Ensure the rights of every citizen are observed.
Plain-English guides to your constitutional rights during police encounters — so your freedoms are recognized, respected, and upheld. Rights you don't use, you risk losing.
How can you help protect our freedoms?
Four simple commitments that keep your rights strong.
Remain Silent
When stopped by any officer, calmly use your right to remain silent.
Refuse Searches
Always verbally refuse any search — clearly, respectfully, every time.
Request a Lawyer
If you are arrested, ask for a lawyer and stop answering questions.
Never Lie
Do not lie to police. Stay silent instead — it is your right.
Know your rights by situation
536 guides on police & government encounters across 14 topics.
Know Your Rights: Basics
Start here.
42 guides →The Right to Remain Silent
Your Fifth Amendment right to stay silent is one of the most powerful — and most misunderstood — protections you have.
39 guides →Searches & Seizures
The Fourth Amendment shields you from unreasonable searches and seizures.
46 guides →Your Home & Property
Your home receives the strongest Fourth Amendment protection of all.
58 guides →Traffic Stops & Driving
Traffic stops are the most common police encounter.
60 guides →Vehicle Searches
Cars get less Fourth Amendment protection than your home — but not none.
21 guides →Stop & Frisk / Detention
When can an officer stop you, frisk you, or demand your ID? Learn the limits of Terry stops and reasonable suspicion, when you can legally walk away, and how to handle a pat-down on the street.
43 guides →Recording the Police
You have a First Amendment right to record police in public.
24 guides →Digital Privacy & Devices
Your phone holds your whole life — and the law is still catching up.
52 guides →Travel & Borders
Your rights shift at airports, borders, and across state lines.
19 guides →Protests & Public Spaces
Protest is protected speech.
13 guides →Schools, Work & Institutions
Your rights change inside schools, campuses, workplaces, and other institutions.
22 guides →Special Situations & Groups
Police encounters look different depending on who you are and where you are.
44 guides →Accountability & Legal Help
What to do after a questionable encounter.
53 guides →Renting? Know your tenant rights.
715 plain-English guides on evictions, repairs, security deposits, landlord harassment, breaking a lease, and more — for renters, landlords, and owners.
Explore Tenant Rights →Problems at work? Know your employment rights.
685 plain-English guides on getting paid fairly, overtime, wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment, leave, workplace injuries, and final paychecks — for employees and employers.
Explore Employment Rights →Buried in debt? Know your consumer rights.
654 plain-English guides on debt collectors, being sued, wage garnishment, credit-report errors, medical bills, payday loans, repossession, and bankruptcy — what collectors and creditors can and cannot legally do.
Explore Consumer & Debt Rights →Latest guides
- Can You Record the Police in California? Your Rights Explained
Your right to record the police in California, what state law says about consent, and how to film safely without interfering.
- Can You Record the Police in Florida? Your Rights Explained
Your right to record the police in Florida explained in plain English: First Amendment, audio consent under Chapter 934, and staying safe.
- Can You Record the Police in Illinois? Your Rights Explained
Your plain-English guide to the right to record the police in Illinois, including audio, eavesdropping rules, where to stand, and protecting footage.
- Can You Record the Police in New York? Your Rights Explained
Your right to record the police in New York, explained in plain English: the First Amendment, one-party consent, and the Right to Monitor Act.
- Can You Record the Police in Texas? Your Rights Explained
Your right to record the police in Texas explained in plain English: the First Amendment, one-party consent, where to stand, and protecting your footage.
- Your Rights During a Traffic Stop in California
Know your rights during a traffic stop in California: documents, silence, searches, DUI testing, and staying safe. Plain-English legal info.
- Your Rights During a Traffic Stop in Florida
Know your rights during a traffic stop in Florida: documents, silence, searches, DUI implied consent, and staying safe.
- Your Rights During a Traffic Stop in Illinois
Know your rights during a traffic stop in Illinois: documents, silence, searches, DUI testing, and staying safe. Plain-English legal information.