Comment on He took it literally
ceenote@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
FYI, you need to say “I’m invoking my right to remain silent” or similar before going quiet. Just shutting your mouth and refusing to say absolutely anything will make it worse.
This is not entirely accurate.
If you clam up pre-Miranda warning, it can be used against you (if you didn’t specifically exercise your rights).
Case law about this: supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/570/178/
Post-Miranda warning, there’s no issue. The warning literally advises you of your right to be silent.
That’s not entirely accurate:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berghuis_v._Thompkins
Your fifth amendment rights haven’t been invoked until you say so. The Miranda warning isn’t a guide for how to invoke the rights, just a notification that you have them.
Now, it’s ridiculous that we’ve ended up here and it was a terrible ruling, both of them, but if you’re just quiet you haven’t invoked your right to silence anymore than you’ve invoked your right to legal counsel.
Which is a hell of a position for the court to take on coerced confessions.
It seems that you can’t invoke your rights pre-Miranda and before arrest, as seen in en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salinas_v._Texas
I don’t know how that works specifically, but I expect nobody will allow you more your rights whenever they can
“I declare bankruptcy!”
If you have to say a certain phrase in order to get granted a right, then it’s not a right, it’s just a spell you have access to.
YouAreLiterallyAnNPC@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Ah, right. The Supreme Court decided we only get to have the rights we can remember under any given circumstance. Don’t let the cops catch you sleeping. Totally normal stuff in a totally normal democracy. Not at all a sign of any sort.