Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
People often ask what they should say to police officers who want to speak with them. Other than simply confirming your identity, don’t talk with the police or any other law enforcement officers conducting an investigation without first speaking with a lawyer.
It may come as a shock, but the police can and will lie to you. I don’t say that to disparage the police. They certainly perform a vital function in our society and I’m personally grateful for most of what they do.
But, unlike in England and many other countries, the police in the United States are permitted to lie to you about many things when conducting an investigation. I’ve had cases where the police have lied to my clients and then the clients unfortunately commented on, or tried to explain, the lie. In those situations, many of those clients have made their case much more difficult to defend. In other cases, my clients made statements that seemed innocuous to them, but later proved to damage their case. Under most circumstances it is therefore highly inadvisable to talk with the police for the following reasons.