature use a kind of legal extortion to force people to plead guilty when they are indeed innocent.

This type of legal extortion interferes with a defendant's Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed..."

I was in prison with a guy who had a 20 year sentence for allegedly committing a sex act in front of his children. It was a divorce case and his wife reported the incident to the police. I have no idea if he was guilty, but that is not the point. The point is that the DA stacked the deck against him so that he felt he could not afford to go to trial and take the chance of being convicted.

The DA offered him a 20 year plea deal by running all the charges concurrently into one count. The DA informed him that if he did not take the offer, he would try him on four counts and ask for 20 years on each count, which would be 80 years.

My friend had very little money and was assigned a public defender. He did not want to plead guilty but because of these charges, he was not willing to take a chance with a jury. This is the type of subtle, underhanded extortion I am talking about.

Oh sure, nobody actually prevented him for taking it to trial, if he wanted ; so it was not an outright violation of his Sixth Amendment right. But I think we all know what was going on here.

In today's political climate when anything goes as far as the criminal justice system is concerned, there are only two types of defendants that insist on a trial by jury: 1) a defendant that thinks he can win an acquittal or 2) a person who just cannot bear to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit. That is what I did. I was offered a plea of five years, turned it down, and the jury gave me 20. I don't regret it as I was innocent, but for most going to trial is not a very wise decision.

IF A PERSON HAS THE GALL TO EXERCISE ONE OF HIS CONSTITUIONAL RIGHTS BY INSISTING ON A TRIAL BY JURY, THE PROSECUTORS MAKE HIM PAY---AND PAY DEARLY.

Folks, this is what our "justice" system is all about these days.

rewdiazepam

In my exp, if you turn down a plea b/c they don't want to share the evidence, then decided to take a plea, they will double the plea because you've "wasted" so much of the court's time

passing it on....good straight forward page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc&noredirect=1

I can't impress enough on anyone I talk to... DON'T TALK TO THE POLICE... even the police recommend it...

This is the best video I have found explaining the reasons WHY you don't talk to them.

You know, I always wondered why people don't learn from cop shows. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but you always know the guy's going to get into trouble if he starts talking. You do have the right to remain silent. I know my life would have been easier if my husband had learned from "Law and Order."

wish we had known that sooner. Though by the time my so talked to the police they had recorded him talking to the accuser on her phone without his knowledge. Now that he is appealing the pressure from his PO is amazing.

I wish my hubby had listened to me. Instead, he thought he could explain things. that the police would understand that it was a false accusation based on a family feud. They asked him..."Do think it's possible that you might have accidentally bumped or brushed her breast, while your family was rough housing/pillow fighting?" My husband said, "yeah, i guess so"
Yeah, well, there ya go...that's all they needed