Why you should never talk to the police, ever !

[Bubble Bags Australia]

This is a really good video from a laywer who actually makes the speech and lesson exciting and interesting, so its not a boring, dry lecture. Granted this all pertains to USA law, but pretty much everything he says about why you shouldnt talk to the police is equally as true here.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4...33865&hl=en

[grace]

Good advice and relevant to Australia.

 

 

In Petty v The Queen (1991) 173 CLR 95, Mason CJ, Deane, Toohey and McHugh JJ, their Honours said (at 99):

 

“An incident of that right to silence is that no adverse inference can be drawn against an accused person by reason of his or her failure to answer such questions or to provide such information. To draw such an adverse inference would be to erode the right to silence or to render it valueless … [T]hat incident of the right of silence means that in a criminal trial, it should not be suggested, either by evidence led by the Crown or by questions asked or comments made by the trial judge or the Crown prosecutor that the accused’s exercise of the right of silence may provide a basis for inferring a consciousness of guilt. Thus, to take an example, the Crown should not lead evidence that when charged, the accused made no reply. Nor should it be suggested that previous silence about a defence raised at the trial provides a basis for inferring that the defence is a new invention or is rendered suspect or unacceptable” (emphasis added).

 

High Court website at <http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1991/34.html>

 

See also s 89 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) and the NSW Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book - Right to Silence at <http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/benchbks/criminal/internet_main.html>

 

Take care.

Edited June 17, 2008 by grace

[bufo marinus]

That video was awesome meerkat, thanks heaps for posting the link. I love having the basics explained like that That guy made so much sense, very entertaining and absolutely worth watching

[brick]

If I had teachers like that, I would have stayed at school longer. Thanks Meerkat

[Al Fish]

Related Issues:

 

http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20080613...r-premises.html

 

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2008/26.html

[urefriend]

Cheers for that meerkat ...... interesting stuff!

[Low_ryder]

here is an illustration of how to plead the fifth

[urbanfarmer]

convinced me! Right, I'm of to put my lawyers no in my mobile phone! Good post thanks.

[Token Jet]

Thanks for that great clip meerkat. I'd hate to count how words per minute he was going at.