Rights only go so far, seminar teaches

Citizens have a great many rights in the American legal system, but need to be wary of trying to enjoy too much of a good thing.

The second session of the "People's Law School" put the spotlight on criminal and traffic law and how best to interact with it.

Sponsored by the Lake County Bar Association, the four-week seminar is designed to explain the legal system in plain language and expand understanding.

Waukegan attorney Steve McCollum, a former chief deputy state's attorney, told the crowd at the College of Lake County in Grayslake that one in 99 Americans is in jail or prison - a ratio that leads the civilized world.

He said the way to avoid being included in that statistic is to not break the law, and know how to behave if you have.

McCollum said all people have the right to not answer questions posed by police, the right to talk to a lawyer before they do, the right to refuse to consent to searches and the right to walk away from an officer if they are not under arrest.

The rights of silence and representation are absolutes, he said, and should be exercised even by people who have not done anything illegal.

"You might believe in your innocence, but there are many cases where someone who did not do it, for some reason confessed," McCollum said. "Most lawyers will tell you to get a lawyer before being interrogated, and there is a reason they do."

While people have the right to refuse to consent to searches of themselves, their homes or their vehicles, there is no right to do anything about it should police decide to search without consent.

"You can tell police you do not want them to search, but you cannot interfere if they do," McCollum said. "That is called obstruction, and you will be arrested."

And while motorists have the right to refuse to give a breath, blood or urine sample to police as part of a DUI or other investigation, a judge holds the trump card in that game.

"If a judge signs an order requiring you to give the sample, you must comply," he said. "If you continue to refuse, you can be held in contempt of court."

Noemi Ruiz of Grayslake said the information McCollum shared was one reason she had signed up for the free seminar.

"I did not realize that you could tell a policeman you did not want to take a breath test," she said. "I thought it was automatically required that you take the test."

However, as the lecturers pointed out, if you refuse a breath test, your license will be suspended for one year, rather than the six-month suspension that comes with taking and failing a breath test.

Other sessions cover family and personal injury law, and real estate law and wills and trusts.