Standing up For Your Rights Despite Difficulties

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by xxxxxxx
view all A A A A teacher once told me and I've heard it since that if a person does not know his rights he doesn't have them. This is absolutely true. With rights come responsibilities, and one responsibility is to know your rights. This is the law. There are plenty of cases that support it. If you give a police officer permission to search you or your belongings, you have given up your property rights. If you incriminate yourself during a police interview because you felt what you had to say was more important than your right to remain silent you have denied yourself a constitutional right that the police tell you that they will use your statements and words against you, as a suspect.

The sad thing in America is that people who know their rights are usually criminals and lawyers and that's it. You ask most anyone who's been arrested for possessing an illegal substance what the law is on search and seizure and they can advise you as good as a criminal defense attorney can. The reason is they found out the hard way that they did not have to consent to a warrant-less search. This is sad for a couple of reasons and the first is it proves those who'd like to do away with your right to privacy, that only criminals are worried about being searched, if you have nothing to hide why not allow the police to verify this? Well, if your going to let the police examine your personal belongings to determine what kind of person you are, why not let your neighbor or your gardener, or your pastor come over and strip search you too, after they ransack your belongings. The 4th amendment protects everybody from anyone violating their person or property and not just the police. It protects all Americans.

The 5th Amendment and the famous Miranda warning "You have the right to remain silent and not say anything which might incriminate yourself. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You can stop answering questions I ask you at ANYTIME. You have the right to have a lawyer with you when you go to court or during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you.". Whether you've been arrested or you watch a lot of Law and Order, most of us know that the police do not read the Miranda to a suspect until they have placed that suspect under arrest. They have gathered enough evidence to show probable cause and charge the person with a crime. Often times this evidence is provided by the suspect who is answering questions before the cuff's are clicked into place. Do you have the right to remain silent before the police read you the Miranda warning? Yes, ANYTIME. The Miranda Warning is a right like the 4th amendment. You can and should exercise it anytime you are questioned by police. The police are only required to read you this right once they have placed you under arrest, that does not mean it isn't your right prior to that. If you refuse to answer the officer's questions, she might take the next step by saying, "You will have to stay here and answer my questions" or "You're not leaving until I find out what I want." If the officer restrains you by words or actions, such as putting you in a squad car or in handcuffs, then she must give you the Miranda warnings, if she intends to ask you questions. If she just wants you to sweat, she may not give you the warnings at all and just take you to the station, just to show you who is the boss.If you are not free to leave, you have been arrested, whether or not you are taken to a police station. If the police have arrested you, that means that they have enough information to believe that you are at least a suspect in criminal activity. Under these circumstances, you should follow the advice of the warnings and refuse to tell the officers anything unless you are provided with a lawyer. After telling the officer your name and date of birth, you should say, "I will not answer any more questions until I have a lawyer present." This may mean that you will spend a little bit longer time in jail until you can call a lawyer, but it will be worth the wait. You will not be able to successfully talk your way out of police custody, once you are arrested, without a lawyer's help.

With rights come responsibility is also true because these rights if you assert them are laws that the government is required to abide by, but ONLY if you know them and exercise them.