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Police investigations - should you talk to
the police?
If the police are investigating you, you may
or may not be aware of it. At some point, they may
ask you to come into the station and give a statement. You may believe
this is your chance to tell
your side of the story. Understand that this is a very dangerous
time for anyone charged or under
investigation for a serious offense.
Instead of talking to the police, consult with a criminal defense
attorney. Your lawyer can intercede
on your behalf and talk to the detectives. This is a great way to
get valuable information and
may result in charges not being filed. Most importantly, doing so
will keep you from giving a
statement that might ultimately be used against you. Any statement
you make will undoubtedly
be used by the District Attorney at trial. Even statements made
by you that you believe to be
innocent can be damaging. For example, the police may not know whether
you were even in the
area of an alleged crime. If you make a statement to the police
saying that you were there but
had nothing to do with it, the District Attorney no longer needs
to prove your presence at the
scene of the crime. You have now done that for them.
Can you be arrested without any evidence?
The police can arrest you only if they have
probable cause to believe you have committed
the crime.
Once they have probable cause, they can arrest you in a number of
ways:
• They can simply arrest you;
• If they believe you are not a flight risk, they may submit
your case to the prosecutor's
office who in turn will send you a letter in the mail asking you
to appear for an arraignment; or
• They may ask you to voluntarily surrender yourself at the
police station. Under the second
and third scenario, your best plan is to hire a criminal defense
attorney immediately.
A criminal defense attorney can help you arrange the voluntary surrender
and even make
arrangements to have a bail bondsman present so that you may not
have to go into custody
at all. In addition, they may be able to get you extra time before
the surrender. If you receive a
notice from the prosecutor's office, you will need a criminal defense
attorney because your next
appearance will be your arraignment date.
What are your Constitutional Rights?
1) You have the right against self-incrimination,
known as the right to remain silent.
2) You have the right to subpoena witnesses and evidence in your
own behalf,
as well as cross-examine witnesses.
3) You have the right to an attorney.
4) You have the right to a jury trial.
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