It’s #STFUfriday!
When cops ask you questions, ask for a lawyer and then STFU:
- I am not discussing how I’m doing or where I’m going.
- Am I free to leave?
- I am not answering any questions.
- If they ask to search anything: "I do not consent to a search."
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
Cops or the FBI may come to your door asking about someone else. Maybe that's a lie, maybe not. Either way, say, "I want to talk to a lawyer first." DO NOT LIE THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW THEM! STFU! /1
Lying to the FBI that you don't know XYZ person is a federal crime. And it is possibly a crime to lie to cops in many states. Call a lawyer. STFU.
The vast majority of times where I have called cops on behalf of someone, visits stopped and charges did not follow.
As with every #STFUfriday post, I'm a lawyer in the USA. These comments are based on law in the USA. (And they apply to all people in the USA, whether or not they are citizens.) Some US states provide more protections than this. /end
@D_J_Nathanson this feels to me like that meme about answering the question they ask vs the question you know they're actually asking is relevant.
I mean, yes, STFU and answer nothing, if possible. But the current situation seems strongly to be leading toward an end to those protections, including right to a lawyer. In which case, answering the real question -- which is really whether you're ok with them doing an injustice to that person -- seems morally wise even if it was illegal.
Remember the reason Martha Stewart went to prison was not for insider trading but for lying to the FBI.
Been reading You Have the Right to Remain Innocent, and it is scary shit.
The book is good in explaining the narrow circumstances when you should talk to cops and what you should say.
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