What kind of law enforcement officers might try to question you?
Local and State police officers have the RIGHT to question you along with the following:
-Joint Terrorism Task Force members
-FBI agents
-Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement Border Patrol
-DEA
-Naval Criminal Investigative Services
You have the RIGHT, the constitutional RIGHT to remain silent. You can't be punished for remaining SILENT. Ask for a lawyer before agreeing to answer questions. Only a Judge can order you to answer questions.
The exceptions are as follows:
1. You must provide your name when asked
2. When driving and pulled over, you must show your id, registration & proof of insurance when asked
But any other questions do not have to be answered. Just be aware that the officers do not like when you Know Your Rights and will try to engage or provoke you to become "out of line" to attach a charge of "insubordination".
Be very wise when answering questions if you choose to and be conscience of the tone of your mannerisms.
Once you say that you want to talk to a lawyer, officers SHOULD stop asking you questions. The key word is SHOULD. You still have the right to remain SILENT. Always keep a lawyer's business card behind your driver's license/id. It is just as important as having the license itself!
You may request the officer contact your lawyer by showing him your business card. Keep 2 cards just in case you dont receive the first one back.
Always get the name, agency, phone number and id of any law enforcement officer who stops or visits you and give that information to your lawyer.
If you do not have paper, here are some suggestions of remembering:
Example: Officer's name is W. Jones and id is 3274. Try to associate things that are close to you like W. Jones might be the "WJ" "We Jam"... just something that you can always remember that the cats name is W. Jones... The id is the same... on the phonepad, those numbers make the form of a pistol... so try to associate numbers with images you can remember from a phone pad.... things like that!!!!
Remember that anything you say can be used against you and Others! If you lie to an agent, they can attach another charge on you. If you choose to answer questions, you have the option to refuse to answer other questions until you have a lawyer.
Don't SNITCH!
If you're threaten with a grand jury subpoena, which is a written order for you to go to court and testify about info you may have... make sure that you receive the subpoena first and contact your lawyer right away. You must follow the orders on the subpoena and attend the court. You can still assert your right not to say anything that could be used against you in a criminal case.
Don't Snitch!! Most often, they are building a case and using you for information to fill in gaps that they dont have. Otherwise, they would go to the culprit who committed the crime. The agents will use anything they can to obtain information and have the "law" on their side. So it is up to you know your rights....