# How does "I want to see my lawyer" work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 23, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888 "2011-11-23T17:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/61 "2011-12-02T13:16:38Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I understand that lawyers are not cheap, but what’s $2k compared to spending the rest of your life in prison for a crime you didn’t commit? When you are being questioned about a murder, that is serious business. If the cops think that you did it, you aren’t going to clear it up in 10 minutes, or at the very least you are taking a huge chance that you won’t. True, and murder isn’t the best example of what I’m trying to say. But what if it was a hit & run accident and your car matches the description, but your car was in the shop for the entire day? What if it was simple assault, and you were dining with the DA when the assault occurred? At some point, even if you know they suspect you, you’re going to think “I need to pay a lawyer for this?” In a previous similar thread, someone claimed, as far as I can tell with a straight face, that if they saw someone putting a bound and gagged child in the trunk of a car that instead of calling 911, they’d call their lawyer and let him report the crime. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/62 "2011-12-02T14:58:55Z")
As I understand it, if you know the cops suspect you, get a lawyer even if you can produce hard evidence that their suspicion is incorrect. I like **SeaCanary** ’s analogy of facing off against an Olympic-class boxer. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/63 "2011-12-02T19:38:28Z")
ETA whoah, wrong thread and how! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/64 "2011-12-02T19:44:50Z")
> [@llcoolbj77](#): > > I just read over my post and it sounds like all my clients in jail are men. Not true. Sorry if I offended anyone. > > Also, just as a point of interest, most private attorneys take court appointed cases pretty regularly. The public defenders office is routinely conflicted out if cases where we represent, or have represented, a victim or codefendant. So it is your absolute right to spend three grand on a hired gun. But know that Joe schmo got your same attorney for $120 because he is indigent and we represent his co-defendant. > > Yes, I do get a bit touchy on this subject. And quite reasonably so - some of my best friends from law school are public defenders, and I’d pick them in preference to a private attorney any day of the week. Generally speaking, the federal PD program and most PD offices in and around large cities are easily as competitive as a BigLaw firm. You need to be very, very good to get in. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/65 "2011-12-02T20:20:27Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > And quite reasonably so - some of my best friends from law school are public defenders, and I’d pick them in preference to a private attorney any day of the week. Generally speaking, the federal PD program and most PD offices in and around large cities are easily as competitive as a BigLaw firm. You need to be very, very good to get in. And lawyers from PD offices will, after a year or two on the job, have much, much more actual trial experience than most private counsel. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/66 "2011-12-02T20:35:38Z")
> [@iamnotbatman](#): > > I think the cognitive dissonance some people like me would experience would be if we were brought in for something we _clearly_ didn’t do, something we felt we could easily explain to the police to help them find the true suspect. We would feel like we were implicating ourselves with guilt by asking for an attorney rather than cooperating. Since after all, if you are innocent, why cause a scene? Just tell them what you know and if they aren’t morons they should release you and be on with it. It’s interesting that as a general rule you should _always_ ask for your attorney no matter what, even if you feel like it makes you look more guilty than you actually are. I think this is the reason police are often so successful at getting people to talk to them. In everyday society, if someone asks you a question and you reply “no comment”, it’s weird and you look guilty as hell. You need to give a good answer to avoid looking guilty. But in a police scenario, it doesn’t really matter if the police think you’re guilty or not - it’s whether the prosecutor and ultimately the court think you are based on the objective evidence. And in any case the police are so familiar with being lied to (probably quite convincingly at times) by suspects that they’re not really going to be listening to you anyway - they’ve probably already made up their minds about whether they think you’re guilty or not before you open your mouth. From the suspect’s perspective, there’s no real benefit whatsoever in talking to the police before talking to a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/67 "2013-02-07T17:01:38Z")
It appears I’m the only one that read the OP as wanting to know the specific nuts and bolts of obtaining a lawyer once it appears you are being held or questioned. I, for example, do not have a lawyer. So, issues of whether or not it’s cool to talk to the police aside, if I invoke my right to a lawyer - am I allowed to search for one? I do not think one would just magically appear. Am I allowed to look through the phone book to find one with an aesthetically pleasing ad? May I call several law offices until I’m pleased with the sound of my soon-to-be lawyer’s voice over the phone? Or am I in some sort of a crunch, where if I don’t have my own personal lawyer on retainer I have to call a public defender, simply because I know they are available? I do not think this thread was intended to be another “When should I / When do I have to talk to the police?” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/68 "2013-02-07T17:43:25Z")
Two questions 1. If I ask for a lawyer the interrogation is supposed to end right? Suppose they keep questioning me while waiting for the lawyer? I’m stupid and answer. Is anything admissable? 2. I believe it is a custodial interrogation because I never ask, “May I go?” but it really isn’t. I ask for an attorney. What will the cops do? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/69 "2013-02-07T17:52:30Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Two questions > > 1. If I ask for a lawyer the interrogation is supposed to end right? Suppose they keep questioning me while waiting for the lawyer? I’m stupid and answer. Is anything admissable? > > 2. I believe it is a custodial interrogation because I never ask, “May I go?” but it really isn’t. I ask for an attorney. What will the cops do? 1. No, if they don’t lie about what happened (“He never asked for a lawyer.”) then what you say to additional questions is inadmissible. However, some cases hold that after the passage of time, if they do nothing to prompt you, and you blurt out something incriminating, they can use it. 2. If you invoke your right to an attorney, most cops will stop questioning you, since they are aware they can’t use what you say. They don’t have to read you your rights if you’re not in custody, but you have the same ability to invoke your right to an attorney. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/70 "2013-02-07T17:57:08Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > It appears I’m the only one that read the OP as wanting to know the specific nuts and bolts of obtaining a lawyer once it appears you are being held or questioned. > > I, for example, do not have a lawyer. So, issues of whether or not it’s cool to talk to the police aside, if I invoke my right to a lawyer - am I allowed to search for one? I do not think one would just magically appear. Am I allowed to look through the phone book to find one with an aesthetically pleasing ad? May I call several law offices until I’m pleased with the sound of my soon-to-be lawyer’s voice over the phone? Or am I in some sort of a crunch, where if I don’t have my own personal lawyer on retainer I have to call a public defender, simply because I know they are available? > > I do not think this thread was intended to be another “When should I / When do I have to talk to the police?” I think it varies from jail to jail. But in principle, you can call around and try to find a lawyer to come to jail and meet with you. I’ve received such calls from time to time. (“collect call from the jail, line 2”) What is more common (where I practiced) is that you’ll use the services of a public defender to get you through your initial appearance and then either get out and find a lawyer or don’t get out and try to find someone to come visit you. Often, your loved ones on the “outside” are doing the leg work to get you a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888/71 "2013-02-07T19:00:11Z")
“You need to unequivocally (and even repeatedly) ask to speak to a lawyer” maybe in some jurisdictions but New jersey law on this generally is "A request for an attorney within the context of Miranda rights need not be “articulate, clear, or explicit . . . any indication of a desire for counsel, however ambiguous, will trigger entitlement to counsel.” 288 NJ Super 139, 150 (App. Div 1996) As to " and then you need to shut up until he or she arrives. Failing to do either has been found to be giving your implicit consent to continue to be questioned by police. " AFAIK, once desire for counsel has been shown, the police have an adffirmative duty to cease questioning you without explicit waiver of miranda right. Responses to questions after attorney has been requested may be suppressed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-i-want-to-see-my-lawyer-work/603888.md?page=3)