PDF of Lisa Nowak police interview

The Orlando Sentinel has a transcript of a police detective interviewing former astronaut Lisa Nowak after she was arrested. Long, but pretty fascinating to see how the investigator approached her and got her to talk. Nowak contends that she wasn't trying to hurt anybody -- she just wanted to talk to her alleged romantic rival.

File photo via The AP.

Comments

[Kerri]

Wow, that's some good research James!

[Kerri]

I am embarrassed to say I tried to read the whole thing. I wish she would have just told him where the car was!

[rhonda]

Yeah, I couldn't get through it. That policeman had the patience of Job. They should make an episode of "The Closer" from it. Of course it would take a lot of editing.

[Kerri]

I don't know why people don't just get a lawyer. I would just shut up and lawyer up.

[Marvin]

Because people don't know better. Especially when the popular myth is that someone getting a lawyer means they're guilty.

You should never talk under these circumstances, because even if you're innocent the interrogator is looking for any excuse to drop the hammer on you.

[Nick]

I don't know why people don't just get a lawyer. I would just shut up and lawyer up.-Kerri

If she had and just shut up, what would the results in this case been? I'll tell you, they would have gotten the car, and the evidence without her statement which served greatly to water down the motive they would have pursued. Lawyering up and shutting up can work against you as easily as it can work for you.
When you are a public figure, especially a woman, lawyering up eliminates the advantages of the status. Had she not gotten her statement in, she would have realized an off grid charge or two instead of the stalking charge.

[Marvin]

Nick,

With a lawyer you can issue carefully crafted statements and avoid the ambiguous colloquial comments that hurt you in trial, e.g. "When I found out he was cheating, I wanted to kill him!" Oh really, says the prosecutor.

If you are not a lawyer, you very likely don't have the discipline an knowledge to avoid all the pitfalls. ALWAYS lawyer up and don't start thinking you're smart enough to go out and start giving press conferences to prove your innocence.

[Nick]

Yes Marvin for the average person a lawyer is usually in the best interest of the accused. This however is a greatly inflated myth that lumps every case and individual's situation into the same category.
The simple truth of the matter is there are thousands of people all over that subscribed to that sales pitch and learned the their problem was multiplied simply because their side of the story was never taken into consideration as the investigators were left to their own conclusion.
This case is a classic example of how lawyering up would have been detrimental to her desired outcome. Even though she almost slipped up, she ended up talking her way out of far more serious charges. Something a lawyer never could have done.

[PMT]

Lisa Nowak was charged with attempted murder and any other possible charge according to the news reports at the time.

Before going any further about how she talked her way out of being charged, it might be better to know what charges she is now facing and which ones she is not.

[Will]

Nick: That's the worst advice I've ever heard. In no way is this an "inflated myth." Sure, the cops can argue that silence equals guilt, in their minds, but by the time the DA's office gets the case, they don't have the defendant's false confession or statements taken out of context. Plus, we are only saying being silent is the way to go until an attorney shows up.