Understanding the “Right to Remain Silent” in Fort Lauderdale

Whenever Fort Lauderdale police question you in connection with a criminal investigation, you have the right to remain silent. The police must advise you of this right before conducting a custodial interrogation. But you always have the right to refuse to answer questions even in non-custodial settings.

Florida Man Receives 15-Year Sentence After Volunteering DNA Sample in Sexual Battery Case

Indeed, many criminal defendants make the mistake of “cooperating” with police at first before trying to invoke their right to remain silent later. This can, and often does, backfire. Consider this recent decision from the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals.

In this case, Newman v. State, prosecutors charged the defendant with a sex offense, lewd or lascivious battery. The accuser was a 14-year-old girl who attended a pool party with her family at the defendant’s home. The accuser claimed that while using the defendant’s bathroom, he entered the room, kissed her, shoved her against the wall, and forced her to have sex. Later that night, the accuser told her family, and her father called the police.

Shortly thereafter, a local police detective went to the defendant’s house. The defendant invited the detective inside and answered several questions voluntarily. The defendant even allowed the detective to search the defendant’s bathroom.

The detective then asked the defendant if he would consent to giving a DNA sample for testing, to match a sample taken from the accuser’s rape kit. The defendant agreed and provided the sample.

At trial, the detective testified that the defendant “was hesitant at first” to give his DNA sample. The defense objected to this statement, arguing this was “an improper comment” by the detective on the defendant’s “right to remain silent.” The trial judge overruled the objection. The jury proceeded to convict the defendant of lewd or lascivious battery. The trial court imposed a sentence of 15 years in state prison.

On appeal, the defendant renewed his objection to the detective’s alleged “improper comment” and submitted it justified ordering a new trial. The Fifth District disagreed and affirmed the defendant’s conviction and sentence. The court noted there was no violation of the defendant’s constitutional right to remain silent because “he chose not to remain silent.” Indeed, the defendant not only invited the detective into his home and made several voluntary statements–he consented to the DNA sample. The detective’s comment that the defendant initially hesitates was therefore not, in the Court of Appeals’ view, a comment on the right to remain silent. To the contrary, “hesitating before speaking is not the same as staying quiet.”

Contact a Fort Lauderdale Sex Offense Lawyer Today

When the police show up at your front door to ask you questions about a possible rape, your best course of action is to say nothing. Do not answer any questions, and do not volunteer a DNA sample. If the police have probable cause, they can get a warrant to arrest you and conduct any testing.

The only person you should speak with is a qualified Fort Lauderdale sex offense lawyer. Call Haber | Blank LLP today at 954-767-0300 to schedule a consultation.

Source:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13569026018061312944