Tiger Woods
The apparent fall from grace–or at least tarnishing–of the world’s best professional golfer has raised a lot of questions. What happened? Why did he do it? Why did he wait?
A question we’ve heard a lot is: “Why did he get special treatment from the police? If I were in a crash, I couldn’t just refuse to talk. They’d arrest me. They only let him get away with it because he is rich and famous.”
It’s not an uncommon thought, though it is far from reality. Tiger wasn’t treated differently from you. He wasn’t given special treatment. (At least, not from what we’ve read.) The reason he didn’t have to the police is simple: No one has to speak to the police.
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times on TV, or in the movies. Whenever someone is read their rights, what’s the first thing that is said? “You have the right to remain silent.”
The right to remain silent. It’s not a privelage granted to a select few. It’s everyone’s right. If you don’t want to speak to the police, that is your right. (Remember the JonBenet Ramsey case? The parents of JonBenet were very careful about speaking to investigators. They only spoke to them when they chose to.)
All too often, the ordinary person doesn’t understand their rights. Mr. Woods either understood this or–more likely–had people around him telling him exactly what he could, and should, do. But the right to remain silent is something everyone is entitled to. The police, or any other agent of the state, can’t compel you to talk if you choose not to.
(Photo courtesy Keith Allison’s flickr page.)
