Undercover cops do not have to identify themselves if asked. That has never been a thing. And no, you don't just get the one phone call, and no, you don't waltz free because someone forgot to recite the Miranda rights in their entirety before putting you in the squad car. While we're at it, tracing a phone call doesn't require you to stay on the line for thirty seconds, no one traces chalk outlines around dead bodies, and silencers that make a handgun sound like a stifled sneeze in church straight up don't exist.

The Hollywood myth issue is particularly exacerbated if, like me, you happen to live in a country that is next door to and superficially similar to the country in which Hollywood movies are made. When I went in for jury duty, I didn't even get selected, and the judge still felt the need to spend around five minutes re-educating us on our own legal system.

Given the pervasiveness of such myths, I generally take it as a given that, unless you're actually a lawyer or a cop, you do not - and, indeed, cannot - actually know how the law works (or, at least, not in the entirety of the ways in which it can affect you). This goes double for jackasses who encourage you to "know your rights" and be abrasive and uncooperative during traffic stops. Do not listen to those guys (it's always guys, you notice that?).