Originally Posted by driftrider

Oh, and one other thing... just FYI. There is absolutely NO law prohibiting the cops from lying to you about the scope or methods of their investigation. They probably told your friend, or whomever, that they tapped the phones to make him believe his goose was already cooked and had no good reason not to 'fess up. It's a common and completely legal interrogation tactic to deceive a suspect as such. That's why smart criminals, and smart non-criminals wrongfully accused, to NEVER TALK TO LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY! Never ever. If you are a suspect, you have the right to council. If you surrender that right, even to be cooperative, you either stupid or foolish. I guarantee you that if I ever have an official encounter with the law, guilty or not, I'm not letting them search a darn thing without a warrant, I'm not letting them in my house, I'm establishing right away if I'm a suspect or under arrest, and if so I'm not saying a word until I have spoken with and am represented by council. I've been on the back side of the badge and know that while most cops are good folks, they also know through training and experience how to manipulate a situation into their favor. When I was in LE (as an MP), we ALWAYS asked for permission to search whenever appropriate. Most criminals are too stupid to say no, and you never know what you might find. And with consent, EVERYTHING you find is admissible. I've never seen evidence found during a consent search thrown out.

Oh, and one last thing. To be perfectly clear. Refusal to grant a LEO consent to search does NOT, EVER, constitute probable cause to issue a warrant, nor is it EVER considered by a court to be evidence of guilt. You may think you have nothing to hide, but I, for one, will not surrender my 4th Amendment rights to the state just to appease the curiosity of a LEO.

Mike