Speak up if you want to remain silent

[Bronson]

http://start.localnet.com/article.php?article=D9G2MATG0.html

Bronson

[Markalon]

Yes, I heard about this a few days back.

Here's my thoughts:

I don't see a problem with requiring somebody to verbally invoke their right to remain silent. Also, remaining silent works just as well.

However, when you don't remain silent, whether or not you have "invoked" your right to remain silent, then all bets are off.

Look at it this way... Lets say I verbally invoke my right to remain silent, and immediately after provide a full confession for a crime. Does that mean my confession has to be thrown out?

Whether he verbally invoked his right to remain silent or not, all he had to do was actually excercise that right, and not answer any questions or admit to anything.

This is just more extreme nonsense that has been getting this country into worse and worse shape. "Oh, you spelled the mass murderers name wrong on the warrant? Gee... let him go then..."

[Bronson]

Something else from the article is that the way it is supposed to work is that once somebody claims their right to silence then the interrogation is supposed to stop.  If you do not formally claim the right the interrogation can continue in the hopes that you'll crack under the pressure.

A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are at the top of the warnings that police recite to suspects during arrests and interrogations. But Tuesday's majority said that suspects must break their silence and tell police they are going to remain quiet to stop an interrogation, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer.

This decision means that police can keep shooting questions at a suspect who refuses to talk as long as they want in hopes that the person will crack and give them some information, said Richard Friedman, a University of Michigan law professor.

"It's a little bit less restraint that the officers have to show," Friedman said.

Bronson

[Markalon]

I noticed that too, but I don't have any idea what the laws are regarding that. I believe when you "lawyer up" they are supposed to leave you alone until you get a lawyer, and the same may be true if you "invoke your rights to be silent". But I don't know if there is any specific laws that force them to leave you alone in either case. You just don't have to respond.

In the case of Lawyering up, I believe there have been cases that anything obtained from the time you request a lawyer to the time your lawyer gets there is inadmissible. Not sure about silence...

Anywho, it is extremely interesting. Personally, I think we need to dump the little technicalities that let bad people go free, and fortunately in this case it looks as if that is what happened.