This is not quite correct.Originally Posted by CunningLinguist
You don't lose the right to remain silent, if a lawyer is there or not.
What changes is that if a lawyer shows up, the cops can tell you that if you don't say something right then and you later use at that at the trial to attempt to defend yourself, the Government/Prosecutor can tell a jury at an eventual trial that they are allowed to make a negative view of your failure to tell the cops in their interviews about whatever it was. In effect they get to tell the Jury that you're guilty until proven innocent than the other way around.
If your lawyer doesn't show up, then the cops can't do that and you can simply shut up and later on you can tell the cops or not, and then use it in a trial without the punishment of the Prosecutor telling the jury that you're an evil bad man for not telling the cops straight away about your defence.
The result is that lawyers no longer show up at the cop shop, and instead you wait until the cops release you to talk to the lawyer.
Another related law is that the Government changed so that you have to tell the cops any alibi you've given them over a month before the trial starts. Which means the cops can spend a month and a half picking things apart to make you look bad at the trial when you would otherwise have your lawyer show up at the trial and the first thing out of his mouth was "my client was at x location at x time, he is innocent".
At the end of the day, no matter what the cops say, if you're hauled into an interview room or worse, charged, then SHUT THE FUCK UP until they release you, then let a lawyer deal with everything. Cops do not give a shit about the truth of what you tell them once they target you, all they care about is putting you in prison.
Nothing you can say in an interview will help you avoid prison but anything you do say may end up putting you in one.
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