V.O.: So, really then, the best idea is keep your mouth shut and wait for your attorney to come.
Robert: It is, and to be polite about it. I mean, I’ve seen people walk away from getting charged with offenses just because they were polite with the police. You can be respectful and you can ask for an attorney or you can ask to speak with an attorney. Say, you know, “I’m a little more comfortable remaining silent sir” and they’re going to respect that a lot more than someone who comes out and says, in an aggressive way, “I know my rights, you can’t do this to me. I have to have a lawyer here. You can’t do this. And you can’t search me that way, this is illegal”. They’re human beings, and also they’re going to respond to that in a negative way a lot of the time. And it’s going to end up hurting you. So, I always tell people just respectfully request attorney. Don’t say anything, and respectfully communicate that to the officers and it’s going to go a lot further than arguing with them, telling them why they’re wrong. Another one they hate is asking them why they’re being arrested. “Why am I being arrested? Why are you harassing me? Why did you stop me, even on a traffic stop?” These are terrible conversation openers with your average police officer.
