Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
Got the worng guy here.
I never said anything of the sort, but i am stating it is a right that any accused should have...i wasn't even aware you couldn't have council in Canada until this thread appeared.
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IANAL, but from my crim courses I think you are misunderstanding the law. You can ask for and receive council before being interviewed by law enforcement personnel. The one thing you can't do is be protected from saying something to incriminate yourself before you receive that council.
This of course means that the police don't have to wait until your lawyer gets there to collect evidence or record your statement, among other things. I am pretty sure you still have the ability not to say anything until you feel you have been properly counseled.
I also think that it was mentioned in my courses that even though police have the ability to interrogate without counsel present, it happen as the exception rather than the rule, and mostly in cases where there is a physical inability of the lawyer to be present. For example, long travel times etc.