@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

D_J_Nathanson

@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social

Criminal defense lawyer at Wood & Nathanson, LLP. Posts reflect my personal views only. Boosts are not endorsements. He/him.
https://www.woodnathanson.com

[Alt text for avatar: A 50-ish white guy with a medium-ish build wearing a black suit, white shirt and gray tie, standing in front of a brick building, blurred in the background. Alt text for banner: a rocky shoreline with breaking waves.]

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D_J_Nathanson, to random
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🧵 So I try to do semi-regular posts reminding people to exercise their right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present for custodial questioning.

Every once in a while, I get comments to the effect of, “that doesn’t work for people of color.”

Whether people of color can safely invoke their Miranda rights is a sensitive and case-specific discussion probably not suited for a social media discussion. But I’ll try. /1

D_J_Nathanson,
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

Fifth, if you are charged with a crime, write down your memory of the interaction and give it to your lawyer. DO NOT GIVE IT TO ANYONE ELSE.
/7

D_J_Nathanson,
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

There are also plenty of people of color who are brave enough to stand their ground and demand their rights. They make it easier for all of us to do the same when faced with the coercive, armed power of the state. I thank them for that.

Similarly, there is also the dynamic of normalizing the assertion of rights. If cis white people regularly assert their rights, one can at least hope that it creates a culture where asserting your rights doesn’t endanger people generally, including POC. /end

D_J_Nathanson,
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

First, if you’re in an interrogation room, something bad is already happening. The chance that you will talk your way out of it and be let go is far outweighed by the chance that your words will be used to convict you. Demand a lawyer. It will likely result in you being held until you can be brought to court and given a lawyer and a bail hearing. But the pain of even a weekend in jail is FAR outweighed by the pain of years in prison if they convict you using your own words against you. /3

D_J_Nathanson,
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

I’ve given know-your-rights presentations to lots of black and brown teens. About half my adult clients are people of color. I listen when they tell me that my description of what the law says doesn’t match the real world. It makes them pretty angry. They should be able to invoke their Miranda rights and not endanger themselves.

In those presentations, we talk it through. Here are some of the basic rules we’ve settled on.
/2

D_J_Nathanson, to Law
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Important decision from MA Supreme Judicial Court regarding "black box" algorithm digital forensics. The prosecution tried to use iPhone "frequent location history" evidence against the defendant to prove his presence at the scene. The SJC excluded the evidence as unreliable because the prosecution could not prove the methodology was reliable or testable.

If prosecutors want to use algorithmic evidence against defendants, they should have to disclose source code.
https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2024/02/20/m13499.pdf

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

WHATEVER YOUR AWESOME EXPLANATION FOR THE COPS IS, IT CAN WAIT UNTIL AFTER YOU TALK TO A LAWYER! (Who will listen to you and then tell you to STFU.)

Pedro Pascal in The Last of Us making the Ssh signal with his finger over his mouth. He’s in a dark room and his face is lit from below. Spooky!

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

Your periodic reminder that if you have "streaming fatigue" and are switching to more DVDs, your local public library is the place to go, not Walmart.

Do what I do: place a hold for a DVD using my library's website, they pull it, send me an email when it's ready, and I go pick it up. I'm often in & out in 2-3 minutes.

And wonder of wonders, they will get things for you on interlibrary loan! Obscure things from libraries across your state!

And less plastic waste!

https://mastodon.social/@verge/111998415856451435

D_J_Nathanson,
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

Also, keep in mind that the more you use your public library the better it will be! The higher their circulation statistics are, the more they can justify their budget requests to local government. Help them help you!

Use your public library frequently!

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

Whenever someone says "Threads" my brain doesn't go to the app. It goes to the terrifying BBC film about nuclear war (much better than The Day After which played on TV in the USA).
https://youtu.be/vgT4Y30DkaA?feature=shared

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

If you want to testify at trial, you will wish you had STFU.

If you testify but you spoke to the police, even a tiny inconsistency or omission will be used as evidence that you are lying. /1

David from Schitt's Creek making a pained face, shaking his head and saying, "You've never said that before."

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

Cops are only REQUIRED to give you Miranda warnings if you are “in custody.” “Not free to go” is an oversimplification.

Remember you can always invoke your rights even when you aren’t in custody.🧵

Joey from the TV show Friends banging the kitchen table and yelling, "I WANNA GOOOOOOOOO"

D_J_Nathanson,
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

As with every 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

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

Cops are allowed to lie to you to get you to talk. "You're not in trouble." "Off the record." "We have evidence that it was you." "Someone already told us it was you." STFU. Ask for a lawyer.

Will Ferrel from Elf in an elf costume saying, "You sit on a throne of lies."

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

CDC says you can skip the seatbelts if you think you’re a pretty safe driver.

D_J_Nathanson, to ai
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

I am in a position to comment/influence rule making on the use of in the creation of legal briefs and motions in Massachusetts. Who should I be talking to in order to make sure that I approach this with informed skepticism?

I am concerned that the legal tech industry will be a disproportionately large voice in the discussion. I want to be able to push back.

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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

  • I am not interested in 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 speak to a lawyer.

Resisting is hard. You may feel you have nothing to hide or you just want them to go away. Even if you start answering questions, remember you can change your mind at any time.

Kenan Thompson from Saturday Night Live in a suit and tie pointing and saying, "I'm gonna stop you right there."

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

I'm in the middle of preparation for an important case next week, so no long thread this week. But it isn't complicated. Say it with me now: /1

Jeremy Renner saying, "I would like an attorney."

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It's all connected.🧵

93 years ago tomorrow, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were arrested on suspicion of murder of a white man and rape of a white woman. They were lynched less than 24 hours later by a mob in Marion, Indiana. A third arrestee, 16 year old James Cameron, narrowly escaped death. He went on to found and lead multiple NAACP chapters, he led Indiana's state civil liberties agency, wrote voluminously, and founded America's Black Holocaust Museum.

You know this incident because...

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

Say you actually get arrested. What about those "standard" booking questions? Like "what is your occupation?" What if your occupation is "drug dealer?"/1

A gif of The Bobs from the movie Office Space saying "What would you say you do here?"

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

Last week, I wrote a little about demands for identification and @blogdiva asked about the US "100 mile border rule." Can immigration demand your papers? Good question. As always, it's complicated /1

A gif of a multi-racial group of goofy 70's young people taking stacks of paper off a desk and throwing them in the air.

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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

  • I am not interested in 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 speak to a lawyer.

Fun fact: anything that you tell the cops that damages you is admissible at trial. Anything you tell the cops that helps you is inadmissible as self-serving hearsay.

Han from Fast and Furious 6 smirking and saying "Can you please stop talking?"

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

It’s !

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 speak to a lawyer.

Invoking Miranda can't be used to prove guilt.

But some truly despicable DAs once thought this shouldn't apply to mentally ill people. "Invoking Miranda shows you're sane!"

I'm not making this up. /1

A GIF of James Herriot from All Creatures Great & Small saying, "You're a terrible human being."

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

Here’s an #AltText question that I vacillate on: what about colors? Obviously some blind people were previously sighted and so including colors in alt text is helpful to them. What about people who were never sighted? What makes for good description for those people when we’re trying to convey the variation and definition that color brings? Should we just use regular color terms because people know how to navigate those terms, or is there some different emphasis that would be helpful?

D_J_Nathanson, to random
@D_J_Nathanson@mastodon.social avatar

What unnecessary plastic packaging drives you crazy?

I'll start with something I noticed this morning. Cereal used to come in waxed paper bags inside the box, not plastic. It was fine. This was the 70s, maybe even the 80s.

This post about extended producer responsibility legislation for plastics got me thinking about it.
https://mastodon.social/

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