James Joseph Duane (born July 30, 1959) is an American law professor at the Regent University School of Law, former criminal defense attorney, and Fifth Amendment expert. Duane has received considerable online attention for his lecture "Don't Talk to the Police", in which he advises citizens to avoid incriminating themselves by speaking to law enforcement officers.

Early life and education

Duane was born in Buffalo, New York, and is a descendant of the Revolutionary-era leader Judge

James Duane James Duane (February 6, 1733 – February 1, 1797) was an American Founding Father, attorney, jurist, and American Revolutionary leader from New York. He served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress an ...

. He received his AB ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1981 and his JD '' cum laude'' from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1984. Duane was elected to the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

honor society while at Harvard.

"Don't Talk to the Police" lecture

In 2008, Duane gave a lecture at

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offe ...

alongside

Virginia Beach Police Department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health, and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer George Bruch, in which they explain in practical terms why citizens should never talk to police under any circumstances. Using former Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson as support of his "Don't Talk to the Police" advice, Duane says (among other things) that: *Even perfectly innocent citizens may get themselves into trouble even when the police are trying to do their jobs properly, because police malfeasance is entirely unnecessary for the innocent to convict themselves by mistake; *talking to police may bring up erroneous but believable evidence against even innocent witnesses; and, *individuals convinced of their own innocence may have unknowingly committed a crime which they inadvertently confess to during questioning. This follows the reasoning of

Justice Robert Jackson Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954. He had previously served as Uni ...

in '' Watts v. Indiana''. A video of Duane's lecture posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

by Regent University has been viewed over 17 million times by 2022, and has been called a "YouTube sensation" by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. In 2016, Duane clarified that his advice does not extend to routine traffic stops. The lecture continues to be popular on YouTube and received support from security expert

Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (; born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security professional, privacy specialist, and writer. Schneier is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Cente ...

Other work

Duane has also written about his views that there are bizarre

legislative drafting error Drafting errors sometimes occur in legislation. Usually these errors are minor, such as incorrect punctuation or capitalization, and the meaning is unaffected. But sometimes the matter is more substantive. Commonly, the error will have somethin ...

s in the Virginia Statute on Privileged Marital Communications as well as issues involving the introduction of hearsay evidence at trial (known as "

bootstrapping In general, bootstrapping usually refers to a self-starting process that is supposed to continue or grow without external input. Etymology Tall boots may have a tab, loop or handle at the top known as a bootstrap, allowing one to use fingers ...

"). Duane, a member of the advisory board of the Fully Informed Jury Association, has also written in defense of

jury nullification Jury nullification (US/UK), jury equity (UK), or a perverse verdict (UK) occurs when the jury in a criminal trial gives a not guilty verdict despite a defendant having clearly broken the law. The jury's reasons may include the belief that the ...

Selected bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

* , Regent University School of Law {{DEFAULTSORT:Duane, James Joseph 1959 births Living people American legal scholars Harvard Law School alumni People from Chesapeake, Virginia Regent University faculty Jury nullification Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution