TNS#60: What to Say to the Cops!

TNS#60 was taped on 11/26/08, a legal primer show we called What To Say To The Cops, inspired by a conversation I had with old friend Mark Malachowski last summer. Mark's a lawyer now (www.marklawdui.com) and we were joined by his friend James Barrett (jb@jamesbarrettlaw.com) for a lively discussion of various scenarios involving law enforcement that anyone might find themselves in, such as getting pulled over, or detained on the street for questioning, or having an officer asking to come into your house. In my own research for the show I was very impressed with the NORML 'freedom card' which can be found on their norml.org site as a ready-to-print .pdf file, which succinctly describes the various Constitutional rights one may be invoking in any discussion with law enforcement. However James and Mark definitely made their case that really all you need to remember is the magic seven words: "I'd like to speak to a lawyer." This was definitely not a law-enforcement-bashing show but the show guests also made their case about the many ways that people act against their own interest in trying to be cooperative with the police, and how it's usually best just to keep your mouth shut. The discussion did tend to center around DUI scenarios, for good reason this time of year! Thanks Mark and James for a very informative show!