Television lied to you!
Cop shows often show the suspect in the interrogation room, acting all cool and calm because he knows his alibi is airtight. He talks to the police for a few minutes, revealing more than he realizes, until the interrogator drops the evidence that proves the suspect is guilty. The suspect looks nervous and says “I want my lawyer.”
Bad timing! If you find yourself under interrogation, you have every right to wait for a lawyer. You were even told so when given the Miranda Warning, reminding you of your right to remain silent. Calmly and politely tell the police that you are exercising your fifth amendment right to remain silent and would like to call a criminal justice attorney.
“But I haven’t done anything wrong” you might think, “and bringing in an attorney might make it seem as if I have something hide. There’s no harm in talking to the police.” You might be surprised…
People confess to crimes they didn’t commit all the time
You might wonder why someone confesses when they didn’t do it, but it happens a lot. When you’re in the interrogation room, the system really is against you.
- Innocent people are more at ease and eager to help the police, but that ease can put you off-guard to their tactics.
- Professional interrogators are trained to get you to confess. You, on the other hand, haven’t been training for years with counter-techniques.
- They might give you information about the crime scene, either intentionally or unintentionally. Three hours later, when you mention that information, they can ask you how you knew that. Under enough stress, you might not even remember. (But the video recording of your interrogation will show how that happened, right? Wrong, because…)
- They don’t start the camera rolling right away. They can interrogate you for hours and then turn the camera on when they think you’re about to crack.
Now, imagine you’re interrogated all day and then you ask for a defense attorney. That looks like desperation and guilty behavior, plus you’ve already given them hours of material you gave while you were nervous and exhausted.
That’s why it’s so important to invoke your right to silence and call a criminal justice attorney right away. We’ll get the cameras rolling if they need to be, we’ll advise you on when to speak, and we’ll make sure the interrogators are kept in their place. Put the law offices of Robert J. DeGroot in your phone now: 973-453-9607.