Talking in the US context. The Miranda warning says anything you say can be used against you in a court of law but never to support your case. So as I see it talking to the cops makes no sense irrespective of whether you have committed a crime or not. So why do suspects sit for hours long interviews with the cops?
Edit:- “… never to support your case”. As some commenters pointed out the Miranda warning doesn’t say that. That’s right, I meant it in an implicit way. I just saw a defense attorney’s YT video who said that’s the hidden part.
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Because the consequences of being arrested are massive even if you don’t eventually get convicted. You can go into a police interview and get sent home, or you can get sent to jail and wait until you’re in front of a judge. That could be days or weeks. Days or weeks where you lose your job and can’t take care of your family. If you can talk your way out, you can maybe salvage your life. If you can’t, you’re in jail until your case gets heard.
It’s all fun and games to say “Just shut up and wait for your lawyer” but IRL for most people that means just sit in jail and wait until you get a Public Defender assigned. Sitting in jail is a bad option for most people for a lot of reasons.
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