[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/police-deception-in-interrogations\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/police-deception-in-interrogations\/","headline":"Police Deception in Interrogations","name":"Police Deception in Interrogations","description":"Attorney David Stegall blogs about what happens if someone is arrested and the rights that they have. He talks about a specific case, State v. Lemoine and what happened during that interrogation. He talks about police coercion and what you should do and shouldn’t do if you are ever in this type of a situation. […]","datePublished":"2013-12-15","dateModified":"2026-01-13","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/briane-pagel\/#Person","name":"Briane Pagel","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/briane-pagel\/","identifier":29,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef237bf76f8939a4550b2f672b542659ac99ac598d97e10a760eb25488c45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef237bf76f8939a4550b2f672b542659ac99ac598d97e10a760eb25488c45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"LawtonCates, S.C.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png","width":438,"height":73}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lawton-cates-attorneys.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lawton-cates-attorneys.jpg","width":694,"height":550},"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/police-deception-in-interrogations\/","about":["Americans' Rights","Civil Justice"],"wordCount":982,"articleBody":"Attorney David Stegall blogs about what happens if someone is arrested and the rights that they have. He talks about a specific case, State v. Lemoine and what happened during that interrogation. He talks about police coercion and what you should do and shouldn’t do if you are ever in this type of a situation.Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?Everyday across our state someone is arrested or charged with a crime.\u00a0Shortly after arrest, the police typically read the suspect his or her\u00a0Miranda\u00a0rights.\u00a0Most people have at least some familiarity of the\u00a0Miranda rights (i.e. the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, etc.) Seemingly, the Miranda rights provide a person with all the protection he or she would need to intelligently decide whether to respond to police questioning.\u00a0However, what happens if the police tell lies to the suspect in an attempt to uncover the truth?\u00a0What happens if the police use deception or exaggerate the evidence against the suspect?\u00a0Can the police really employ these types of deceptive practices during an interrogation?\u00a0The short answer is yes, the use of police deception during custodial interrogations is perfectly legal.Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided\u00a0State v. Lemoine, which provides an overview of the amount of latitude that the police have when questioning a suspect.\u00a0The facts of the case are grim.\u00a0Mr. Lemoine, who was 22 years old, molested his friend\u2019s five year old daughter in the back yard of her home. After the assault, the young girl told her mother what happened.\u00a0Unsurprisingly, the mom contacted the police and the investigation immediately focused upon Mr. Lemoine.\u00a0A short time after the assault, a police officer called Mr. Lemoine and \u201cinvited\u201d him down to the police station so he could make a statement and \u201cexplain his side of the story.\u201d\u00a0Mr. Lemoine went to the police station and initially denied any knowledge of the assault.\u00a0He accused the girl of lying.The police did not believe Mr. Lemoine.\u00a0 The officers wanted Mr. Lemoine to confess to his crime so they engaged in several ploys designed to entice him to confess.\u00a0First, the detective promised not to put Mr. Lemoine in jail in exchange for the \u201ctrue story.\u201d\u00a0 Second, the detective stated that if Mr. Lemoine told \u201cthe truth\u201d that the detective would keep the case out of the newspapers and the \u201cpublic forum.\u201d\u00a0 Third, the detective implied that if Mr. Lemoine did not tell the truth he would be unable to make any calls while he was in jail, strongly implying a restriction on Mr. Lemoine contacting an attorney. Fourth, the detective exaggerated the evidence the police had against Mr. Lemoine and suggested that they had scientific evidence that demonstrated his guilt.\u00a0Finally, the detective failed to advise Mr. Lemoine of his\u00a0Miranda\u00a0rights.Shortly after the use of these deceptive and coercive measures Mr. Lemoine confessed.\u00a0He was officially charged with sexual assault a short time later and demanded a trial. Prior to trial, Mr. Lemoine asked the judge to rule that the government could not use his confession against him because his statements were involuntary, coerced by the police deception, and thus inadmissible.\u00a0The judge denied the motion and Mr. Lemoine was convicted. On appeal, Mr. Lemoine renewed his argument that his statements were involuntarily because of the police deception.\u00a0The Wisconsin Supreme Court overwhelming rejected his argument (only Chief Justice Abrahamson dissented and agreed that Mr. Lemoine\u2019s statement was involuntary).The legal nuances of Mr. Lemoine\u2019s case are not the focus here.\u00a0In fact, the opinion does not break any new legal ground.\u00a0As Justice Crooks wrote, \u201cusing deception in an interrogation is common and generally accepted.\u201d\u00a0Rather, I think the opinion highlights two broader points that have more practical significance.\u00a0First, the police have wide latitude when interrogating a suspect and can use deception in order to obtain a confession.\u00a0For example, the police can lie to a suspect and claim to have a lot of evidence against that person when in fact they have almost none at all similar to Mr. Lemoine\u2019s case.\u00a0Similarly, the police often will suggest that a witness or an accomplice already made incriminating statements against the suspect hoping that the suspect will want to share \u201chis side of the story.\u201d\u00a0The use of this type of deception is powerful and will likely convince a suspect that all hope is lost and he or she would be better off by confessing.Second, Mr. Lemoine\u2019s case demonstrates the importance of asserting the right to consult with an attorney prior to speaking with the police.\u00a0Similar to Mr. Lemoine, most people are simply ill prepared to handle a police interrogation.\u00a0The situation is naturally coercive.\u00a0The suspect will be isolated in an \u201cinterview room\u201d and perhaps handcuffed.\u00a0The officer asking the hard questions will very likely be a trained and professional interrogator. Most people are simply unaware of the legal nuances surrounding the\u00a0Miranda\u00a0rights and what the police can and cannot do during an interrogation.\u00a0For these reasons alone, invoking the right to an attorney when confronted with police interrogation is always a smart move. The failure to do so could have drastic consequences for the suspect as this case illustrates.\u00a0A confession is the strongest piece of evidence in a criminal trial and virtually ensures that the suspect will be convicted of a crime.Finally, an important point to remember is that while the police can lawfully use deception during an interview the opposite is not true. In fact, if a suspect lies to the police during the interrogation he or she could be charged with a crime for obstructing a police investigation.\u00a0Thus, if you find yourself at the center of a police investigation it is important to consult with our\u00a0Madison attorneys\u00a0before speaking with the police."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Police Deception in Interrogations","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/police-deception-in-interrogations\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]