Miranda Warnings YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TALK TO THE POLICE (except to give them your name and produce your driver's license if you are in a vehicle) If stopped by police you should politely but firmly refuse to discuss the case and ask to be placed in contact with an attorney immediately. If the police fail to inform you of your right to remain silent, that your statements will be used against you and that you have the right to a lawyer, your only remedy is that what you said probably cannot be used against you in court, if you are in police custody (or the police have let you know by words or deed you are not free to leave) AND they are questioning you. If you blurt out a statement that is not in response to a question, that can be used against you. There are some gray areas of the law-for instance if you testify in court and contradict what you said to the police in some jurisdictions, the prosecutor will be allowed to use a statement even if it was previously suppressed during trial, to contradict your trial testimony. Also, the police are allowed to ask some preliminary questions of you during a brief period of time, without reading you Miranda. That is why you should not discuss the facts of the case! If your rights are not read to you then the prosecutor has to try to prove their case with other available evidence. It is important to exercise your right to remain silent because juries tend to give a lot of weight to a defendant's statements. Police will often try to get your cooperation right away because they know a lawyer will advise you to remain silent. Do not believe any promisees the police make to you! Try to remain calm and continue to request an attorney. Only your attorney can be certain to represent YOUR best interests.