# Exercising my right to remain silent; questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945 "2006-08-09T00:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/21 "2006-08-09T20:28:44Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] IMO: When getting pulled over by the cop, the $150 speeding ticket (or whatever) is the least of my worries. My biggest concern is that the cop might be a “rogue cop.” This type of cop will lie to your face, infringe on your inalienable rights, and (in extreme cases) plant evidence. Rogue cops are nothing more than criminals with badges. How do I know if the cop is a rogue cop or not? I don’t. But for self-defense purposes, I always assume they are. Hence I am \*extremely \* careful of what I say and do when detained by a cop. [/QUOTE] Also IMO - I’m not sure what the ratio of rogue cops to normals cops is, but it seems like if you’re getting pulled over often enough that it is more likely than not you’ll eventually get pulled over by a rogue cop…you might want to reexamine your driving habits. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/22 "2006-08-09T21:30:17Z")
[QUOTE=KidScruffy] Also IMO - I’m not sure what the ratio of rogue cops to normals cops is, but it seems like if you’re getting pulled over often enough that it is more likely than not you’ll eventually get pulled over by a rogue cop…you might want to reexamine your driving habits. [/QUOTE] KidScruffy: A few things: 1. I rarely get pulled over. Perhaps once every 6 years or so. 2. All cops - whether good or rogue - wield extraordinary power over people when under their control. 3. While they may be rare, rogue cops exist nonetheless. I have experienced a couple firsthand. If it’s not already obvious, they’ve left a long-lasting impression on me. 4. A rogue cop can ruin your day. Or your life. Even if you’re innocent. 5. I am very concerned about protecting myself against Bad People and Bad Things. So when I get pulled over, my primary concern is not falling victim to the entrapment techniques of a rogue cop. I am on high-alert when I get pulled over, and my actions and words are very carefully calculated to maximize self-protection. ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/23 "2006-08-09T22:41:09Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] KidScruffy: A few things: 1. I rarely get pulled over. Perhaps once every 6 years or so. 2. All cops - whether good or rogue - wield extraordinary power over people when under their control. 3. While they may be rare, rogue cops exist nonetheless. I have experienced a couple firsthand. If it’s not already obvious, they’ve left a long-lasting impression on me. 4. A rogue cop can ruin your day. Or your life. Even if you’re innocent. 5. I am very concerned about protecting myself against Bad People and Bad Things. So when I get pulled over, my primary concern is not falling victim to the entrapment techniques of a rogue cop. I am on high-alert when I get pulled over, and my actions and words are very carefully calculated to maximize self-protection. [/QUOTE] Fair enough. Minimizing your chances of some kind of bogus charge (or worse) is understandable, especially since it sounds like cops in your area aren’t the best. In your earlier post you mentioned “self-defense”, and I was picturing someone getting pulled over, and brandishing a hunting knife saying “Alright copper, you better read me my Miranda, or I’ll cut ya!”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/24 "2006-08-09T23:42:08Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Just don’t admit anything when they ask you “Do you know why I stopped you?” [/QUOTE] Found that one out the hard way. I answered, “That U-turn, huh?” The cop said, “What U-turn? I was pulling you over because your left tail light is out. Now tell me about the U-turn.” _sigh_ (Just for the record, I didn’t get a ticket for the U-turn) ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/25 "2006-08-10T02:01:03Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] Hmm… Another thought. “You have the right to remain silent” is only told to the public after they’ve been arrested. Does that mean if you’re being detained, you don’t have the right? I’ll bet that after giving your name and address (at least in Washington), you have the right to remain silent, no? [/QUOTE] The Miranda decision requires us to advise a person of their basic rights (to remain silent, to speak to an attorney, to end the questioning at any time) prior to any _custodial interrogation_. That means that you have to be in custody (usually defined as “the functional equivalent to arrest”) and that I’m asking questions. Whether a “detention” meets that standard is a question that is decided on a case-by-case basis. That only defines when we have to read the Miranda rights. You always have the right not to incriminate yourself. As I said before, that doesn’t extend to non-incriminating statements. So if you refuse to talk, you could be arrested for Obstructing (it would depend on the circumstances,obviously). A defense to that charge in court would be if you believed what you would have said would be incriminating. ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/26 "2006-08-10T02:10:43Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Just don’t admit anything when they ask you “Do you know why I stopped you?” [/QUOTE] There is no hard-and-fast rule on this. You need to decide what to do based on the situation. Sometimes I’ll give a person a break because they were honest and admitted what they did. Other times, it’s an admission of guilt and I’ll write the ticket. Also, if you did something completely blatant and then claim you don’t know why you were stopped, I’ll probably write you because you are either lying or you’re so oblivious that you need a wake-up. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/27 "2006-08-10T02:14:47Z")
[QUOTE=Thalion] Also, if you did something completely blatant and then claim you don’t know why you were stopped, I’ll probably write you because you are either lying or you’re so oblivious that you need a wake-up. [/QUOTE] I don’t know. I was only once asked “Do you know why I have stopped you?” and my immediate answer was “Because you felt it was necessary” I really don’t remember how that turned out except that I didn’t get a ticket. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/28 "2006-08-10T02:36:58Z")
You may be interested in [http://www.flexyourrights.org](http://www.flexyourrights.org), they have an informative DVD and a lot of information on police-citizen encounters. The video can be seen at [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NmC5wHfCdM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NmC5wHfCdM). As far as I can tell, other than identifying yourself, you are under no obligation to answer the officer’s questions. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/29 "2006-08-10T02:50:26Z")
[QUOTE=Thalion] There is no hard-and-fast rule on this. You need to decide what to do based on the situation. [/QUOTE] My experience shows this to be true. When I was driving a taxi, I made a right turn that a cop saw and deemed to be unsafe. He asked me if I knew why I was pulled over and, I said, yeah, that was probably not the safest turn. He didn’t give me a ticket, and just told me to be more careful. On the other hand, I have a friend who is an attorney who deals with traffic cases (such as reckless driving and DUI). She said that once an officer has decided to make an arrest, they very, very often pad the report with as many subjective “observations” to make the case stick. She said that the more charges they could make, the more likely they’d get a plea. She characterized it as common practice for many officers. So the observed speed, the “wavering,” and every thing else is thrown in. After all, they don’t have any witnesses, besides the police, and any potential jury will tend to believe the police over someone who is accused. This leads to more plea bargains. She told me this was just an unavoidable fact of life, and one was very often better off making a plea. ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/30 "2006-08-10T04:33:19Z")
The best pulled-over-by-a-cop story _ever_. **Thalion** will like this one. Allegedly [true](http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/91q3/movealong.html). > [@](#): > > Two guys (we’ll call them “Mark” and “Al”) are out cruising. Mark is driving, and they’re on some out-of-the way roads. Mark is distracted and doesn’t see a stop-sign, and a few moments after he runs it they hear a siren and see blue lights. Mark has never been stopped by the police before, and gets really nervous. > > MARK: OhshitwhatdidIdo? I wasn’t speeding, was I? No, I wasn’t speeding. What’d I do what’d I do? > > He pulls over, shaking like a leaf. The cop pulls in behind and walks up to his window. > > COP: You realize you ran a stop sign back there? > > MARK: [panicky] No, honest! I didn’t see it! I didn’t mean to run it! I just didn’t see it! Really! > > COP: I’ll need to see your driver’s license. > > Mark pats his pants for a few seconds before remembering that he’s wearing shorts with no pockets. He looks around the car, finds his wallet, opens it up, and starts frantically throwing things out of it into the back seat. No license. He enlists Al’s help, and together they search the glove compartment, under the seats, behind the cushions, front and back, to no avail. After ten or fifteen minutes of searching, Al looks up and catches the officer’s eye. > > AL: You don’t need to see his identification. > > COP: [without missing a beat] I don’t need to see his identification. > > AL: These aren’t the droids you’re looking for. > > COP: These aren’t the droids we’re looking for. > > AL: He may go on about his business. > > COP: You may go on about your business. > > AL: Move along. > > COP: Move along. > > At this point the cop turns around, walks back to his car, gets in, and drives away. > Mark pulls out and makes it about 200 yards down the road. Then he stops and just shakes for a few minutes, finally asking Al to drive. Anyhoo, CrafterMan, the thing is that you’re strategy has two weaknesses. First, it’s not going to stop a rogue cop. If anything, it’ll make him/her suspect you’re up to something serious, like have drugs in the car or an illegal weapon. Second, with all cops (and good ones far outnumber bad ones) you’re giving up the opportunity to persuade those like **Thalion** that a warning will get your attention. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/31 "2006-08-10T19:17:24Z")
[QUOTE=PBear42] The best pulled-over-by-a-cop story _ever_. **Thalion** will like this one. Allegedly [true](http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/91q3/movealong.html). [/QUOTE] Just for the record, rec.humor.funny isn’t usually the best arbiter of what’s true… ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945/32 "2006-08-10T21:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] Just for the record, rec.humor.funny isn’t usually the best arbiter of what’s true… [/QUOTE] Or apparently of what’s funny either… :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercising-my-right-to-remain-silent-questions/367945.md?page=1)