Rights During Consensual Police Encounter in Utah
Not all encounters with police officers involve an arrest,
interrogation, search, or other involuntary actions. Many police
encounters are voluntary interactions where a person remains free to
leave or to refuse a request for consent to search. Understanding the
difference between a voluntary and an involuntary encounter can be
critical to protecting your rights in a Utah criminal case.
There seems to be a natural human tendency (in most people) to want to
be polite and helpful. This tendency often leads people to cooperate
with a police officer who wants to ask a few questions or requests
consent to search. But cooperating unnecessarily with a police officer
who is involved in a criminal investigation can lead to serious
consequences. Even innocent individuals are sometimes charged with
serious crimes based on evidence obtained through voluntary police
encounters.
If you have been contacted by a police officer or believe that you may
be the subject of a criminal investigation or criminal charges you should talk with an
experienced criminal lawyer. Whether the charges are at the
felony or
misdemeanor level, the
consequences can be serious.
Contact
us to see how the right
criminal defense attorney can help you.
Can a police officer question me without a reason?
The Constitution places restrictions on when a police officer can
detain you (either for questioning or under formal arrest) or search
your property (car, home, person, etc.) But just as any ordinary person
might approach you on the street and strike up a conversation, a police
officer is legally permitted to approach under circumstances that make
the encounter consensual, and ask you questions.
An officer engaging in that kind of consensual encounter does not
necessarily need a reason to ask you questions. Whether you have to
answer those questions, however, is a different matter.
What do I have to tell a police officer?
Utah criminal law imposes penalties against a person who makes false
statements to a police officer, files a false police report, gives a
false name to a police officer, or engages in obstruction of justice.
But in most circumstances, the
Fifth Amendment gives you the right to
remain silent and refuse to answer questions.
Utah criminal law requires you to disclose your real name to a police
officer who has stopped you based on a reasonable suspicion that you
have committed or are in the process of committing a criminal act.
Courts have upheld the requirement to disclose a name as not violating
the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination. However a
requirement that a person provide an explanation of their actions would
be a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s protections.
Can I just ignore a police officer?
Just walking away from a police officer does not, by itself, give the
officer a reason to detain you. But it is a factor that can be
considered by the officer (and by the courts) in determining whether
there was reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity.
Rather than running (or walking) away, you are more likely to avoid
being chased by police if you politely tell them that you intend to
exercise your Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any
questions without your attorney present.
What if the police try to arrest me?
If police can articulate a reasonable basis for suspecting that you
have been involved in criminal activity, they may detain you to
investigate. If they have probable cause to support an arrest, you may
be taken into custody, detained for questioning (interrogation), or
booked into jail. But in any of these circumstances, you retain the
Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. You are legally
required to give police your true name. But you are not required to
answer any questions about your recent whereabouts, your conduct, or
anything else beyond just your name.
If a police officer attempts to arrest you and you believe that the
officer does not have grounds to do so, DO NOT RESIST. Even if it turns
out that the officer was wrong, and that the arrest was not properly
supported by probable cause, you can still find yourself facing
criminal charges for resisting arrest or for assault on a police
officer.
What if the police don’t read me my Miranda rights?
The “rights” referred to in the
Miranda warnings are based on important constitutional principles. These rights exist
independent of any police officer’s decision to read or not read you
the Miranda warnings.
The Miranda warnings must be read only if you have been taken into
custody and if the police intend to ask you investigatory questions. If
police ask you questions before taking you into custody, or if you make
spontaneous statements after being arrested, the Miranda requirements
do not apply.
If police fail to comply with the requirements of Miranda, the answers
you give to police in response to a custodial interrogation may
suppressed by the court. But the better course of action if you find
yourself subject to questioning by police is to politely inform the
officer that you are exercising your Fifth Amendment privilege against
self-incrimination and that you will not be answering any questions
without first having your attorney present.
Finding a Criminal Defense Attorney in Utah

If
you are the target of a police investigation, if you have been
arrested, or if you have been charged with a crime in Utah, the most
important decision you can make may involve
choosing the right criminal
defense attorney to handle your case.
Contact us today to see how an
experienced Utah
criminal defense attorney can help you.