If you are ever arrested, one thing you certainly cannot do is forget your rights. And the best course of action is usually to exercise your right to remain silent and your right to an attorney. Keep reading to learn how not to respond to an arrest, to learn more about the process, and to learn how you can assert your rights.
First of all, you need to be aware that an arrest can take place sooner than you would think. What this means is that while many arrestees are held in jail, the arrest began before that point. An arrest means that someone is in police custody, and this starts at whatever point that person is no longer free to leave. So if an officer stops someone to question them on suspicion of theft, and that person is not free stop or leave this questioning, then the suspect is considered under arrest right then. Now someone can only be arrested if the officer witnessed that person commit a criminal offense, if the officer has probable cause that the person committed a felony, or a judge or magistrate already has issued an arrest warrant on the basis of probable cause.
If an officer lacks probable cause, then the arrest is unlawful, but even in these cases, you cannot use force to avoid arrest in most states. You could find yourself charged with battery on an officer or resisting arrest. In order to fight an illegal arrest, you need to do so in a courtroom, not in the street.
If you are under arrest, an officer will search you then and there or at the jail, or perhaps at both locations, seizing any evidence found. Then you will be photographed and fingerprinted. Unfortunately, arrest records could then be published online and even in a newspaper. That is why getting this arrest record expunged if possible could be vital to your future, lest this record come out in a job interview or housing application. Now, anyone who is arrested will be told that they have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Sometimes, you might be offered a written waiver, a waiver of your Miranda rights. You almost never want to sign this.
Instead, you want to invoke your rights, and to explicitly say so. Express your wish to remain silent and to speak with an attorney. And you should remain absolutely silent until you can talk with a criminal defense lawyer. Anything, absolutely anything you say could be brought up in court and used to incriminate you. While you can give an officer your name, address, birthday, and the like, you do not want to say anything more. Even with relatives or friends, you do not want to discuss the case at all. If anyone visits you or talks to you over the phone, you can bet that the conversation is being recorded and listened in on (except with a call with your attorney). In fact, it is not even safe to talk with another inmate. An inmate may want to strike up a conversation with you in order elicit something they can use to tell law enforcement in order to cut a deal. And of course, police have training to get a suspect to confess incriminating evidence. When you talk with your lawyer, on the other hand, what you say will be confidential. Once you have discussed your case with a criminal defense attorney, you can be counselled on what you can tell the police.
In spite of what you may think of the situation, in spite of what an officer says, you cannot talk yourself out of police custody. You do not want to attempt anything in your case until you have spoken with your attorney. If you or someone you know urgently needs the advice of a successful criminal defense lawyer, you can find the legal expert you need on our directory today!
