I’m sure that some of you think that when I constantly repeat: ‘Don’t say nothin’ without your attorney!’, I’m just trying to ‘hook” you with some advertising slogan. There is no doubt that I would LOVE to ‘hook’ you with my advertising. This is how I make my living. I want your business. BUT… I tell you to keep quiet with EVERYONE except your attorney for a reason.
Here’s a funny, and completely true explanation of why you should SHUT UP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au4_EdPwTkE
I have another reason: Here’s a situation you might find yourself in: Your loved one, son, boyfriend, girlfriend, dad gets arrested. They are handcuffed, taken to jail and they use their one phone call to call you at 2:00 a.m. You wake up and you’re barely awake. They are terrified and so relieved to hear a friendly voice after hours of being threatened and manhandled by police, jailers and other inmates. “Why in the world did you get arrested?’ you groggily ask. “They say I had sex with her! I didn’t know she was 13!” your son almost shouts, he is so upset. You’re smart so you tell your son, “Don’t talk to the police!’
You pull on your clothes. You call a friend who knows an attorney, (Obviously they recommend Robert B. Carter, Attorney at Law.) He gives you the name of several bondmen. You call a bondsman. You pay the bondsman. The bondsman tells you to wait, this will take a while. Your son calls again, “WHEN are you goon to get me out of here?” You tell him you’re working on it and take the opportunity to ask your him what happened. No one else can hear him on your phone. He’s whispering quietly into the phone so his cellies don’t know what he’s saying.
“Aw, Mom,” he whispered “I met this girl at the frat house. She was coming on to me and even a couple of other guys. She left the party and about an hour later the cops came and arrested three of us. She was 13! I swear I didn’t know! They say they’re charging me with rape….” He starts crying.
Now what could possibly be wrong with a son telling his mother in a private phone call what happened that got him arrested? Well, here’s the trick: its NOT a private call. The jail records all the calls the inmates make. They also record the video visits that they charge you for. All of those things can be used against him at trial.
Ah, but you’ve paid attention to my story, haven’t you? He never admitted to ANYTHING, did he? Nope. He didn’t. But twice he said “I didn’t know!” He didn’t know she was thirteen. Now he may just feel guilty for his mom knowing that he got fooled by a kid and danced with her a couple of times. He may be a good kid, and feels bad about including a kid in a “grown up” party. But when the District Attorney plays that tape of him almost shrieking, “I didn’t know she was 13!” the jury could easily be led to believe that the only reason he said that is because it matters. He did something that one shouldn’t do with a 13 year old. Why else would he have said that?
So, lesson learned. Just don’t talk about your case, except to your attorney. Do NOT talk about your case on the jail phone. IT doesn’t matter who you’re talking to. Whether you know it or not you are talking to the police. So, once agin, remember:
Say it Loud, Say it Proud: “I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ with my attorney!” and call Robert Carter, Attorney at Law. 405-236-1800. Call now.
