Remain Silent Until a Lawyer is Present in Criminal Cases

If there is one rule of thumb for all criminal cases it is this: remain silent until you have an attorney present. If all criminal defendants would follow this rule, their defense would be much easier to build. There are laws in effect that rigorously protect your constitutional rights, and you should not give up those rights by talking to the police. Questioning or interrogation can wait until your defense attorney in Frederick, MD arrives.

Under the laws of the U.S. Constitution you have a right to remain silent once you are in the custody of the police. You also have the right to an attorney. Most people know this from television if from nowhere else, and yet people who unexpectedly get in trouble with the law for the first time are often a bit gullible about how the legal system works. Another way of saying this is that the police or district attorney will try to get you to make statements before you have a lawyer present in the hopes you will incriminate yourself.

Just Doing Their Job

It is not that they want innocent people to be charged with a crime. But you were taken into custody or arrested for a reason and they believe the reason was valid. Therefore, it is their job to prove you are guilty. But you have a constitutional right to counsel before and during any police questioning. You can be questioned while in custody before being arrested or after an arrest.

Being in custody means your movements have been restricted in a major way which is usually through an arrest but not always. So even if you have not actually been arrested but the police continue to bring you in to the police station for questioning, you should remain silent unless your attorney is present. An attorney in Frederick, MD experienced in criminal law will guide you through your answers so that you don’t make statements to the police that can be misinterpreted, be incriminating or can serve as admissions of guilt.

Remain Silent

So how do you ‘remain silent’ when the police are asking you questions over and over again? You simply state that you do not want to respond to questions until you have a lawyer representing you. At that point the police are supposed to quit asking you questions though it does not always work that way. But you can remain silent. If you are tempted to start talking, just consider that police are trying to get you to talk as soon as possible because that is when they often obtain damaging admissions of guilt.

Having an experienced attorney in Frederick, MD by your side during questioning and possible criminal court proceedings is critical. Even if you are guilty, an attorney can often negotiate a charge down to a lesser one or is able to get jail time reduced or removed as part of the sentencing. But if you don’t remain silent, your defense attorney in Frederick, MD is going to have a much more difficult time.

Just think…constitutional rights…constitutional rights….constitutional rights…

Marc Ward has been in the practice of DUI and DWI defense for over 15 years.For more information click on Attorney Frederick, MD and Defense Attorney Fredrick, MD than please visit our website www.wardlawoffices.com