Seems to me there is a better way than what is suggested, simply say to police "Without a lawyer between you and I speaking for me, I have nothing to say, please contact the Public Defenders Office and notify them of where I am and ask them to represent me, or have the court appoint a Public Defender." Then say NOTHING from then on, except to repeat that all over again, and again, and again....etc. But, I am not a lawyer so check with one in your area.11-9-2010 National:
From: Michael Cicchini (Who is a criminal defense lawyer and author of But They Didn’t Read Me My Rights! Myths, Oddities, and Lies about Our Legal System (Prometheus Books, 2010) as well as articles on criminal and constitutional law, available here.)
I never thought the Miranda warning was all that useful. In fact, it actually raises more questions than it answers. For example, the warning tells a suspect that anything he says can be used against him in court. But asking for an attorney is saying something, isn’t it? Could the prosecutor later use such a request against him? (After all, television teaches us that only guilty people “lawyer-up.”) And what if the suspect wants to remain silent? Could his silence be used against him in court? The Miranda warning fails to answer these and many other questions.
Making matters even worse for the would-be defendant is Berghuis v. Thompkins, 130 S. Ct. 2250 (2010). In a confidence inspiring 5-4 split, the Court ruled that a suspect cannot actually exercise the right to remain silent by remaining silent—even if that silence lasts through nearly three hours of interrogation.
In response to all of this chaos, I’ve drafted a new and improved Miranda warning. Granted, this warning would be a bit more cumbersome for police to deliver, and still wouldn’t answer every possible question. But it would be an improvement. Here it goes: ..For the remainder of his post..
