Why You (a Criminal Defendant or Suspect) Should Never Make a Statement to the Police

Making a statement to the police might seem like the right thing to do, especially if you believe you have nothing to hide. However, anything you say can be used against you—even if you are innocent. Police interviews are often designed to gather evidence to build a case, and innocent statements can be misunderstood, taken out of context, or twisted in ways that harm your defense. Understanding why it’s critical to avoid speaking without legal counsel can protect your rights and prevent unintended consequences. Serving multiple counties, Mark D. Hauser can be your Bucks County criminal defense lawyer.

How the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution Applies

I have been practicing Criminal Defense in the Philadelphia area for over 30 years and I want to talk to you today about a very common occurrence: You have either been arrested or the police have contacted you and said that they want to talk to you about a crime in which you may be a suspect. Let’s start with the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution, which states, among other things, that “No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

The first thing to keep in mind is that our right to remain silent was put in place to protect both the guilty AND the innocent. Secondly, this is a very important right so be sure to take advantage of it, especially initially when you know so little about the accusations against you. Third, remember that, almost always, the police are not really looking to get your side of the story; rather they are trying their best to get a confession out of you. And they will do whatever they can, within some limits, to accomplish this.

Remember, it is not illegal, although it should be, for the police to lie to you in an effort to get you to make a statement. Since they can lie to you and you do not know for sure what they already know and do not know it is in your best interest to keep quiet so that you do not give them any information (i.e., evidence) they may be used later to try and convict you.

This is one of the reasons why the Supreme Court decided the Miranda Warnings are necessary when a person is a criminal suspect. They are a notification given to criminal suspects by police, advising them of their right to remain silent and their right to have a lawyer present during questioning. If the Miranda Warnings are not given to you by the police before they interrogate you when you are arrested or detained (i.e., when you are a criminal suspect) that any statements made by you are inadmissible in court.

Hence, in this circumstance the police are, no matter how hard they try to convince you otherwise, not your friend. When they tell you that things will go easier for you if you confess now, they are not telling you the truth. You are probably asking why? After all – I came clean right away – shouldn’t that count for something? Yes it should, but it rarely does and because the state now has a confession out of you, the chance of the state getting a conviction goes up dramatically. When that happens, the offers that your attorney receives later on are almost always worse than they would have been otherwise. It is best for you to speak with the district attorney and the detectives later on with your lawyer present if they decide that it is now in your best interest to confess and cooperate. There will be plenty of time to cooperate with your attorney present to protect your constitutional rights if that is what is best for you (e.g., they have a very strong case against you).

What Can Go Wrong When Talking to the Police

So, what could go wrong with you talking to the police, whether you are guilty or innocent? Plenty, and here are the reasons why you should never, ever speak with the police at this point:

• First, it can’t help because you can’t talk yourself out of an arrest. If you think that you are a slick individual, a good liar, or a genius, and that you are going to prevent your arrest because of your brilliance, you are 100% wrong, you are dead wrong, and you are always wrong. Look at it this way: If the police have a weak case against you, or if they don’t really believe the complaining witness, they are not going to arrest you whether you speak with them or not. And if they have a strong case against you, or if they believe the complaining witness, they are going to arrest you whether you speak with them or not. Hence, speaking with the police at this point, does you no good.

• Second, believe it or not, innocent people, for a variety of reasons, sometimes confess to crimes that they didn’t commit.

• Third, even if you are innocent, you may, because you are nervous, make a mistake, exaggerate or embellish, forget, or just plain lie. And this inconsistency may later be used to impeach your testimony if you happen to take the stand at your trial.

• Fourth, you may give the police information that they could not have acquired on their own and this information might later be used to convict you.

• Fifth, the police may misquote you, take what you said out of context, or make some other mistake regarding your statement.

• Sixth, they might have some false evidence that can’t be shown to be false, that if believed, can make the truthful thing that you said look like a lie. While this is not common, witnesses lie and make mistakes all the time, so it is definitely possible.

I hope that I have given you enough reasons not to speak to the police without an attorney present when you are a suspect, could be a suspect, or you have just been arrested. If you find yourself in these circumstances, immediately invoke your 5th Amendment right not to speak to the police and immediately speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney such as Mark D. Hauser.

Let him or her speak to the police for you so there is no record of a statement to be used later as evidence against you or used to impeach your testimony. For more cases, even when you need an expungement lawyer in Philadelphia, call Mark D. Hauser today!