Is it really “anything” and how will it be used? Never thought about it, but it sounds kind of strange.
In: Other
Well if you suddenly start saying “I did it! I did it!” then that’ll be used as evidence in court.
It doesn’t mean EVERYTHING you say, but it means that anything you might say can be twisted and manipulated to help the prosecution’s case.
It’s essentially a reminder that the legal system is adversarial; the state vs the person. The state is obligated to remind you that your statements will be recorded and can be used as evidence against you. These sorts of things are done because the state is obviously MUCH more powerful than the individual, and so the system is set up to (in theory) give an advantage to the individual.
Miranda (or similar) warnings, the right to legal counsel, the right to a speedy trial, the right to a jury (in countries where this applies), the presumption of innocence and the burden of proving guilt being on the state all plays into this.
I think the phrase is, “anything you say can be used against you in court.” It doesn’t automatically mean it will be used, but if you say something incriminating they will use it against you.
It means that everything you say is “recorded” by the cops and if you say something incriminating it will be brought back in court by the prosecution.
It is “anything” because you cannot say anything that could help you. The cops are not your friends and this is to remind you.
It means when you speak to a police officer the things you say to them become a special kind of evidence that belong to the police. That special kind of evidence cannot be used to help you in a court of law, it can only be used against you.
Someone ate all the cookies in the kitchen. The police think you did it. You say “I didn’t steal the cookies! I was just in the kitchen getting some milk and don’t know how I got crumbs on my shirt and chocolate on my chin.”
In court, they can use your words to show that: (1) you were at the scene of the crime; (2) you had cookie crumbs on your clothes; and (3) you had chocolate near your mouth.
You didn’t admit to eating the cookies, but in saying that to the police you still gave them some evidence to use against you.
It means that anything you say can be used against you in trial. Obviously if you confess to a crime that can easily be used against you. However, a lot of seemingly innocent answers can be used against you.
If the police ask you where you were last night and you say you were at the club on fifth street, if there was a crime committed near there the police can use your statement to show that you were near the scene of the crime. If you say that you were home alone last night, but the police have another witness who says they saw you at the club on fifth street, the police can use your statement to look like you’re lying about your whereabouts at the time of the crime, etc.
Never talk to the police without an attorney.
It’s also important to know that if you *start* to speak and then stop, that can be used against you to. They’ll say that refusing to answer is an admission of guilt. The only way to protect yourself is to specifically state you’re remaining silent until you talk to your lawyer.
It’s a legally required reminder that no matter what you say, it will be used to fuck you over, and you shouldn’t speak a word except “I want a lawyer”. Otherwise, you might do some of the, but not limited to, the following: give statements that the cops interpret to be inconsistent and conflicting, speculate on the events in a way that makes you look guilty, put yourself on the scene of the crime, make a statement that is very open to interpretation, accidentally confess to a different crime you’re not even suspected of – there’s no limit to the stupid things you can do by accident.
The interrogator will try to find a way to use literally every word out of your mouth against you, and you never know what dangerous things you might say. Youtube is full of geniuses who thought they could bluff their ways out of the room, or convince the cops they’re innocent, and it rarely ends well.
Latest Answers