Criminal Law
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1.  Don’t try to convince the officer of your innocence.  He could care less.  If you feel that urge to convince him he’s made a mistake, remember the overwhelming probability that instead you will say at least one thing that will hurt your case, perhaps even fatally. Let your attorney handle your defense.

2.  Don’t run. It’s highly unlikely you will actually get away.  Further, you open yourself up to more charges and the possibility of being injured in the chase.
3.  Keep quiet.  Do not give the police a statement—immediately ask to speak with an attorney. 
4.  Don’t give permission to search anywhere. If the police ask, it probably means they don’t believe they have the right to search and need your consent.  If you give the police permission to search you will not be able to challenge the search at a later time.
5.  If the police are searching your car or home, don’t look at the places you wish they wouldn’t search. Don’t react to the search at all, and especially not to questions like “Who does this belong to?”
6.  Don’t resist arrest. Above all, do not push the police or try to swat their hands away. That could be considered assaulting an officer and any slight injury to them will more than likely turn your minor misdemeanor arrest into a felony.
8.  Do not believe what the police tell you in order to get you to talk. The law permits them to lie to a suspect in order to get him to make admissions.  They will tell you that if you give a statement they will go easy on you, they will tell you that your friends have just given a statement that says “you did it,” don’t believe any of this, don’t be fooled into giving a statement.
9.  If at home, do not invite the police inside, nor should you “step outside”. If the police believe you have committed a felony, they usually need an arrest warrant to go into your home to arrest you. If they ask you to “step outside”, you will have solved that problem for them. The correct responses are: “I am comfortable talking right here.”, “No, you may not come in.”, or “Do you have a warrant to enter or to arrest me in my home?”
10.  If you are arrested outside your home, do not accept any offers to let you go inside to get dressed, change, get a jacket, call your wife, or any other reason. The police will of course escort you inside and then search everywhere they please, again without a warrant. Likewise decline offers to secure your car safely.

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