Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   David Nathanson (d_j_nathanson@esq.social)'s status on Saturday, 26-Apr-2025 10:41:54 JST David Nathanson

   It’s #STFUfriday!

   When cops ask you questions, ask for a lawyer and then STFU:

   - I am not discussing how I’m doing or where I’m going.

   - Am I free to leave?

   - I am not answering any questions.

   - If they ask to search anything: "I do not consent to a search."

   - I want to talk to a lawyer.

   If you are subpoenaed to a grand jury, call time out!

   Grand juries are often used to intimidate activists.

   Before responding to the subpoena or answering any questions, TIME OUT! 🧵

   • GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     David Nathanson (d_j_nathanson@esq.social)'s status on Saturday, 26-Apr-2025 17:16:03 JST David Nathanson

     in reply to

     Things you need to know:

     1. If you are subpoenaed to a federal grand jury, you don’t have a right to have a lawyer with you in the grand jury room. BUT, you have the right to write down the question, leave the room, go talk to your lawyer in the hallway, and then come back.

     2. In Massachusetts state courts, your lawyer can be with you, but cannot object. They’re only there to consult with you.

     3. Asserting your 5th Amendment rights is question by question, not blanket.

     2/🧵

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     David Nathanson (d_j_nathanson@esq.social)'s status on Saturday, 26-Apr-2025 17:17:44 JST David Nathanson

     in reply to

     4. They may give you immunity, eliminating your 5th & potentially forcing you to testify because you no longer would be incriminating yourself.

     Here is an older but pretty accurate and readable summary about federal grand juries. It’s written from an activist perspective. Get a lawyer’s advice about your specific situation. Not everyone is best served by everything recommended in here. Things get crazy real fast.
     https://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/10/03/grandjuries-infosheet.pdf

     Additional resources here:
     https://www.nlg.org/massdefenseprogram/anti-oppression-resources/

     3/🧵

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     David Nathanson (d_j_nathanson@esq.social)'s status on Saturday, 26-Apr-2025 17:17:59 JST David Nathanson

     in reply to

     As with every #STFUfriday post, I'm a lawyer in the USA. These comments are based on law in the USA. (And they apply to all people in the USA, whether or not they are citizens.) Some US states provide more protections than this. /end

   • Embed this notice
     David Nathanson (d_j_nathanson@esq.social)'s status on Saturday, 26-Apr-2025 17:19:26 JST David Nathanson

     in reply to

     • Rachel Rawlings

     @LinuxAndYarn
     In a police interrogation, invoking the right to silence or invoking the right to counsel should end the interrogation.

     But, in a police interrogation, if you spontaneously begin offering statements after having invoked your rights, they are allowed to resume questioning. That’s what you’re talking about, I think.

     In a *grand jury* you must invoke question by question.

   • Embed this notice
     Rachel Rawlings (linuxandyarn@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 26-Apr-2025 17:19:27 JST Rachel Rawlings

     in reply to

     @D_J_Nathanson I've seen some bad advice in cop shows, then, where answering one question during an interrogation triggered the end of a Fifth Amendment assertion.

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.