Should You Talk To The Police and What Should You Say
 
Police are very important people in our society and do an amazing job helping people and putting their lives at risk for the benefit of others.  However, when you are stopped, or arrested for a crime, the police are investigating you, and most often their goal is to prosecute you, not help you.  The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that law enforcement is a competitive enterprise and although they may be well-intentioned, police officers can become mistakenly overzealous. Moreover, officers frequently request D.A.'s to bring more serious charges than are founded under the facts.

DO YOU HAVE TO TALK TO THE POLICE WHEN STOPPED IN YOUR CAR? Generally no, although you must provide the police with your name, address, and license.  The 5th amendment privileges a person not to answer official questions in any proceeding, civil or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might incriminate him in future criminal proceedings. Remember that if you do speak with the police, you have a duty to be honest and can be prosecuted for obstruction of justice if you lie. 

HOW CAN IT HURT TO TALK?  Each circumstance is different.  However, the possibilites are endless.  Everything you say to the officer will likely be put in his or her report.  For example, let's say you are nervous and when asked how many beers you had, you tell the officer you had two beers about two hours ago.  The officer writes this down.  You really had four beers over the course of two hours and you end up with a .08 b.a.c.   When you go to fight your case, the exaggeration you told the officer will be presented to the judge or jury.  The D.A. or State's expert will say it is impossible to have a .08 b.a.c. with two beers after waiting two hours.  The D.A. will use this statment that you made to show that you lied, and that everything else you said or did is untrue and no one should believe you regardless of any of the other evidence.  Had you remained silent, you would be in much better shape.  Let's imagine you are honest and tell an officer you fell asleep at the wheel.  You will proably end up with another ticket because you just admitted to another violation of the law.  Had you remained silent, the prosecution would have to prove you fell asleep at the wheel as the law requires.

DOES A POLICE OFFICER HAVE TO READ YOU MIRANDA DURING YOUR WISCONSIN DUI ARREST?  Miranda rights generally must be given by the officer when you are in custody and subject to interrogation. Although the officer may choose not to inform you of your rights until several hours after stopping you, you always have the right to remain silent regardless of whether you are advised of it.   Many times, police in Wisconsin will wait until the they have gotten all relelvant information from you first and then read you your rights.  After all is said and done, and the questions have been asked, and the breath test results have been obtained at the police station, then the officer advises the defendant and asks him or her to sign a Miranda waiver.  By this point there is usually nothing left to say.  Any statments made after a waiver of your Miranda rights are admissible.  Any "voluntary statements" that are not the result of the officer questioning you are admissible.  Any admissions by you are admissible (I was swerving because my windshield is dirty-you just admitted to swerving and this is admissible). 

WHAT IF THE OFFICER SAYS COME ON HELP YOURSELF OUT?  As stated above, each case is different, however most of the time, the person with more experience in the situation will have an upper hand (the officer).  If looking to "help yourself out" you could ask what kind of help are you talking about?  Can you put that in writing and have it witnessed and notarized? 

 
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