Can I Invoke My Right to Remain Silent After I Agree to Talk to the Police?
Whether you are pulled over while driving and subject to a traffic stop, or if the police approach you outside your vehicle, such as when you are on foot or while you are in your home, it is important to understand your rights. To be clear, you almost always have the right to avoid saying anything to the police in Indiana entirely in any kind of police or law enforcement encounter. The only exception under Indiana law is where a person is stopped for an infraction or an ordinance violation, they are asked to identify themselves, and they knowingly and intentionally refuses to provide identifying information (either a driver’s license, or stating their name, address, and date of birth). Outside this requirement under IC 34-28-5-3.5 also known as “stop-and-identify”, you fully have the right to remain silent. Your right to remain silent is a right you should exercise until you have spoken with an attorney.
What often happens, however, is that a person is caught off-guard when they are approached by the police. You may not be thinking clearly, and you may be disoriented such that you begin talking. If you do not initially invoke your right to remain silent, can you invoke it later on? In short, the answer is yes. Our Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys can explain in more detail.
Right to Remain Silent
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution provides people in Indiana with the right to remain silent. You cannot be punished under state or federal law for deciding to exercise your right to remain silent. other than the stop-and-identify exception we mentioned above, you have the right to remain silent. Having that right means that, during your trial, adverse inferences cannot be drawn against you for exercising that right .
You Can Exercise Your Right to Remain Silent at Any Point
When you are stopped by police or arrested, the police might try to convince you that it is a good idea for you to agree to talk to them before you seek advice from an attorney. Police can lie to you in an interrogation in order to get you to confess to a particular criminal offense, or to try to get you to make incriminating statements. This is true in all fifty US states, according to NPR. Yet even if you initially talk, or agree to talk at first, you can later exercise your right to remain silent.
To be clear, if you are not thinking clearly and begin speaking with the police at any point, you can stop yourself and exercise your right to remain silent. You can also invoke your right to an attorney at any point, and once you invoke your right to a lawyer, police must stop questioning you.
Contact an Indianapolis Criminal Defense Lawyer for Help
If you need assistance with criminal charges you are facing in the Indianapolis area, one of the experienced Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys at Rigney Law LLC can speak with you today about your case. Contact us for assistance with your defense.
Sources:
law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-34/article-28/chapter-5/section-34-28-5-3-5/
npr.org/2024/10/21/nx-s1-4974964/police-deception-bans
