Look Out – That Police Car is Bugged!
Recently I did some legal work for a man who is employed by a local city government in the vehicle maintenance department. One of his jobs is to maintain police cars. We were talking about all of the high tech equipment now found in police cars and he mentioned in conversation that more and more police departments are putting recording equipment inside the patrol cars.
The purpose of these recording devices is to record the statements and conversations of people who have been arrested. Apparently, admissions and statements from these conversations have been used against defendants at trial.
So, the lesson to remember here: if you are arrested, ask to speak to a lawyer and say nothing more. Assume that anything you say or do in the back seat of the patrol car is being recorded and taped. If you end up sharing a ride to the police station with another defendant, say nothing to him. If you end up in a holding cell, do not discuss any of the charges against you.
Our systems of justice provides that the state has to prove its case against you. Often a particular act can result in a wide range of charges – from a minor charge all the way up to a serious felony charge. Similarly, prosecutors may ask for a range of punishments in plea deals, and you can be sure that they are not your advocate in this regard. Your defense attorney’s job is to aggressively defend you and work for an acquittal if you are innocent of the charges, or to argue for the most lenient penalties under the law if you do have culpability.
The minute you get arrested, recognize that you are now in a system that is not so much about justice as it is about bargaining. Your lawyer is the professional – let him speak for you. The less you say is always the better.
Filed under Arrest issues, Punishment issues by on Jul 2nd, 2008. Comment. 
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Comments on Look Out – That Police Car is Bugged!
I was accused of DUI and several other driving offenses there was not an officer present at the time of the accident. There was an accident involving my vehicle and another. When I started to pull over to the side of the road, the women in the other car came behind me and started making threats and cursing and tried to attack me they had a bat in their car, I was scared so I went home which was not a block away and parked,they followed me there. I ran to my porch with the key trying to get into my house to call and officer, they started trying to attack me with a stick and bat . My neighbor saw them trying to attack me with sticks and bats running me around my apartment.All they had to do is let me call the police they wouldn’t I got so tired I couldn’t run anymore one of them wrestled me to the ground and sat on me and held me down then the other made a personal phone call to and officer she was acquainted with the reason I know this you could hear her talking to the officer on the phone, she asked him where he was and she sped off and went back to the scene of the accident and brought the officer back with her to my home where my car was parked in front where I park all of the time. When the officer got there the other one had dragged me and was pouncing on me she weighed about three hundred pounds. When The officer arrived he saw her sitting on me with my pocketbook in her hand he did not ask me what happened he just slapped handcuffs on me in my yard pulled me by them and placed me in a police car. I was at my place of residency my neighbor told them I lived there. I was attacked and my car was parked there. All the women had to do was get my tag number and call the police but they attacked me to make everything look like it was my fault. Both drivers left the scene of the accident and we both were wrong but I had no choice they tried to attack me and my neighbor witnessed it. This lady was at my residence attacking and holding me down against my will. They even told the officer I was drunk but it was not so. I am fifty eight years old and disabled, I was trying to keep from being hit with bats and sticks. The police officer asked me to take a sobriety test but he did not ask them or say anything to them about leaving the scene of the accident. The policeman did not handcuff them he just took their words for everything but it is good to have nosey neighbors, I was ticketed for DUI and several other offenses the other women got away with their lies. The officer never saw me operating my vehicle and all of neighbors can testify that I am not a drunk. One of the reason I did not let them test me, I have a hernia in my stomach, acid reflux and hypertension and hepatitis C. I was tired of running from them and being sat on I was sick and dioriented not drunk. These were all disrespectful younger people trying to take advantage of a senior citizen They also tried to pend a drug charge on me but found out it was perscription meds in my pocketbook. I lost my bank card and money I told the officer but know one said anything. After my daughters bailed me out my brother came to my house that morning and on the side of my home we found my bank card and other missing items. How can an officer charge you with DUI, driving on the wrong side of road, public drunk and etc when you are at home and your car is parked in front of your home and someone weighing about 300 pounds is sitting on you in your yard. I thank God I have a witnessed that saw all of this. The lady or girl told the officer she had children in her car and she was concerned. Why did she and the other woman get out of the car leave the children and chase me about twenty minutes and leave them unattended. I am concened about children too I have fifteen grand-children. We can’t always avoid accidents this is why we have insurance but they took the law into thier own hands when they attacked me I was not running from the law but from them at my own residence. They left the scene of the accident too and tried to cover it up by shifting the blame to me.