The golden rule in Criminal law is: don’t talk to the police.
In Canada, you have a constitutional right to silence. If you are being investigated for a criminal offence, you should not talk to the police until you have spoken to a competent criminal lawyer. If you choose to talk to the police, you do so at your peril. You may be closing doors to potential viable avenues of defence.
Often, the police are not looking for a full explanation or admission; they are just looking for an innocuous admission to seal their case against you. Perhaps all they need is:
- Where you go to the gym
- Where you work
- What car do you drive
- Whether you lend your car out
- Whether you know a particular person
- Or just the sound of your voice
In most scenarios, the safest thing to do is to refuse to speak to the police unless your lawyer instructs you otherwise.
The police sometimes use tricks against you to get you to talk. Sometimes they will lie, threaten, or bully you into giving a statement.
Although you can remain silent if you are arrested, you do not have the right to forego sitting in the interrogation room. Typically, the quicker the police realize that you will not give them a statement, the faster the interrogation will end.
Unlike American television shows, an Adult accused person does not have the right to have a lawyer present during an interrogation. Typically, you will get a single opportunity to talk to a lawyer. That single opportunity does not mean a single call. You have the right to make multiple calls to get a hold of your lawyer of choice.
But once you advise the police that you are satisfied with your lawyer call, you should not expect to be given access to the phone again.
The pressure of a police interrogation can be monumental. It can be scary.
What you say could make a difference for the rest of your life.
Often, the police will tell you:
“this is the one opportunity to tell your side of the story.”
This is not true. Also, they don’t tell you that the prosecutor is the only person who can choose to show your statement to the judge at trial. If an accused person gives a 6-hour statement pointing to their innocence, they are not allowed to show it to the judge – only the prosecutor can decide. The police never tell you that part.
If an accused person gives an incriminating statement, experienced criminal lawyers can take steps to try and have that statement removed from evidence at trial. The best criminal lawyers will review the statement with a fine-tooth comb for issues that can render the statement inadmissible.
What happened leading up to the interrogation is just as important as what happened during the interrogation. Some of the factors that can lead to a statement being inadmissible include:
- How long was the accused detained?
- Was the accused fed? Given water?
- Was the accused given proper access to a lawyer?
- Were they threatened?
- Were they promised anything?
- Were they intoxicated?
- Did they have an operating mind?
Seeking the exclusion of a statement at trial is one of the most complex areas of criminal law. Guilt or innocence can flow from the admissibility of the statement.