In yet another in a long string of rulings watering down Miranda and other search and seizure related rights, the conservative majority of SCOTUS has ruled that you have to speak up if you want to stay quiet.
SCOTUS had already ruled that you have to specifically request an attorney in order to invoke Sixth Amendment rights. If you invoke your Sixth Amendment rights, they can’t just leave you and come back to harass you later. Therefor, if you are arrested from here on out, to cover all bases, you should say something along these lines:
I hereby invoke my Fifth and Sixth Amendment Rights to silence and legal counsel. I will not speak to you until I have consulted an attorney.
After that, you only have to answer booking questions. But make sure you are clear.
9 comments
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June 1, 2010 at 11:14 am
Mitch
And you’d better say it in English, the only Merican language.
June 1, 2010 at 11:59 am
Anonymous
If English was good enough for Jesus, its good enough for me.
June 1, 2010 at 1:15 pm
the reasonable anonymous
And the long, slow slide toward a totalitarian police state continues.
June 1, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Steve McGarrett
Oh my god! A totalitarian police state! Because you actually have to SAY you want an attorney? Pussies.
June 1, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Eric Kirk
Steve – actually, that ruling came several years ago. This one says you have to make noise if you want to remain silent.
But the issue is really an ideological majority on the court trying to find ways to whittle down basic substantive and procedural protections against arbitrary police conduct.
June 1, 2010 at 8:38 pm
the reasonable anonymous
Apparently Steve skipped right by the words “long, slow slide toward…”
I’m not claiming that we’re already living in a totalitarian police state today, I’m saying that we’re moving in that direction, and most of us don’t want to keep moving in that direction.
June 2, 2010 at 2:42 pm
scott LaMorte
Can anyone clarify what “booking questions” are? Do you have to give your name to a police officer, or only to a judge?
June 2, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Eric Kirk
The courts held that booking questions are not covered by the 5th amendment because they aren’t self-incriminating. It’s yet another exception to the silence rule, but you can be charged with obstruction for failing to answer the questions, which are pretty much name, address, date of birth, etc. I can try to dig up the case for details.
June 3, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Anonymous
If you know your rights it shouldn’t be a problem. Why should I worry about people who don’t bother to learn them?