An interesting thing happened this weekend that I thought I would never see. Tiger Woods has become embroiled in controversy after getting into a car accident over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. To recap, the accident occurred just outside of his home in Florida at about 2:00 a.m. He ran over a fire hydrant and then ran into a tree, both at a low rate of speed. He received facial lacerations and was helped out of the car by his wife. And that is all we know.

This is all we know because an interesting turn has occurred in the case - Tiger Woods has hired a criminal defense attorney who has advised him not to speak to the police about what has happened. And he hasn't. This has left the police, the news agencies, and the paparazzi with no idea what really happened that night that led to the car accident (the police have maintained from the outset that they don't believe alcohol was involved).

Because the news agencies can't let this story die, and because all they have to press forward on is wild speculation, they are focusing on the one they do know - that Tiger Woods hired a criminal attorney and then decided not to talk to the cops. What does that indicate to the authorities? That he has something to hide and that something more is amiss than meets the eye. I heard this all over the news this morning, and even on sports talk radio.

Because I am a DUI/criminal attorney myself, however, I see things a little bit differently. I applaud Tiger Woods for what he has done. Why? Because it is the right thing to do, and if everybody followed his lead, there would be a lot less criminal convictions out there and the police would have to start doing some real investigating. Confessions or admissions drive the criminal justice system, and when somebody wises up and doesn't help out the cops like they are used to, they hate it (particularly when a celebrity is involved).

Tiger Woods has chosen not to speak with the police. And you know what they can charge him with right now, maybe? Inattentive driving or unsafe driving, a traffic infraction. If he speaks with the cops, the sky is the limit on charges. That is why he is keeping his mouth shut - it does no good for the person being investigated.

This relates directly to you because you need to follow Tiger Woods' lead and not cave into the pressure of the cops to speak to them about whatever incident they are investigating. They will tell you that getting an attorney and not talking to them makes you look guilty. So what? They can't use either of those things against you, and it significantly hampers the information they can get about your case.