Shouldn’t it be the default and not require the suspect/subject to actually ask for one? Has there ever been any attempt to make that the norm in any countries? I think the only question should be “do you have your own lawyer you like to use, or are you happy enough with the court-appointed one?”
I’m not even sure opting out should be allowed, but I’m open to hearing reasons why that would be a bad system, or indeed a worse system than the one most countries seem to have now. So many miscarriages of justice could have been easily avoided.
TV shows and propaganda in the US have for decades shown you that " if you have nothing to hide then you don’t need a lawyer" and unfortunately that is demonstrably false. Police are expert interrogators and you alone have a very low chance of getting anything across clearly and without incriminating yourself further. Just shut the fuck up and ask for a lawyer.
And now with for profit prisons it makes sense to get you in jail rather than help you know your rights and protect you.
Cops can never be wrong and even when they are they’re not and they’re not going to face any consequences by doing shit to you. ACAB til the end of the world.
Where I live you’re prohibited from having a lawyer after being charged before the indictment is written. And a lawyer can be charged with conspiracy fi they fail to disclose all that you said to them to the police before you are arrested.
Im not sure I’d call cops expert interrogators, it’s more like they’re playing with a stacked deck.
That’s fair point is they do this a lot more than you or I do most likely.