Review of "You Have the Right to Remain Innocent"

In a republic, the State exists to serve the citizenry, but that is no longer what we have nowadays. Lie to law enforcement agents -- who are mere costumed employees of the State in which we are stakeholders -- and you'll be hauled to the pokey for perjury, if nothing else. Law enforcement agents, in turn, can lie and otherwise deceive you, and courts reward them with convictions, even if material evidence procured by your deceit proved dispositive.

This disparity is the topic of the book, You Have the Right to Remain Innocent (2016), by James Duane, Esq. This page-turner traces the obliteration of the rights against search and seizure, self-incrimination and the right to counsel as enshrined in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments, respectively. Case by case, Counselor Duane documents the descent of the jurisprudence from the high-points of constitutional protection such as Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), to the murky depths of what we have now, like the infamously absurd "lawyer dog" case of State v. Demesme (La. 2017).

The book is written for the lay public, so you need not be a legal professional to appreciate it. Counselor Duane painstakingly digests the concepts so that the widest public possible can understand them, and it is fervently hoped that the public implements these concepts when dealing with law enforcement, if such need arises (hopefully never). On Facebook and YouTube, channels like LackLuster compile so many police encounters which escalate tragically. These encounters would have resolved more favorably for the citizens involved had they followed the pointers offered in this book.

Someday Courts will resoundingly reject testimony and evidence procured by deceit, as it is unconscionable that we citizens can be penalized for dishonesty whilst our employees are rewarded for it. Until that day, every household should stock a copy of You Have the Right to Remain Innocent and read it often!

Originally published August 4th, 2023, on Facebook.