Media Watch

Whether you're pulled over by police or have an encounter on the sidewalk, here are some essential tips on how to preserve your rights. I. It's insufficient to simply remain silent because police might construe that as uncooperative behavior. II. In order to preserve your constitutional rights, you should never consent to forfeiting them. III. By answering questions without the benefit of your lawyer, you are forfeiting your Fifth Amendment protection against self incrimination and undermining your Sixth Amendment right to counsel. IV. By consenting to searches, you forfeit whatever shred of Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search & seizure the Supreme Court hasn't yet eviscerated. V. To preserve your 4th, 5th & 6th Amendment rights, say out loud that you refuse to answer any questions without your lawyer, and that you do not consent to any searches. VI. A person’s refusal is insufficient cause for cops to suspect wrongdoing, which is th

I've written about police encounters through the general advice of criminal defense attorneys and have shared a particular video that outlined one pretty important rule. You have the right to remain silent, so you should do it. The "Don't Talk to Cops" video was close to an hour. This lesson is not. I've found another excellent video that covers the same essential bases, but it's much more condensed, yet well articulated and laid out. It's by defense attorney Mary Griego. Her basic message is that police have a plan for you, and that's to make you an informant ... against yourself. Your task is to have a plan of your own ... hopefully before cops come calling. Instead of rehashing it in detail, I'll give you the recap version. When the cops come knocking, follow these steps to minimize the amount of evidence that is collected and used against you: Shut up! Please shut up! Stay shut up ... unless you're refusing consent, asking what y

I watched a video about a DUI checkpoint where the driver refused to answer questions and some of the subsequent comments were scathing. “All you had to say was that you hadn’t been drinking.” “Dude, you had your kid in the car, so you should have just cooperated.” It disturbed me most to read some of those ignorant comments, so I made one of my own, thanking the person for posting the video. [ Watch the video ] Thank you, Corrie! In my opinion making an oath to the US Constitution means not conning or pressing people into forfeiting the very rights guaranteed by it, whether on a wholesale level such as this or individually. These suspicionless checkpoints are akin to the tactics British and Nazi officials used to use make people prove their innocence. It's startling to see how many people that comment here lack even a basic understanding of American civics and why the revolutionary war was fought. Because our freedom was paid for with human lives throughout American histo

I feel somewhat obsessed following some of the partisan bickering I encounter, although I can't say I have a stomach for it. It sounds like some of you on the right are just as ignorant as your counterparts on the left; you both either have your heads in the sand or have been programmed by your favorite flavor of crony capitalist-owned media, who apparently manage public opinion and subsequent dialog -- which I'm sure is just as the absentee crony capitalists want it. If they keep us fighting with each other, maybe we won't notice the elephant in the room. On one end of the economy they pay their workers inequitable wages and on the other they steer Washington by the nose ring on tax (and other) policy, ensuring that they keep the wealth and the power to themselves. All the while we in the cheap seats get squeezed at both ends. Look around. They don't live here. They're not your neighbors, they don't shop where you do, they don't go to your church, a

Every year I have to unload on Walmart. It may be a sickness, but please bear with me just the same. The doctor says it’s therapeutic. When someone admits to you who they are on the inside, believe them. According to Walmart's own numbers, they employ 1,300,000 people across the country. By my math, a worker likely making under $13,000 per year needs to recognize that the fruits of his or her labor are padding the pockets of its owners to the tune of $13 billion in pure profit. Again, this is by Walmart's own admission. If you got out your calculator like I did, you probably figured out that $13 billion equates to an average of $10,000 per year skimmed from the pockets of each and every Walmart employee across this bountiful land. And these poor people are on welfare, which is, as you well know, an array of taxpayer-funded programs. While a manager gets to make a living wage – or at least today's median salary – which is $50,000, how do you suppose you'd feel as

I'm not an attorney, so this article is merely a summary of what I've learned in the last five years researching a person's rights during police encounters. It's a common assumption that refusing to cooperate with police makes you look guilty, but there are three things you can say to an officer and he or she will recognize unequivocally that you're exercising rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Asserting your rights cannot give an officer justification to elevate an encounter from a consensual one to a seizure. Most people believe, as I do, that most cops are good. It's innate in most of us to want to cooperate with authorities. We want to be regarded as honest and helpful. And we believe demonstrating courteous behavior will result in the best possible outcome. We'll even thank an officer after being handed a $150 speeding ticket. But police officers are heavyweight fighters when it comes to citizen encounters and, believe me, you are no match for t

I've said this isn't about Senator Grassley, but about the senior ruling class and the culture of submission to capitalistic gluttony they cultivate. Continuing to say yes to rehiring our own Congressional delegation is hypocritical and irresponsible in the face of a 10% Congressional approval rating. Members value their posture over their positions and getting re-elected over integrity. It's now our civic duty to change the culture in Washington in every single district. We start by dismissing incumbents any way we can.