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July 1, 2014 |
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Why You Should Remain Silent |
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Dear Oklahoma Members,
In this newsletter, we are going to rejoice in
"silence" and the right to remain the same. Why do you invoke the right
to remain silent? Why invoke your right not to be questioned without
your lawyer present? In a nutshell, the answer to this question is: What
you say and do is evidence, what your attorney says is not.
�If I have done nothing wrong, why would I not just
want to tell the officers what happened? Only criminals remain silent
and talk through their attorneys, right? Lawyers only want my money and
do nothing for me, and I was the victim.�
These are all perfectly normal human reactions,
especially from those who are personally unacquainted with the criminal
justice system. However, anytime someone is under scrutiny from the
criminal justice system, by very definition, their freedom and fortune
may be at risk. Their right to remain silent could be an integral part
of their legal well-being.
You must first realize that any time a firearm is
involved in an incident, whether it is fired or not, the police will
very likely start with the assumption that a crime has been committed
and proceed to process the evidence as such. The police will secure the
area, interview witnesses, and look for physical evidence. If your
actions are the focus of the investigation, any statement you make will
either corroborate what the witnesses and physical evidence show, or it
will not. There may be shell casings, ballistics trajectories and/or
possibly even video or photographic evidence. If your statement does not
perfectly match the evidence, even to the slightest degree, your
version of the facts could be viewed differently than you would like and
will likely be used against you. If you make no statements concerning
the facts of the incident until you speak to your attorney, you
eliminate the possibility of allowing an inconsistency, no matter how
innocent, to be used against you.
Some of you reading this might be thinking, "That is
all very good advice, but this won't happen to me." Well, unfortunately,
it can. In one past case under our program, a member who had never been
in any trouble with the law was forced to use his gun. Unfortunately,
our member, even though he was experiencing massive stress and pressure
because he had to fire his gun, gave a statement to the police without
consulting us first. The statement included several very specific facts
that could not be immediately corroborated by the officer. The result
was that this inconsistency resulted in a criminal charge. The lesson
here is, after a shooting, speak to your program attorneys before giving
a statement to law enforcement!
There is a very simple reason for this - talking cannot
help when you are under police investigation. Very few people ever talk
themselves out of being arrested. However, many people have talked
themselves into jail. Your statements may be completely innocent, but if
they conflict in any way with other evidence in the case, even if that
evidence is mistaken, mischaracterized, or just plain wrong, you will
have a legal issue.
Remember, that if you are involved in a situation where
you were forced to use your firearm, you will not be in a proper state
of mind to accurately give the police all the facts and only the facts.
You may forget an important detail, overstate the situation, say
something that cannot be corroborated, or in a worst case scenario, say
something that can be proven to be false.
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Legal War Story From The Front Line |
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Why It's Best to Remain Silent in a Situation with Law Enforcement...
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In this true member story, talking to the police might have
had an adverse effect on our member's defense. For example, if he had
described the aggressor's actions even slightly incorrectly, the
credibility of his whole story might have been drawn into question:
One unfortunate member had his car break down on the road.
When a driver with a short temper pulled up behind him, our member tried
to wave him past. Instead, the short-tempered driver started to blare
his horn. Our member got out of his car and tried to direct the other
driver past him again, who was then giving hand signals to indicate his
frustration. The short-tempered driver soon smashed the gas pedal,
hitting both our member and our member�s car � seemingly intentionally.
He then backed up, and revved his engine for another assault. Injured
and in fear for his life, our member pulled out his firearm to try to
defend himself. The other driver left, but onlookers called the police
and said �there�s a man with a gun on the road.� Our member was
incorrectly labeled the problem and charged with disorderly conduct.
Only after a lengthy legal nightmare were the charges dismissed. Our
member paid zero attorneys� fees.
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Featured U.S. Law Shield Gun Law Workshops |
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Join us on August 7 at SOR Training Center
in Moore from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Come learn firearms law that every
gun owner needs to know! Meet our program attorneys as they separate
legal fact from fiction and explain use of force and deadly force laws.
There is no cost to attend but seating is limited, so register today at www.GunLawSeminar.com. We look forward to seeing you there!
You're also invited to join us for a Firearms Law Seminar on August 9 presented by Oklahoma Personal Defense Academy!
Come out from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on August 9 to hear your program
attorneys and firearms experts speak on civil liability, Use of Force
law, and the the law of police search and seizure. Sign up here and don't forget to bring your friends!
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New Additions To U.S. Law Shield Store |
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Good news! We are introducing our new line of U.S Law Shield gear!
Show your support with one of our new t-shirts, polos,
or tank tops. Why not top it off with your very own member hat?
Get your gear today! Visit the U.S. Law Shield store to check out all of our new items!
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QuickLinks |
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U.S. Law Shield 1020 Bay Area Blvd., Suite 220 Houston, TX 77058 |
Telephone: 877-474-7184 Website: www.uslawshield.com
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