VIDEO – Your Right to Remain Silent!

by  Scott Smith and Ryan Walsh

What do you do when the police begin to ask you questioning in relation to a criminal investigation? We are all familiar with those magic words we hear so often in television and film. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney.
That’s the beginning of the Miranda warning, a warning that must be given in any situation where a government agent or police officer has placed you in custody, is questioning you, and seeks to admit those responses into evidence against you at trial. What most of us don’t realize is that warning doesn’t have to be given in every situation where you are being questioned. For the Miranda warning to apply, the Georgia government agent or police office must be questioning you while you are in custody. Custody is a legal term that doesn’t have an exact meaning. It is determined by looking at a totality of the circumstances surrounding the questioning.
Circumstances that impact whether you are deemed to be in custody to trigger a Miranda warning include:
  • Who asked the questions?
  • How many officers were present?
  • Were any non-law enforcement officials or government agents present?
  • Did the officer tell the suspect the interview was voluntary?
  • Where did the questioning take place?
  • Did the officer use any physical restraints, like handcuffs?
  • How long was the conversation?
  • Was the suspect free to leave at the end of the conversation?
These factors, along with others, are things the court looks at when determining if it was necessary for a Miranda warning to be read. Failure of the investigative official or government agent to read your Miranda rights does not necessarily mean the charges against you will be dropped. It just means your responses to those questions that violated your rights will not be admissible in court.
You don’t have to wait to hear those words that begin a Miranda warning to exercise your right not to talk to the police or any other investigative authority. Any person who is being stopped, detained, or investigated for the commission of a crime has no duty to answer any questions asked of them by any law enforcement or investigative official of Georgia or any state in the United States. And at W. Scott Smith, PC, the Peach State Lawyer, we advise all our current and potential clients to politely decline to answer any questions until after speaking with an attorney about the facts and circumstances surrounding the questioning.
We see the scenario play out in consultations every day. A Georgia officer walks up to the driver’s side of our potential client’s vehicle and asks “Do you know how fast you were going?” Or “How much have you had to drink tonight?” Our immediate instinct is to think we’re caught; let’s embellish the truth a bit. And instead of telling the officer ‘I politely refuse to answer any questions or exactly seventy-four miles per hour, Officer’, you make up a number 5-10 miles per hour over the speed limit, or respond with the ever-popular ‘two drinks.’ At this point the speeding case is over. You’ve admitted to violating at least one Georgia speeding statute. And in regards to the investigation into Driving under the Influence of Alcohol, we’ve given the officer an admission of alcohol consumption that may give them probable cause to arrest you for DUI in conjunction with any traffic infractions.
The reason we advise our clients to politely refuse to answer questions is because these officers are not on your side. They aren’t trying to find a reason not to cite you, not to arrest you, not to take warrants out against you. Their job is to gather evidence of criminal activity and to determine who most likely committed the crime. Georgia law enforcement officers are trained to ask specific, pointed, leading questions to get you to make admissions that could lead to you being charged with a crime. Those questions are designed for only one reason, and that is to gather information that can ultimately be used against you. DO NOT help them with their job. Even if you know you are one hundred percent innocent in the circumstances surrounding the Georgia law enforcement officer’s questions, politely decline their questions, tell them you want a lawyer, and let them release or arrest you.
Answering police officers questions without an attorney present will not help your case. Telling an officer you only had two drinks, or telling an officer you don’t have any marijuana on you but you smoked earlier, does not let them know that you were safe to drive or that you aren’t guilty of possession of marijuana. It tells them that you’re willing to voluntarily provide them with evidence they are going to use against you in their DUI or Drug investigation.
If you have any questions about your rights, if you’ve been contacted by law enforcement and asked to give a statement, or you’ve been arrested and questioned, you must contact us immediately. It is imperative that an experienced criminal defense attorney assess your situation, prevent further statements, and see if your rights have been violated in prior questioning. Call The Peach State Lawyer today at 404-581-0999 for a free consultation.