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We all know that law enforcement is obligated to inform suspects of their rights. In what is commonly known as a reading of the Miranda, officers inform suspects that they have a right to remain silent and that they have a right to an attorney, among other things.
It used to be that one could exercise their right to remain silent, by actually remaining silent. In a recent decision by the United States Supreme Court changed the law enforcement officers handle investigations after they have informed suspects of their rights. Now, in order to exercise that right to remain silent, one must break their silence. Specifically, in Berghuis v. Thomkins, 08-1740, the Supreme Court held that suspects must 1) affirmatively state their intent to remain silent, and 2) expressly request a lawyer when being questioned by police in order for their statements to be suppressed. Simply put, the burden has shifted to the public to affirmatively request their rights be invoked.
“This opinion leaves a lot of room for error,” said California gun rights attorney Jason Davis. “Law enforcement officers can easily lie about whether a suspect expressly requested the right to remain silent and an attorney; and unless there is some physical documentation proving that such a request was made, our rights are in jeopardy.”
Mr. Davis and his law firm, Davis & Associates, are addressing this decision head-on with the creation of their new business card. Not your ordinary business card, theirs is function over form. That is not to say that the card lacks style, as it is visually appealing and very stylistic in the use of the firm’s “Ring of Fire” logo. But, it is the extraordinarily novel function of their tear-away card sets it apart from other business cards.
On the face of their new tear-away card it introduces the holder to the firm’s name, logo, and areas of practice: namely firearm laws, civil and business litigation, and legislative solutions. On the obverse, however, it provides the user with the typical business contact information. But, running down the middle of this side of the card is the phrase “Tear in Case of Emergency” in a spot gloss finish. The phrase is bordered by perforated cereal box type strip which begs the holder to pull the strip off to see what is underneath – but only in case of an “emergency.” By pulling the strip off, the phrase “stay calm, don’t talk, call an attorney” is revealed on the card. The key to the card lay underneath the tear away strip, reading simply: “Exercising 5th. I want to call my attorney. No permission to search without a warrant.”
By following those instructions on the card and handing the law enforcement officer the tear-away strip, the holder has unambiguously placed themselves in compliance with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling and simultaneously placed physical evidence of this compliance into the police officer’s hand. More importantly, this physical nature of the tear away strip reduces the chances of a “he said/she said” argument in court when it comes to the question of whether an individuals properly exercised their rights.
“The response to this design has been overwhelming,” said Mr. Davis. “We were inundated with hundreds of requests within hours of posting pictures of the tear away business cards on our website – some even offering to pay us for our business cards.”
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Jason[.]CalGunLawyers 
