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Police often give the line, "It'll go better for you if you just tell me the truth now" or "You'll get a better deal if we don't get lawyers involved". This often spooks people into cooperating without lawyers and they end up taking the first deal they get. I'd like see some real legal experts weigh in on the legality of these pre-lawyer offers.

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Not an expert but think it through (for US law): only prosecutors have the discretion to decide whether to bring charges and the severity of the charges they will bring. A LEO who says to you that they'll get you a better deal if you talk now is lying to you - which not only are they allowed to do, it's in their training to do so (specifically, investigators are trained to tell you what you need to hear to get you to cooperate). They don't have the authority to waive the rights and privileges of the prosecutor's discretion.

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