Here's an excellent and entertaining examination of the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik"]YouTube - Don't Talk to Cops, Part 1[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE"]YouTube - Don't Talk to Cops, Part 2[/ame]
Nice, but that second video seemed pretty much worthless. What a dumbass cop wannabe lawyer. Ugh. No one seemed to answer - when you get pulled over for speeding (say 20 over) and the cop asks how fast you're going, you're supposed to just tell him you won't talk? That's stupid. I've talked myself out of at least 8-9 speeding tickets (motorcycles) over the past 6-7 years. I generally just admit, yeah, I was going that fast - and tell them the truth (I don't wanna get run over by idiots, I'm safer observing and passing rather than being passed by inattentive morons). I typically make a comment like 'I'm sure you see them all the time' and they let me go.
Those are good videos, but there aren't any universal truths when dealing with cops -- for example, refusing to talk (or allow a search) will be a good move in some cases and a bad one in others. The second guy suggested that admitting to a small violation was a mistake... I don't think this is usually the case. For a traffic stop, I just try my best to look like a regular, hard-workin', God-fearin', police-respectin', blue-collar type family man. Look them in the eyes, smile naturally, speak confidently, make a joke or two if you can, etc. If you can work in some intelligent remarks about Harley Davidsons or fishing, do it. Everything you do should be an attempt to convince them that this is going to be the easiest, friendliest, most routine stop of their day. Think about the image you want to project: a simple, boring, responsible adult. You just want to get home, have a nice dinner of chicken and biscuits, listen to the new Toby Keith CD, get your kids ready for bed, and then make sweet, sweet missionary-position love to your beautiful wife. (God bless her. What an angel.) You're NOT rushing to get home so you can call up your bro E-Dawg and trade him a zip of your new dankity-dank for some of his killer rolls and an 8-ball, and you won't be spending your night having a threesome with your stripper girlfriend and her probably-legal cousin who's in town and loves to party. Nobody will be snorting lines off of anyone's perfectly-shaped titties or tight little ass cheeks. Actually, if I'm carrying any weight or harder drugs, I'll sometimes make my outfit extra boring -- to the point of looking a bit goofy. (Dressy shirt, ugly glasses, bad matted-down hair, wool sweater, pants pulled up a little too high, etc.) You can't go so far with this that you look ridiculous, and obviously it doesn't work if you've got "Cypress Hill" tattooed across your forehead and your car reeks of weed, but I think cops are less likely to feel challenged or suspect anything if they initially size me up as "pathetic" and "nerdy."
LMFAO -- +rep for that right there. You're absolutely right about this. If the officer doesn't have anything obvious to go off of -- red eyes, extreme nervousness, or tell-tale smells -- he is going to be profiling you. He's going to be judging you against his stereotypes of what a user should and shouldn't look like. If you can look to be the opposite of that, its very likely that he won't get a "gut feeling" about you that could lead to further inquiries or a search.
Actually I agree with you and you make a good point. In most places, traffic violations are not criminal offenses (although severe ones, like reckless driving, can be) so it might be best to politely talk things out with the officer. Really it all depends on whether the officer is in "traffic enforcement" mode or "crime investigation" mode. Unfortunately only the officer knows that and you can't always immediately tell what he's trying to find out. When you get pulled over, don't immediately say "I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU UNTIL I GET A LAWYER!" Instead, greet the officer and politely ask, with a smile, "why am I being stopped?" If he asks you why you think you were stopped, play dumb and say something like "I honestly do not know, why?" This will do two things: (1) it puts him, not you, in the position of saying what you were doing wrong, and (2) it lets you know whether he is interested in your driving or in something else. I recommend talking with the officer (while being careful not to admit that you broke a rule, but also without getting into an argument) as long as the subject is your driving. However, the minute he asks about non-driving-related topics, such as if you have been smoking weed, if you have anything in the car, etc, HE HAS STEPPED OUT OF "TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT" MODE AND HAS ENTERED "CRIME INVESTIGATION" MODE. This is when you should be careful to protect your 5th Amendment rights.
Thanks; nice find. Here is another clip with some great advice. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA[/ame]
good find that man is an interesting and fun to listen to speaker (the first one i didnt watch the second)