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What you should know about your right to remain silent

On Behalf of | Jun 4, 2022 | Criminal Defense |

Getting arrested is a scary and stressful experience. It is human nature to want to speak up and defend yourself.

However, you have the right to remain silent in accordance with Miranda law, and it is often in your best interest to invoke it.

Police interrogation tactics

If the police decide to interrogate you, the first thing you should understand is that they almost always do so if they assume you committed a criminal offense. The most popular form of interrogation is the REID method. It entails nine steps involving psychological manipulation meant to pull a confession out of you. Police may even approach you aggressively, explicitly stating that you are in trouble.

Currently, the only alternative to this method is to question or interrogate everyone to remove the presumption of guilt from the process.

Clearly invoking your right to silence

While police should and must read your Miranda rights in order to interrogate, they likely will not elaborate on your right to refuse to submit to questioning.

To protect yourself, you should clearly assert your refusal to speak. The best way to do so is to state your intention to invoke your Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination by remaining silent. Simply not speaking without vocalizing your intent to remain silent could be detrimental. Police may use your silence as an indicator of guilt.

The Fifth Amendment is the foundation of Miranda law and is there to protect you from saying something to the police that they may use against you in a court of law.

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