National Public Radio has highlighted a disturbing trend – that of indebted consumers being thrown into jail. Although “debtors’ prisons” are illegal, NPR notes that some debt collectors are exploiting a workaround. Collection agencies are filing lawsuits against consumers in record numbers, and if a consumer doesn’t show up to defend himself or herself in court, a judge may issue a warrant for the consumer’s arrest. Then, on a routine traffic stop, for example, the consumer will be arrested. This is problematic on a number of levels. The bad actors in the debt collection industry – often those associated with debt buyers – file massive numbers of lawsuits and don’t notify consumers that they’ve been sued. Either they engage in “gutter service,” whereby process servers dump the court documents without ever actually delivering them to consumers, or they don’t have a correct address for the consumer. Either way, the consumer never knows that he or she is being sued. According to the NPR report, judges may also misunderstand the law, and intimidate consumers into entering into a payment agreement with a creditor, or turning bail money over to the debt collection agency.
Don’t Talk During a Traffic Stop
Thank you to Andrew Flusche for sharing this important information.
If you’ve ever watched Law & Order, you know the rights that are read to people when they’re arrested: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Why do people always sing like a canary during a traffic stop?
I think there are basically two things that confuse people:
1. The officer doesn’t have to tell you that you can remain silent during a traffic stop. But you always have that right!
2. People are trying to be helpful, thinking the officer might just give them a warning. More often than not, the officer is actually trying to get you to admit to whatever he thinks you did.
Here’s what might happen during a typical traffic stop:
Officer Bob stops you for speeding. He comes to the window and asks for your license and registration. You provide them.
Officer Bob says, “I smell alcohol. Have you been drinking?”
You say, “Yes, but I only had two beers a while ago.”
Officer Bob then asks you to step out of your car to perform field sobriety tests (FSTs). You do it and perform poorly.
Officer Bob then runs your driver’s license and sees that it’s suspended. He asks you, “Did you know your license was suspended?”
You answer, “Yes.”
Now you are arrested for DUI, driving on a suspended license, and speeding. You’ve given Officer Bob most of the evidence he needs to support the arrest and convict you at trial.
What did you do wrong? You talked to the police!
Let’s look at an alternate version of the stop:
Officer Joe stops you for speeding. He asks for your license and registration. You provide them.
Officer Joe asks, “Have you been drinking?”
You answer, “I understand you are doing your job sir, but I do not want to answer any questions without an attorney present.”
Officer Joe asks you to perform field sobriety tests. You say, “I do not want to do that without consulting with an attorney.”
Officer Joe then runs your license and sees your suspension. He asks if you knew about it. You respond, “I do not want to answer any questions without an attorney present.”
At this point, what evidence does Officer Joe have against you? He can probably prove you were speeding. But he most likely doesn’t have probable cause to arrest you for DUI. And he can’t prove that you knew your license was suspended (a critical element to that charge).
You’ve been polite with him, but you asserted your right to remain silent. You’ve protected yourself. Good work!
Andrew Flusche is a traffic defense attorney who helps his clients fight charges like reckless driving and DUI.
Sergei Lemberg
