Talking to Investigators or Command When Accused of Sexual Assault
Clients who have recently learned they are under military investigation frequently ask us whether they should explain their situation to their command or investigators right away. Every case is unique, so the decision on whether you make a statement early in your investigation should be made with the advice of an attorney.
The firm’s co-owner, Katie Cherkasky, has a strong following on YouTube and has created multiple videos discussing civil liberties, to include the right to remain silent.
What it Means to Remain Silent
We can tell you that you certainly have the right to remain silent, meaning you don’t need to talk to anyone about anything. Your silence cannot be used against you, meaning if you choose not to talk with the investigators, your command, or anyone else about your case, the fact that you chose to remain silent is in no way an indication of guilt. On the other hand, if you choose to waive your rights and speak with investigators or your command, what you say can and certainly will be used against you—something you hear in police shows and lawyer shows all the time. The decision of whether you want to talk about the allegations, therefore, is one that you need to make when you’re closely consulting with an attorney and have an understanding of all of the facts in your particular case.
One thing that we can tell clients and potential clients is this: based upon your current situation and the fact that you may have just recently learned of an investigation, it is very unlikely that you know the exact nature of the allegations against you. And it is very unlikely that you know the exact nature of the evidence against you. As much as you might believe that you know what’s going on and who’s saying what, the truth is that you don’t know any of that, and your command or military investigators may have different information than you do. They may have more information than you do, or they may have less information than you do.
In the early stages of an investigation, if you decide to go to investigators or to command and talk about what happened, one thing you need to know is that you might be giving them more information than they already have, which would be very bad for you as it might open up different avenues of investigation. You also might be giving them different information than they already have, which also might create some problems for you. They might perceive you as giving them a false statement or providing incorrect information about the allegation.
It bears repeating: staying silent cannot be used against you, and you can’t speak intelligently about your case and the allegations against you unless you know the evidence the commander or the investigators have.
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