Should You Talk to the Police in Michigan?

The call, the knock or the stop

A detective leaves a voicemail asking you to "come in and clear something up." Two officers are at your door asking about last weekend. You are standing at the side of US-131 while an officer asks how much you had to drink. In each case you have seconds to decide what to say, and most people have never thought about it.

This page is general information about Michigan and federal law on talking to police. It is not advice about your situation, and nothing here suggests lying, hiding anything or resisting. Talk to a lawyer about your own case; a lawyer who knows your facts can tell you what fits it. The site’s page on what to do when you are arrested gives the office’s short list; this page is the sourced version.

What the law gives you

The Fifth Amendment says no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." In Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court turned that into four warnings police must give before questioning someone in custody: you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you, you have the right to a lawyer, and one will be appointed if you cannot afford one. If you indicate at any time that you want to remain silent, the interrogation must stop.

Two limits matter. First, the warnings are required for custodial interrogation, not every conversation. Miranda itself says general on-the-scene questioning is not affected, and Berkemer v. McCarty held that roadside questioning during a routine traffic stop is not custodial interrogation, while also holding that once a person is in custody the warnings apply no matter how minor the offense. A detective’s phone call, a chat at your door and the first questions at a traffic stop are usually not custody, and what you say is usable.

Second, the right has to be invoked clearly. In Berghuis v. Thompkins, a case from Southfield, Michigan, the Supreme Court held that a suspect who sat mostly silent for almost three hours had not invoked the right, and that answering a question afterward was an implied waiver. Michigan’s own statute on statements to police, MCL 750.479c(4), confirms that nothing in it stops you from invoking the Fifth Amendment or article 1, section 17 of the Michigan Constitution, or from declining to speak with an officer about the investigation.

What you must do

Silence is a right. Non-compliance is not. The lines Michigan law draws:

• Show your license when driving. MCL 257.311 requires a driver to have the license in immediate possession and to display it on demand of a police officer who identifies himself or herself.
• Follow lawful commands and do not resist. Assaulting, resisting or obstructing an officer the person knows is performing duties is a felony punishable by up to 2 years under MCL 750.81d(1), and "obstruct" includes a knowing failure to comply with a lawful command, MCL 750.81d(7)(a). Step out of the car if told to. Keep your hands visible. Declining to answer questions is not obstruction; refusing an order can be.
• Do not lie or hide facts. Once an officer tells you a criminal investigation is under way, knowingly making a false or misleading statement about a material fact is a crime under MCL 750.479c(1). The maximum depends on the crime being investigated, from up to 93 days for a serious misdemeanor investigation to up to 4 years for the most serious felonies under MCL 750.479c(2). Saying nothing is lawful. Saying something false is not.
• Do not touch, hide or delete anything. Evidence questions are for a lawyer and a court, not for the moment at the door.

What you may decline

Everything outside that short list is a choice, and the law protects the choice.

• Questions about the investigation. You may say you are not answering questions and want a lawyer. MCL 750.479c(4) says declining to speak is not a violation, and under Miranda a clear request ends custodial questioning.
• A "voluntary" interview at the station. You are not required to go. If you are not in custody the warnings may never be read, and what you say is still evidence. A lawyer can decide whether an interview should happen at all, and can attend if it does.
• Consent to a search. Under Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, a search you agree to is an exception to the warrant and probable cause requirements, consent only has to be voluntary, and the state does not have to prove you knew you could say no. So say it: "I do not consent to a search." If officers search anyway, do not interfere; a court sorts that out later. The site’s post on not consenting to drug searches covers the same ground.
• Explaining your side on the spot. The time and place for your account is with your lawyer, and later, if ever, in a setting your lawyer chose.

The words that work

Courts look for an unambiguous statement, so hints and hedges may not count. Berghuis v. Thompkins means staying quiet is not, by itself, an invocation. Four sentences do the job, said calmly and repeated as needed:

"I am not answering questions." "I want a lawyer." "I do not consent to a search." "Am I free to go?" If the answer to the last one is yes, leave. If it is no, you are being detained, and the first two sentences become more important, not less.

Tone matters as much as content. Hand over the license. Keep your voice level. Do not argue the facts, do not explain, and do not try to talk your way out; a recording of that attempt can become evidence in the case. For how this plays out in specific cases, see talking to police in a domestic violence investigation and Miranda warnings and OWI stops.

What to do next

If police have already asked to talk and you have not answered, call a lawyer before you call them back. If you already gave a statement, write down what you remember saying and tell your lawyer; what was said, and whether you were in custody when you said it, decides whether a court ever hears it. If you were arrested, the sibling guides on the first 48 hours after an arrest and what happens after an arrest pick up from here, and questions to ask a criminal defense lawyer helps with the first call.

A lawyer matters most before a statement, not after one. The office of Attorney Shawn Haff, a Michigan criminal defense practice with offices in Wyoming and Grand Rapids, offers a free consultation at 616-438-6719, answered 24 hours a day; the contact page has the details. If an officer is waiting for your answer right now, the lawful answer is still the short one: you want a lawyer, and you are not answering questions.