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Parent is likely talking about the scenario at 3:40 of this video (“Don’t talk to the police” lecture)

https://youtu.be/d-7o9xYp7eE



I think time 8:40 of that "Don't Talk to the Police" video is a closer fit to geoduck14's comment.

> It cannot help you. You can't talk your way out of getting arrested, and contrary to what you might suppose if you never studied the Rules of Evidence, what you tell the police - even if it's exculpatory - cannot be used to help you at trial, because it's what we call hearsay. Under the rules of evidence - specifically Rule 801(d)(2)(A), if you want to look it up - everything you tell the police, as the saying goes, can and will be used against you but it cannot be used for you.

Professor James Duane, the speaker, refers to Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 801. Definitions That Apply to This Article; Exclusions from Hearsay [1]. My layperson understanding of 801(c) and 801(d)(2)(A) is: if you are the defendant, what you told the police prior to a trial is not hearsay when during the trial the prosecution (of their own volition) tells the court your words as evidence but is hearsay when during the trial you ask the prosecution to tell the court your words as evidence.

You have a First Amendment right to record the police, whether you're involved in a police interaction or you're a bystander [2]. If the police make you stop recording, try to make you delete the recording, or try to forcefully stop/delete/damage the recording/device, you sue them after the interaction is completely over. But regardless, beyond pleading the 5th Amendment, do not talk to the police at all, especially but not exclusively outside of a trial. You talk to your defense attorney, and your attorney handles the talking with everyone else. You can ask your attorney to admit your recording as evidence.

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_801

[2] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/06/you-have-first-amendme...

Extra notes for personal reference. The first speaker in the "Don't Talk to the Police" video is Professor James Joseph Duane of the Regent University School of Law [E1]. The second speaker is Officer George Bruch of the Virginia Beach Police Department (time 26:51 of the video [E2]).

[E1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Duane_(professor)

[E2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE




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