# lying to the cops?



## sharks77 (Mar 6, 2009)

sorry if there's a thread like this already one here, i couldn't find one.


anyways i was wondering what happens to you if you lie to the cops and get caught. like giving them false information like a fake name, telling them you're younger/older than you really are, etc, and then get caught. how much more trouble do you get into? is just lying to the cops even if you haven't done something wrong enough to get you sent to jail?


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## Nym (Mar 6, 2009)

if you lie to a cop
you get to go to jail get booked
and then get a court date!
at court they fine you and give you informal court probation and maybe community service!
ive been caught twice for lying to them about my name.


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## IBRRHOBO (Mar 6, 2009)

Yup, two different charges depending on the jurisdiction: 1) obstruction of justice; and/or 2) willful deception of a state official (runs under half a dozen different names and can include the unbeatable charge of conspiracy). Both can be felony or misdemeanor charges. Sage advice: unless ur on the lam (and then it wouldn't matter anywayz) don't fuck up and try it.


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## sharks77 (Mar 6, 2009)

so you tell them straight up you're hopping trains and they just let you go?


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## Nym (Mar 6, 2009)

aaaa...no
not always
i use the excuse"im collecting cans"
sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt.....

depends on the yard and the workers...
most of the time i hide or run like hell.


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## NickCofphee (Mar 6, 2009)

I've lied to cops before. Not with my name, but that I'd been arrested. No charge. But he drove back 10 miles the opposite direction I was going, dumped my things out and said "Stay off the highway." I was hitchhiking at the time.

Lying about your name is a little more serious IF you are caught. A friend of mine traveled with a felony warrant and gave a fake name left and right with no problem.

All this said, you shouldn't HAVE to be put into a situation where you'd lie to a cop in the first place. Don't say anything to cops. It sounds too easy, it sounds like a cop will force you to say something or it'll be worse, you'll go to jail, etc. I'm finally off probation and have quit cooperating with cops. DONT. A cop doesn't need to know where you're coming from, what you're doing, if you have drugs on you. Don't lie, just don't say anything. Give her your ID and that's it. You're in a hurry, tight schedule. Sorry officer!


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## Nym (Mar 6, 2009)

NickCofphee said:


> DONT. A cop doesn't need to know where you're coming from, what you're doing, if you have drugs on you. Don't lie, just don't say anything. Give her your ID and that's it. You're in a hurry, tight schedule. Sorry officer!




i agree with NickCofphee...
fuck them, their just being nosey!

but some cops can be cool
i got pulled off a unit in sac town 
and the cop was so excited to see that hobos ARE real 
he just let us go and took the creepy drunk guy to jail.
two people in the group lied about names
and three lied about probation
sometimes you just get lucky....
but dont push your luck.
not telling the truth can make things worse
so instead, dont tell the whole truth.
say as little as you can and youll be fine!


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## IBRRHOBO (Mar 6, 2009)

Ah, I so wish I lived in the world I keep hearing about. Hmnn, I think I'll just keep my mouth shut and collect the post points!


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## veggieguy12 (Mar 6, 2009)

IBRRHOBO said:


> ...the unbeatable charge of conspiracy).



My understanding is that conspiracy charges require three persons to be valid - no?
If you're going solo and lie to a police, if they find out they might want to dump all the lil' petty charges they can apply on you, just to be spiteful, but I don't know if "conspiracy to ____" (for anything) would be one of those charges.
The obvious defense would be, "Your Honor, with whom am I to have conspired?"

Anyway, I gotta take a page from NickCofphee: if you _can_ give your real name, do just that, then politely apologize for not having more answers to their questions.

I think the most important things to remember are that cops can arrest you at any time, for any thing - they can always just let you go when they have no evidence or case to press.
But this doesn't mean anyone should be worried or scared of them, but rather make you keep a cool head and stay smart. Cooperating to some degree may make them leave you alone; usually they just want to bully you and get you to be afraid and in these situations, cooperating will not benefit you.

Giving false info may fly if they're not checking too hard, but if you don't need to dodge a name-check, then it's probably not worth the risk of them flagging your fake name as a fake and coming back on you pressing harder or just directly arresting you.

Why is it you're talking to them, have you done anything to warrant them lawfully impeding your movement, or are you just willfully, freely giving them the pleasure of your time?


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## sharks77 (Mar 6, 2009)

veggieguy12 said:


> Why is it you're talking to them, have you done anything to warrant them lawfully impeding your movement, or are you just willfully, freely giving them the pleasure of your time?



neither, just wondering. in case the situation ever arose

thanks for everyones input though


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## IBRRHOBO (Mar 6, 2009)

veggieguy12 said:


> My understanding is that conspiracy charges require three persons to be valid - no?
> If you're going solo and lie to a police, if they find out they might want to dump all the lil' petty charges they can apply on you, just to be spiteful, but I don't know if "conspiracy to ____" (for anything) would be one of those charges.
> The obvious defense would be, "Your Honor, with whom am I to have conspired?"
> 
> ...


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## stove (Mar 6, 2009)

Picked this up off the Cornell's lawschool 'net:

"If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor."

Conspiracy DOES require at least two people (So you can't get hit with the charge unless you are schizo..). This is the definition for the US CODE (ie federal law). Each state, county, town, city, etc has it's own code, and CAN change the definition. For Example, the latter provision (charges for misdemeanor cannot exceed misdemeanor reprecussions) is not true in Mass.

Beyond that, I tend to agree with everyone else. Kinda like stealing, don't lie unless you have to. The less the cop susects, the better.


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