You Have the Right to Remain Innocent

by James J. Duane

Let me quickly clarify and acknowledge that there are several situations in which it is perfectly fine to talk briefly to the police. For example, you might get locked out of your own house and find you have to climb into your darkened home in the middle of the night through a window, perhaps by breaking the glass. Or maybe you have some strange reason for standing outside at night and looking through the windows of your home with a flashlight or for jimmying the lock of your car. Or perhaps you have some lawful reason to be walking around in the middle of the night inside a government building that has been locked up, one which nobody else has any reason to be inside. Or you’re a teenager with an innocent explanation for walking down an alley carrying two brand-new bikes while everyone else your age is in school. These are all reasonably suspicious activities. If a police officer encounters you in one of those moments, he or she has every right to ask you two simple questions. Memorize these two questions so you will not be tempted to answer any others: Who are you? What are you doing right here, right now?