Never Talk to the Cops

The 5th Amendment provides "No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."

Every high school student in the country should have to watch this video.  Here's why:

- Cops lie... or ad best can make honest mistakes.
- There are tens of thousands of federal and state laws an individual can violate, nobody knows what they do not know about any laws they have accidentally violated.
- There is no way talking to the cops can help you.  What you tell the cops can only be used against you, it cannot be used to prove your innocence.
- If you are guilty, admitting to a crime to a cop gives you no benefit in return.  Waiting to confess can allow time for private arbitration or a plea deal.
- Even if you are innocent, you might make a false statement accidentally and then that is a crime and you can go to jail for that.

Ohio v. Reiner (2001) ~ "One of the Fifth Amendment's basic functions is to protect innocent men who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances.  Truthful responses of an innocent witness, as well as those of a wrongdoer, may provide the government with incriminating evidence from the speaker's own mouth."