Everbody lies: FBI edition
popehat.com
popehat.com
The irony of these lawyerly advice posts is that people who nod their heads in agreement are willing to admit that they're incapable of keeping their mouth shut without a lawyer, yet still internalize the cynical belief that people (politicians, defendants, etc) who respond "I don't recall" while giving testimony are hiding something.
If people knew how to be actually truthful, saying "I don't recall" or "as best I recall" or otherwise admitting your own fallibility by qualifying your answers to pointed questions would come naturally, without needing a lawyer by your side. Not qualifying your answers to pointed questions would be reserved for carefully considered strategic moments, i.e. when you're trying to sell something to somebody, leading a team through a critical juncture, or talking to your spouse.
Now, admitting to a crime while not realizing you've committed a crime is another matter entirely. But morally speaking, it's still the right thing to do, probably just not in the best interest of your family, let alone yourself. If we were all honest about that we'd spend more time rewarding politicians who refused to create more crimes and less time talking about how stupid people are for talking to the police.[1]
[1] See, e.g, http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-me-pc-gov-brown-vetoes-bi...
"Each of these bills creates a new crime -- usually by
finding a novel way to characterize and criminalize conduct
that is already proscribed," [Governor] Brown wrote. "This
multiplication and particularization of criminal behavior
creates increasing complexity without commensurate benefit."
...
Earlier this year, Brown vetoed bills that would have added
three new misdemeanors, including vandalism of a redwood
burl, to the book, also noting the voluminous number of
crime laws already that already exist.