Take the nickel

“Take the nickel” is Mickey Haller’s compact name for invoking the Fifth Amendment and refusing to talk about a criminal case. In his account, silence is more than a legal protection: it preserves a defendant’s chance to fight another day, while careless speech can help carry that defendant toward prison.

Meaning and Advice

Haller’s maxim appears beside a brass plate bearing the warning, “IF I’D KEPT MY MOUTH SHUT I WOULDN’T BE HERE.” He treats the words as practical counsel: defendants often talk themselves into prison, and the best advice he gives a client is to say nothing about the case—not even to a spouse. To “take the nickel” is therefore to keep counsel close and avoid supplying others with incriminating words.

Use in Court

During cross-examination, Haller asks Ronald Torrance about looting during the riots. After pausing and glancing at his attorney, Torrance answers, “I take the fifth on that.” Haller then poses a series of questions designed to leave Torrance with a choice between incriminating himself and invoking the Fifth Amendment’s protection. Torrance takes the nickel six times. The repetition makes the point, but also wears out the judge, who redirects Haller to the double-murder case involving Barnett Woodson.

Strategy and Consequence

The expression links a defendant’s right to remain silent with Haller’s practical understanding of defense work: withholding an answer can preserve room to contest a case later. Torrance’s repeated refusals demonstrate the protection in action, while the brass-plate warning broadens it into a rule of conduct beyond the courtroom. The nickel is not presented as a literal object to be taken in either passage; it names the choice to remain silent rather than talk oneself into greater trouble.