> I still laugh when a suspect something smart assed and Danny says “shut up.” <
Speaking of which, I wonder if suspects are as stupid in real life as they are on that show.
Danny: You’d better talk.
Suspect: I don’t know anything.
Danny: It will go easier on you if you talk now.
Suspect’s lawyer nods.
Suspect: Yes, yes, I did it.
Seems pretty unrealistic to me. For example, no DA shows up to cut any kind of plea deal. But then again, I was never a police detective. So what do I know?
I’ll get back to you on this. I have to call someone I know who was a detective, and I’ll read your post to him.
He says that criminals are generally stupid, and that's why they get caught. Some are smarter than others, but the odds run out the longer they commit crimes.
He can't recall having a defense attorney present during an interview, but regardless of that, he would never tell a suspect that it would go easier if he confessed. Deals are made between the defense attorney and the deputy district attorney, not among the detective, the suspect, and the defense attorney.
The interviews on the show are necessarily weighted to Danny because of time constraints, and they have Danny with enough evidence or witness statements to make the suspect confess.
He said that hard core ex-cons immediately invoke their rights when questioned. He remembers one case where one guy invoked. The DDA offered him 5 years and he refused. He was convicted at trial and got over 30 years.
In a couple of cases where he thought there was hope for the suspect because of age and the circumstances of the crime, he took it upon himself to approach the DDA and ask for leniency. He did not tell the suspect or the defense attorney he was going to do this.