Under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, you have a right against self-incrimination. This is also known as the right to remain silent. Under the Sixth Amendment, you have the right to an attorney. These two pillars, together with the right to due process of law applicable to the States under the 14th Amendment, are meant to guard against heavy-handed governmental investigations and false confessions made just to get the police to stop the questioning.
But what about your rights today? What about when a police officer just has a couple of questions? If the police are knocking at your door or calling you on the telephone with questions about a crime, you may be considered a potential suspect, not just a witness. Police officers do NOT need to read you Miranda rights if they want to talk to you on the phone, or at your house (unless you are under arrest or handcuffed first). They do NOT even need to advise you of your rights if they ask you to come to the police station to answer a few questions unless you are under arrest! They DO NOT need to inform you they are asking you questions because you are a suspect. They ARE allowed to even tell lies about what they already know about the case in an effort to get a suspect to confess.
Nevertheless, many people choose to talk to the police and then wonder about their rights later, sometimes after damaging statements have been made. Most people assume that they are in control, not the police. After all, the person is often sitting at his/her desk or kitchen table when officers contact him/her. But you are not in control. Police are very well-trained. Making a few statements to police and then saying—well, I think I would be better off with a lawyer—or some other vague statement—is NOT insisting on your 5th or 6th Amendment Rights, and will NOT stop the questioning! You have the right to tell the police that you want to talk to an attorney and insist you will not speak to them without an attorney.
Many people wonder if insisting on an attorney wont just make you look guilty. You need to remember, the police would not be contacting you if they did not suspect you already. Whatever you say to them often confirms their suspicions. After you have spoken to an attorney, the attorney can talk to the police and let them know you will not be talking to them, or agree to sit in on a meeting between the police and yourself.
What if the police say they will just arrest you if you don’t want to talk to them? If that is truly the case, then the police already had probable cause to arrest you, and you will be arrested either way! Rarely can an arrest be avoided just by making a statement! It is almost always better to be arrested without having made a statement. Most of the time, when parties are questioned by police, they are nervous, sometimes have something to hide unrelated to the crime, so the truth may get “bent” a little. That truly is much more damaging than no statement at all because you cannot “unsay” something you have already said to police.
You would never consider playing a game of football, baseball, whatever sport with a professional athlete and assume you are evenly matched. Do NOT make this mistake with the police. Contact an attorney regarding the case and your rights before you make a statement.