73 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
73 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
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The following article is from a leaflet that has been distributed by the
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Libertarian Party in New Jersey. Written by an attorney, it deals with
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the subject of talking to police or other government agents.
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*************************************************************
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**** DON'T TALK TO COPS ****
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*************************************************************
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By ROBERT W. ZEUNER, Member of the New York State Bar
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"GOOD MORNING! My name is investigator Holmes. Do you mind
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answering a few simple questions?" If you open your door one day and
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are greeted with those words, stop and think! Whether it is the local
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police or the FBI at your door, you have certain legal rights of which
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you ought to be aware before you proceed any further.
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In the first place, when the law enforcement authorities come to see
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you, there are no "simple questions." Unless they are investigating a
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traffic accident, you can be sure that they want information about
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somebody. And that somebody may be you!
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Rule Number one to remember when confronted by the authorities is
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that there is no law require you to talk with the police, the FBI,
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or the representative of any other investigative agency. Even the
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simplest questions may be loaded and the seemingly harmless bits of
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information which you volunteer may later become vital links in a chain
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of circumstantial evidence against you or a friend.
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Do not invite the investigator into your home! Such an invitation not
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only gives him the opportunity to look around for clues to your
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lifestyle, friends, reading material, etc., but also tends to prolong
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the conversation. And the longer the conversation, the more chance
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there is for a skilled investigator to find out what he wants to know.
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Many times a police officer will ask you to accompany him to the
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police station to answer a few questions. In that case, simply thank
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him for the invitation and indicate that you are not disposed to accept
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it at that time. Often the authorities simply want to photograph a
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person for identification purposes, a procedure which is easily
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accomplished by placing him in a private room with a two-way
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mirror at the station, asking him a few innocent questions, and
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then releasing him.
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If the investigator becomes angry at your failure to cooperate
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and threatens you with arrest, stand firm. He cannot legally place
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you under arrest or enter your home without a warrant signed by a
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judge. If he indicates that he has such a warrant, ask to see it.
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A person under arrest or located on premises to be searched, generally
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must be shown a warrant if he requests it and must be given a chance
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to read it.
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Without a warrant, an officer depends solely upon your helpfulness
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to obtain the information he wants. So, unless you are quite sure of
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yourself, don't be helpful.
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Probably the wisest approach to take to a persistent investigator is
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simply to say: "I'm quite busy now. If you have any questions that you
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feel I can answer, I'd be happy to listen to them in my lawyer's
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office. Goodbye!" Talk is cheap. But when that talk involves the
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law enforcement authorities, it may cost you, or someone close to you,
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dearly.
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P.S. "This leaflet has been printed as a public service
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by individuals concerned with the growing role
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of authoritarianism and police power in our society.
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Please feel free to copy or republish."
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------------------------------------------------
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(This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the
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Patriot FTP site by S.P.I.R.A.L., the Society for the Protection of Individual Ri
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ghts and Liberties. E-mail alex@spiral.org)
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