It's not alway illegal to lie to the police. Each state is different, but in most states you only have to be truthful about your identity and when you are under oath.
In California, if you give false information to a police officer and they in some meaningful way rely on that information to their detriment, you're probably culpable for some offenses. As a general rule, you should not lie to police. I think this is like 60% of the "don't ever talk to police" meme; the reality is much more subtle, but if you take away the message that you can troll them, you can actually get in trouble, and it's better just to shut up.
That’s an interesting one. The validity of your past statements ultimately rests on whether you understood what you were being asked. If someone does find themselves having talked it seems at least a court in the US would throw out the “statement” if you had a good lawyer. This is why people are often acquitted when a witness either changes their story or becomes non credible. Besides if the court believe that someone is lying in any way, nothing about their testimony can be trusted
> This is why people are often acquitted when a witness either changes their story or becomes non credible.
Citation needed.
I would argue that charges are more likely to be dropped, but juries overwhelmingly convict (something close to 98% of all cases that make it to a jury trial IIRC).
