YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN INNOCENT (Little A, on sale 9/20) by James Duane is required reading for all Americans. In this short, passionate manifesto, Duane explains that the very laws written to protect us are the same ones that regularly put innocent men, women and children in prison for crimes they did not commit. In this book, you will learn how to protect your rights, your freedom and your future.

James Duane – the Law Professor who became a viral sensation when his lecture ‘Don’t Talk to Police’ was posted on YouTube in 2008 – vigorously defends every citizen’s constitutionally protected right to avoid self-incrimination. He argues: don’t talk to police. Ask for a lawyer. This is not only the best policy, but is what law enforcement professionals advise their own kids.

The more shocking news is that staying silent while talking to police is increasingly being viewed by our justice system as an admission of guilt. The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argued that silence is akin to the scenario, “if I ask my son whether he saw a movie I had forbidden him to watch, and he remains silent, the import of his silence is clear.” What’s more, law enforcement professionals are trained to entice you to share information with them – ‘I can help you,’ ‘just tell me what you saw,’ ‘I can protect you.’ We are lulled into thinking that our words can help free us from legal indictment – which is false and dangerous. As Duane argues, any information that you provide to law enforcement officials can be used against you and worse, can be misquoted or misconstrued in a court of law. Worse, a staggering percentage of DNA exonerations have occurred in cases where false confessions have been made after hours of intimidating interviews (an even higher percentage in juvenile cases).



YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN INNOCENT includes shocking examples of innocent men and women being thrown in jail for crimes they did not commit, because they tried to help police. Duane also pulls back the curtain on our current supreme court’s interpretation of the Fifth Amendment, and includes appellate rulings that reinforce the idea that the right to remain silent is being actively undermined.

A provocative and urgent argument that is required reading. Duane backs up his argument and gives prescriptive advice, the same advice that police give their children: don’t talk to police, ask for a lawyer.