We’re all aware of the fact that certain pieces of “common knowledge” are actually no such thing, right? As in, we know that there wasn’t actually a ghost in the background of Three Men and a Baby, and more obviously, if you type “Google” into Google, you won’t actually break the internet. But some people still believe urban legends long after they’ve been disproven, and even some pieces of common knowledge that are widely believed today are nothing more than jokes or half-baked theories that spread too far before they could be debunked.
We raise this point because there is no shortage of myths that people will believe and will put into practice in everyday life, where the consequences could end up being pretty dire. Thanks to Hollywood and other cultural touchstones, there are a few of these misconceptions surrounding what happens if you are arrested. And while hopefully you’ll never end up in that situation nor do anything that means you’d deserve to, it is useful to know the truth about some of these arrest myths.
It’s not true that police have to read you your rights
Your Miranda rights – that you have the right to remain silent, but that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, and that you have the right to an attorney – are the cornerstone of any movie arrest scene. Here’s the thing: they are only necessary if police intend to take you into custody for questioning. It doesn’t mean that, prior to your rights being read, you’re off the hook for anything you have said and done in the meantime. Your Miranda rights are not some magic words that take you from “not arrested” to “arrested”. So don’t assume that nothing you say or do is admissible in court if you haven’t been Mirandised.
The police don’t have to allow you a phone call
Anyone arrested in a movie will have a scene where the officers say “OK, you have one phone call”, which is usually used to contact an attorney or, tearfully, to call a parent who will front the money for bail bonds to free the protagonists. However, you’re not guaranteed that entitlement by law even if you’re taken into custody. It is true that you will often be granted a phone call, but it’s not a good idea to start demanding one if you haven’t been offered it. It may well show a police officer that you’ve learned what you know about the legal system from movies – and that’s something they’re more than happy to use to their advantage.
You are under no obligation to speak to police
Once you are in custody, you may be told by police that it will work in your favor if you simply work with them and give them the information they ask for. Not only is this not true, but it’s generally unwise to speak before you have had the chance to speak to an attorney. To be clear, unless you are a lawyer yourself, your understanding of the law is likely to be incomplete, and the situation of being under arrest is not going to do much to clarify it in your mind. An attorney with an officialized understanding of the law will know what you should and shouldn’t say. Until you have spoken to one, your only words should be “I want to speak to an attorney”. More than that, and you can talk yourself into trouble.
Your spouse can testify against you
One of the newer myths perpetuated by Hollywood is that if you are married to someone, they cannot testify against you in a court of law. This doesn’t make much sense even on the face of it, and in films where you have seen it, it’s likely to come through a defendant’s own misunderstanding of the actual law which says that your spouse cannot be forced legally to testify against you. If they choose to, they can absolutely testify against you.
You can be convicted if police lie to you
The Supreme Court has ruled that disinformation does not render a confession or a conviction invalid. Although there is a widespread belief that a case falls apart the moment the police are shown to have lied in bringing it to trial, this belief is mistaken. So if, for example, you have been arrested along with friends after a car accident, and the interviewing officer says to you “Look, your friend has already told us – you did this. Just cooperate and admit it and it’ll be easier for you”, they could well be lying to you. Don’t tell them anything – including turning the blame on to your friend – without first speaking to a lawyer.
Evidence gained without a search warrant may well be admissible
There is a widely-held belief that in order to use evidence against you in court, the police must have obtained a search warrant to recover it. This is not true. The requirement for a search warrant can be waived in case of emergency, if an item has been left in open view, if it has been obtained during a routine stop and search, or if you’ve given verbal consent for a search. While this evidence may not be enough to convict someone, it may open the way for other evidence – which will be sufficient – to be obtained.
Being arrested is a stressful situation, and none of us are likely to thrive in police custody. If we then trust our (often limited and half-remembered) understanding of the law to try and turn the situation in our favor, we are all the more likely to complicate our situation. The above misconceptions relate to factors which can be beneficial to us as well as those that can work against us, but if they can all be summed up under one main warning, it would be “Be careful”. You won’t improve your situation by grandstanding. Play it clever and don’t speak to officers without a lawyer – it is a cast-iron certainty that they’ll know better than you how to engage.
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