An Advice from This Attorney: If You Are Arrested for a Federal Crime, Respectfully Exercise Your Right to Remain Silent

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: I can imagine reading that and a feeling of absolute panic would set in. So are there any other misconceptions people have about this process? It sounds like they wouldn't even know the first thing about what to do.

Acacia Law: Well, the first thing to do is what you do on any criminal case. You respectfully and politely decline to answer any questions. You say to whatever arresting agency it is that you would like to speak with an attorney as soon as possible and you're not answering any questions until that has happened.

Your Miranda Rights Apply in a Federal Case

Interviewer: Do Miranda rights apply in federal cases just like state?

Acacia Law: That's correct.

Miranda Rights Take Effect After an Arrest

Interviewer: And just as a refresher, if you will, reading this, the Miranda rights apply after you've been arrested and you're in custody?

Acacia Law: That's right. Miranda takes effect when you're going through what's called "custodial interrogation", which is lawyer talk for saying, "You're under arrest and they're asking you questions."

Now, a common misconception about Miranda is that a large number of people say, "Well, I wasn't under arrest." Then I can say, "Well, were you free to go," and they say, "Oh, no, the officer told me to stay there." They don't necessarily have to put the cuffs on you for you to be under arrest and they don't necessarily have to say the magic words, "You're under arrest."

The question is whether a reasonable person in that situation would believe that they were not free to walk away from the officer.

Do Federal Charges Have More of an Intimidation Factor than State Charges?

Interviewer: Based on the cases you have encountered, do people tend to talk more to federal agents because of the intimidation factor? Do they feel more compelled to say more than they should versus state cases?

Acacia Law: I don't have a real sense of that but I can tell you because of the federal sentencing guidelines, when the US Attorney says, "I want to talk to you and you work with me, I work with you. Otherwise, under the guidelines, you're looking at 79 months or something," people, I think, are probably more likely to want to cooperate.

Interviewer: The common story that I've heard from attorneys is that people tend to talk too much and get themselves in trouble. They make that mistake unintentionally.

Acacia Law: Yes, it happens over and over.

Interviewer: I would imagine the pressure and the intimidation would be a lot higher if they were facing a federal agent so that's why I asked. Is there any other common mistake that you see people make that unintentionally hurts their ability to prevail in the case?

You Cannot Talk Your Way Out of a Federal Charge

Acacia Law: I think we really hit on the main one, which happens when people think that they can talk their way out of it. Because truthfully, that is just NOT going to happen.

When you're talking, you are just providing the government with evidence. You are not going to talk your way out of it. It's just not going to happen. That is the number one big mistake people make.

Interviewer: I think someone would probably think that a local police officer could be more likely talked into letting you go versus a federal officer. This is because it perceived that a federal charge is a very serious matter. So I would imagine most people wouldn't think that they could ever talk their way out of it but I guess there are some that still do?

Acacia Law: People do and the federal officers are trained to get people to talk. They are trained to elicit information. So for example a federal officer might say, "You had this 40 pounds of marijuana in the back of your car. I know it's not yours. You must really need the money. Let me help you out here. Help me help you."

And the reality is he's not going to help you. Why would he? He's caught you with 40 pounds of marijuana in the back of your car. What incentive does he have to help you in any way, shape or form? None.