Some of you may be familiar with a popular Youtube video entitled “Don’t talk to police.” And by popular, I mean POPULAR; it’s had over 4 million views.
In that video a lawyer makes an energetic argument that you should never talk to the police under any circumstances, ever.
[UPDATE: In my own video I note that the lawyer making the “Don’t talk to police” case is never identified in that video. Today I was informed by a source who preferred to remain anonymous (even from me) that the speaker is Professor James Duane, of Regent University School of Law, in Virginia Beach, VA. Professor Duane’s faculty photo seems a match. 🙂
I feel obliged to point out that the Professor’s credentials certainly appear stellar, including having graduated from Harvard Law School, cum laude, and from Harvard College, magna cum laude. He also has many very interesting looking papers listed at the link above. Thanks to the anonymous source who has finally solved this mystery for me. 🙂 ]
It’s long been my position that this is excellent advice for actual criminals who have caught the attention of the police, but is less suited to those engaging in lawful self-defense.
I’ve finally found (made) the time to do a thorough walk-through of that video and explain point-by-point that while it may have general utility in the case of most police interactions, it is likely not the best approach in cases of self-defense.
Here’s the Law of Self Defense Institute Video Lecture; set aside some time, as it’s almost an hour long. (If you’d prefer to simply listen to it as a podcast, I’ve provided the necessary links.)
Podcast #009 (audio-only): iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Download
–-Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Andrew F. Branca is an MA lawyer and the author of the seminal book “The Law of Self Defense, 2nd Edition,” available at the Law of Self Defense blog (autographed copies available) and Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle). He also holds Law of Self Defense Seminars around the country, and provides free online self-defense law video lectures at the Law of Self Defense Institute and podcasts through iTunes, Stitcher, and elsewhere.
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