Criminal Minds

At mass on Sunday, the homily was about a cop who almost became corrupt because he was frustrated with the inadequacies of the system. Yestesrday, I read an article about Roy Lindley Devecchio, a former undercover FBI agent being investigated for selling secrets to the mob.

Why do the law enforcers turn into the law breakers? In addition to frustration, I bet it is also because they think they know the system so well that they can beat it.

When you study criminal procedure in your second year of law school, you learn your rights and how to protect those rights in ways that the average person does not. It's somewhat empowering, because you feel like less people can take advantage of you.

However, you can also learn all the ways to avoid getting caught and get out of crimes. The same is true when I learned tax law (my professor said that tax lawyers are often the biggest tax evaders, not surprisingly.)

Before I go to sleep before another day of studying, I leave you with a a few life lessons from criminal procedure*...

• Don't ride in cars with people who engage in criminal activity. Besides the obvious reasons, you also have no expectation of privacy so the police could try to pin you to any evidence in the car and you cannot contest it.
• Always ask for your lawyer. Clearly.
  
• Don't consent to searches. Never turns out good.
  
• You have more privacy from the police in the trunk of your car than in the passenger compartment.
  
• If you're hiding from police, you have more privacy in your own home than in your friend's home.
  
• Don't put incriminating things into the trash, and then put your trash on the sidewalk.
  
• Don't run from the police.
  

*This is not legal advice of course. And I of course would never condone or help you cover up any illegal activity. Bad for my political career.