But assistant DAs are always hot, right? …right?
I agree that having a lawyer is a good idea. It is not true that you can only get yourself into deeper trouble. You may find this hard to believe but the police prefer to catch the actual suspect.
Prefer being the operative word. If they are questioning you, odds are you are a suspect. And if some little tidbit comes to light they are not going to let it go because they are working another case. It would be prudent from them to use it as leverage to get you to reveal information you may want to keep to yourself regardless of the matter at hand.
The techniques used in questioning guilty parties are they same as those used in questioning the innocent. Any case where more than one suspect is questioned should stand as proof of that.
No prefer is not the operative word. Prefer is my little sarcastic turn of phrase. They (we) want to get the guilty person exculsively. When this discussion comes up about every two weeks here there are the usual people who pop out and say that you should demand to see your lawyer whenever a cop says good morning to you. They warn against coming forward to be witnesses. There is a middle ground between the two extremes.
But to say again more clearly, it is a good idea to consult a lawyer if you are being questioned about your involvement in a crime.
ETA: Looking back at the original post I quoted it stated something about after your rights are read. Can’t disagree with that.
Right, we said to “lawyer up” *only *after they read you your rights (which means you’re a suspect). Otherwise, as long as the police are treating you as a witness, you should generally be cooperative and helpful. Of course, blurting out “I did it, I killed him!!” might not be a good idea…
ianal, etc
While I don’t want to discourage folks from assisting the police with an investigation, and I understand that you are speaking loosely, I’d like to clarify a bit here:
Whether the police consider you a suspect or not is not directly related to whether you get read your rights. They don’t have to read you your rights in order to question you as a suspect and they might read you your rights even though you are a witness. The first question is whether you are in custody, which means you’re not free to leave. If you show up voluntarily, and they make clear to you that you can leave any time you want, you’re not in custody, and you can be questioned without the standard warnings.
Similarly, *Miranda *only applies if you are being interrogated. If they pick you up for questioning and during the silent drive back to the station, you blurt out a confession, that’s probably admissible even if they never read you your rights.
Finally, they generally don’t have to tell you if you are a suspect when they question you, and that might change depending on what you say. For example, suppose your the murder victim’s best friend. The cops call you in to get some background about the guy. You drive yourself to the station and are not manacled during the questioning. The officer tells you several times that you don’t have to answer questions and you can leave whenever you like (or you meet the officer for coffee at a diner). In the process of the discussion you reveal information about the crime that was “held back” by the cops. The only way you could know about it is if you were present at the crime scene, at least. Or you admit to another crime (we had a thread on this a while back). In each case, that evidence is probably admissible.
So there are a few good ways to get into trouble even though you aren’t a suspect and you haven’t been given *Miranda *warnings or been told you are a suspect or a target.
I would say there are probably times when you want a lawyer even before they have read you your rights and put you in cuffs. They start interviewing you about a crime, maybe as a witness, trying to find out your involvment. You’re innocent, but they don’t know that - that’s why they are investigating. They start asking questions that imply you might be a suspect. They haven’t yet gotten enough information to think you are a likely suspect, they just haven’t ruled you out yet. If either you don’t have easy answers (What is your alibi? Uh, at home alone eating cookies) or the conversation takes a confrontational/accusatory tone, then I would say lawyer up. At a minimum, demand that you consult with an attorney before continuing the conversation. Do not get into a heated exchange with the cops, no matter how righteous you are. All you do is piss off the cops, which could make them more interested in you.
But if you’re truly just a witness, and the cops are treating you as such, there’s no reason to require an attorney to answer a few questions about what your neighbor was up to, etc. As long as your answer is not, “While peeking in her bedroom window, I saw…” 
If your guilty I would prefer that you did just that. It might not work out too well you.
I was speaking loosely and I was hoping you’d come along with a clarification.
Thanks!