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.
You got arrested. You can’t make bail. The only calls you can make are collect calls from the jail.
The calls are recorded and monitored. You have no choice!
STFU about the case on those calls! 🧵
Let’s center the broader problem here. People with means can make bail and then have private conversations with anyone they want. Poor people get held, their visits are normally limited and not private, and their calls are recorded and monitored. Two systems. It’s not right.
Do they actually record and listen to those calls? Yes! Prosecutors regularly use those calls as investigative tools. /2
And yes, we suspect they are now using AI to listen for and flag certain words.
Are you angry someone is lying about you? Talk about it on the phone, ambiguous words get misinterpreted, and are then held against you and BAM, you’ve got a whole new charge: witness intimidation. /4
The only private calls you can make from a jail are to a lawyer at a phone number that you have registered with the jail as a lawyer’s phone number. Yes, they check.
How can this be legal? It’s wiretapping, right? Nope, all the calls have that little warning saying they are recorded and monitored. So it’s permissible, even though you have no choice! /5
Every lawyer will tell you not to talk about your case on jail phones. That’s correct. To people on the outside: DO NOT ASK DETAINED PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR CASES. You are harming them.
Even the mildest conversation can hurt. Pleading for bail money? Telling people how horrible the conditions are inside the jail? If a prosecutor hears things like that, they know you’re desperate to get out. It could make them less likely to offer a favorable plea deal. They know they’ve got leverage. /6
The whole thing is obscene.
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
I realize that amendments 4, 5, and 6 have been set on fire since I took crim pro, but can you clarify what is sufficient v. not sufficient to invoke the right to remain silent? Asking for general educational purposes, not for legal advice.
@HG
"I'm not talking to you. I want a lawyer." That should get it done.
The point is that you have to be clear and unambiguous. And once you've invoked the right to counsel or silence or BOTH, you need to then actually STFU. They will say you waived your invocation by re-initiating discussion. Don't do that.
Relevant prior threads:
https://mastodon.social/@D_J_Nathanson/112498116177252670
@D_J_Nathanson @HG @D_J_Nathanson i worked as a legal assistant for a pro bono firm for a few years and one of the new lawyers told me, if you ever get pulled over for being under the influence, never ever ever do the sobriety field test and say take me to jail.
im not sure if thats true and i dont drink anymore, but it always stuck with me.
@emily_rugburn @HG @D_J_Nathanson That one is tricky because the law varies very widely from state to state. The Supreme Court has approved using that refusal against you in a later criminal trial for OUI. It does not violate the federal constitution.
However, states like Massachusetts and several other states have held that introducing that refusal at a later trial violates the state constitution or state statutes. So you want to get state-specific advice from someone who practices there.
Dave Nathanson
Wulfy—Speaker to the machines
Human Ghostwriter
sonja
Sensible Crone
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