Re: Questioning: witness vs defendant and right to counsel

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I agree with your reasoning, Carol. The key word is "may"
tend to incriminate them. If they have any knowledge about
which they could be witnesses, then they may be implicated
as an accessory before or after the fact.

On 4/28/06, Carol wrote:
> Here's question I just posed on the legal questions chat
> board about the right to have an attorney present for any
> questioning by law enforcement. We all agree about under
> arrest, etc. What if the person is a material witness to a
> crime? If they refuse to cooperate and talk to the
> authorities isn't that obstruction of justice? I'm
> thinking of the Ramsey case in CO. But how does one know
> if they are just being questioned as witness or as a
> suspect? They could conceivably become a suspect after
> being questioned as a witness, depending on their
> answers. It is my contention that anyone being questioned
> for any reason has a right to at least have counsel
> present. This is being hotly debated in our area right
> now; potential witnesses that have refused to submit to
> questioning on advice of counsel. Any thoughts?