Don't Talk to the Police - EVER!

[chequita guevara]

[Darius871]

TLDW

[Felch]

****ing awesome, Che. Thanks for sharing.

The part about mistaken witnesses being used to tear down a truthful alibi is pretty frightening.

[BlackCat]

Quite good - the sound quality was superb.

OT, it's a bit scary that the american judicial system can't protect innocents better. Guess that it's the inbuild flaw in a jury system.

Though, I'm a bit confused about the point that a police officers evidence can be both hard evidence and hearsay - any reasonable judge should shoot such a claim down.

[Felch]

Hard evidence if it's against you. That's the rule.

[SlowwHand]

The thread title, all by itself, is stupid. Didn't you talk to police when those mean bullies took your bicycle, Che?
Doesn't that make you, what's that word..a hypocrite? Why yes, I believe it does, again.

[Riesstiu IV]

Did you even bother to watch the video, Sloww? Even a cop advises the viewer to plead the 5th if they are a suspect for any crime. I watched that video a few months back, the arguments they make are well founded.

[BlackCat]

Hard evidence if it's against you. That's the rule.

Sure, I get that, but is it written in the constitution that it is so ? Any reasonable judge should shoot down any claim of hearsay.

[SlowwHand]

****ing awesome, Che. Thanks for sharing.

The part about mistaken witnesses being used to tear down a truthful alibi is pretty frightening.

It's well-known that eye witnesses aren't very reliable.

As far as watching the video, I already know that I'm going to scream "It was him" and point to Che, so I'm not worried.

[Solomwi]

Sure, I get that, but is it written in the constitution that it is so ? Any reasonable judge should shoot down any claim of hearsay.

Why? If the statement you made is favorable to you, then you, as the one with firsthand knowledge of what it was about, can take the stand and testify to the content. Having a third party parrot that you said something in your own interest adds no credibility or probative value.

[BlackCat]

Why? If the statement you made is favorable to you, then you, as the one with firsthand knowledge of what it was about, can take the stand and testify to the content. Having a third party parrot that you said something in your own interest adds no credibility or probative value.

No offense, but did you watch the video ? Accordingly to that, anything that can be evidence against you in a "interview" with the police, is considered "hard evidence", but anything in same "interview" that could be a defense argument is simply hearsay and therefore not admissible.

[OzzyKP]

OT, it's a bit scary that the american judicial system can't protect innocents better. Guess that it's the inbuild flaw in a jury system.

I did like the bit where the cop says that in countries like Italy, Spain, etc they beat the crap out of the accused. I guess the US has a few things going for it...

The system is adversarial. So the cop and the prosecutor aren't there to be your friend or help you out. It is your job, and that of your lawyer to save your hide. That's why information like this video (and the Busted videos) are soo important.

So my response is the system works fine, the main problem is there is a lack of education & information out there. The courts attempted to fix this with the Miranda warning, specifically requiring all cops to specifically inform folks of their rights. But people just don't listen or don't fully understand it. That I agree is a big problem. I have friends in other organizations working specifically to fix that problem.

Edit: I might as well shill for them. Go here, they do good work: http://www.flexyourrights.org/

[ShaneWalter]

No offense, but did you watch the video ? Accordingly to that, anything that can be evidence against you in a "interview" with the police, is considered "hard evidence", but anything in same "interview" that could be a defense argument is simply hearsay and therefore not admissible.

What would be something that could benefit the defense, that would be better presented during an investigating officer's testimony as opposed to presented during the defense?

Basically, if I was arrested for robbing a 7/11, and I tell the officer "Well it couldn't have been me, I was in class when that robbery happened, you can ask my Professor." (Now, presuming this is, for example, my World Politics class where we have a lot of class discussion and my prof actually takes attendance, I'd be able to rely on my prof to back me up). You are proposing the officer should testify "Well, he did say that he had an alibi, he said he was at class." The bottom line is if I actually had a valid alibi (that I was attending my World Politics class) I would be able to call my prof as a witness and he'd say "Yeah, I have written down here he was in attendance, and further I recall Shane participating vigorously in some aspects of class discussion that day."

I'm trying to understand your perspective BC, but I honestly cannot envision a single scenario where the current process actually hurts a defendant. Can you help me out here by providing a hypothetical example where the current procedure would hurt a defendant?

[ShaneWalter]

The only way I can see it being a problem is if we're not talking about a police interview with a witness, but rather a police interview with a third party.

For example, going with the 7/11 robbery again. Lets say the robbery occurred on a Tuesday at 3:00, and during that time I'm in development economics. Now that is a big class in a lecture theater, and I only really know a couple people in that class. Lets say last Tuesday those two people I know were not in attendance and so I couldn't go to them to back up my story, but somebody else remembered me being in class and went to the police and said "Yeah I saw that guy in class, so he couldn't have committed that robbery." That could be a problem if it isn't revealed to me / my attorney. Since, however, I'm pretty sure (I'm not a lawyer) the police are required to reveal that stuff to my attorney prior to the trial, again it doesn't put me at a disadvantage, I would be able to call that witness to testify on my behalf.

[chequita guevara]

The thread title, all by itself, is stupid. Didn't you talk to police when those mean bullies took your bicycle, Che?
Doesn't that make you, what's that word..a hypocrite? Why yes, I believe it does, again.

Man are you sad.