In some cases, it doesn’t matter if you did something wrong or not, the Police can and will arrest you based on suspicion.
So, it’s imperative you have good legal representation if you want to get out of the hurdle. To help you find a reliable lawyer, we are giving you the following guide, but before we do so, we would like to mention a few things you should do to make this whole ordeal easier. Starting with the how to know you are getting arrested. It will help you prepare for what’s to come!
The Police Wants To Question You
In case the police want to bring you to the police station for questioning, get a lawyer. Yes, the law and say it’s a controlled environment, but it’s a cause of concern. It shows the police suspects you are holding out on something. So, have a Professional License Defense Attorney go with you just in case.
A simple question can take a turn for the worse. The subject of nature can change with a shift in questions, attitude, and tone. So you better trust your instance and get your lawyer on your side just in case
The Police Wants to Search Your Home or Work Premises
There are some rules and civilian rights when it comes to searching for a premise. It doesn’t matter whether the police want to search your home or workplace, they better have a warrant. Get a lawyer as he will help you understand what they are allowed to remove or take. When you can say something and when you better keep quiet.
If you don’t act in your defense, you will make yourself look guilty. So you better contact a criminal defense attorney to learn how to handle this situation.
Despite the severity of your situation, you better hire a lawyer because it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Reading the Rights
Before the police take you in, they have to read your rights. The Miranda Rights clearly state you have the right to an attorney. It says that you are allowed to call in your attorney. In case you don’t have one, you will be assigned one.
When You Need a Defense Lawyer?
Following are a few situations that call the help of a criminal defense attorney:
- Domestic Violence: The conviction of domestic violence has a domino effect. It affects your ability to own firearms and immigration.
- Disorderly Conduct: This covers a wide range of charges. It’s more of acting erratically in public without causing yourself or someone else any harm. If you cause an inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, you better expect someone to call the police. Yelling, obscenity or getting into a fight can bring this charge.
- If you are convicted, you can land in jail, get denied your loan application and have to explain your record for rest of line.
- Harassment: Stalking, Hate Crime, Cyber-bullying, and Criminal Harassment have a severe The current definition is to target someone for threatening, tormenting or terrorizing intentionally. It is considered a serious felony instead of just a misdemeanor.
- Shoplifting: No one believes a thief. If you are caught shoplifting or proven guilty, you won’t get employment, find a roommate, or enroll in a college. Therefore, it’s vital you have this charge handled by a qualified attorney.
- DUI: Driving Under Influence is not a severe offense, but it can have an impact on your personal and professional life. It can ruin your reputation. If you don’t have strong representation, you are subject to heavy fines, you can lose your driving license, or you may end up in jail.
If you don’t want any of these charges to show up on your record, then you better hire superb legal representation.
What to Do If the Police Approaches You?
In case you see the police approach you for arrest, or are doing it, you better do the following:
Stay Calm
If you get agitated, you will only make it worse for yourself. The Police can stop and question you. So you better keep your hands visible and answer the questions honestly. You have to comply with every request.
Follow Instructions
If you are put under arrest, you better let the police handcuff you and get into their vehicle without any resistance. The Officers can use force to get you to comply, plus you will have Resisting Arrest charges against you. So, follow suit.
Don’t Cause a Scene
You are protected against unlawful search, seizure, and treatment by the police force. If the police ask to search your premise, you can ask for a warrant. If they don’t have a warrant, then they can pat down to ensure you are not armed.
Allow this, but refuse for anything else. Just make sure you are not causing a scene. You need to follow these tips to keep things easy or you.
What to Do After Arrest?
Let’s address the elephant; you have been arrested, now what? Well, having a criminal record will affect your life. It will trouble in everything from a job to renting. The legal process is very straightforward, but we almost never pay attention to it, unless something happens to us.
So, you better learn something about the arrest procedure and your rights for your good. It will help you to be mentally prepared if something happens.
After you have been arrest and charges are filed against you, the police believe you did something wrong. They either have a witness or substantial evidence to prove it. After you are arrested, you go to booking; it involves taking your fingerprints and photo.
You are allowed a phone call. By this time, the officer will know when you will be set for release and requirements of your bail in case you are allowed any.
Later, you show up before a judge. The Police aren’t allowed to hold you for any longer than 24 hours without a court hearing. If you are not shown to a judge, then you will get a warning and a notice that says to appear later.
Whatever happens, you better ask for your lawyer right away after the arrest. You don’t have to sign any documents or answer their questions. You have the right to remain silent, so you better use it.
Common Mistakes People Make When Getting a Defense Lawyer
Here are some common mistakes most people do when hiring a criminal defense lawyer. You must avoid these mistakes to assure your record remains clean.
Hiring a Public Defender
In the Miranda Rights, it is clearly said that you will be assigned a lawyer if you can’t afford one. Well, the money doesn’t matter. If you want to get out, you better hire your attorney, never use the public defender.
By saying that, we don’t intend to say Public Defenders are not good enough or they won’t fight hard for you. Not, they are smart and perhaps some of the best lawyers you will come across. But the truth is, they are underpaid and overworked. They are mandated by the law to represent your case.
They are usually assigned to people who can’t afford to have their lawyer. This suggests they have multiple cases to deal with at every given day.
This doesn’t allow them to pay attention to intricate details of your case. These details can make or break your case. You have to make sure the attorney working at your case looks at it from every angle; it assures they have mapped out every possible situation and is perfecting your exit strategy.
Yellow Pages
There was a time when Yellow Pages were the only way to find a contact. We live in the digital era now; those days are long past us. So if you want to find a lawyer, you better take your search online!
Yellow Pages offer very little details about a lawyer. So don’t waste your time there when you can find pages of information about a lawyer. Yes, websites offer very detail you want to know including the lawyer’s education, experience, and professional background.
You can check their record online and see if they have been disciplined by a state bar or not. It will help you make a well-informed decision.
Hiring Someone Who Doesn’t Specialize in Criminal Defense
When you search, make sure you type criminal defense lawyer. If the attorney practices personal injury, bankruptcy or something else, he won’t do any good. Criminal cases are serious, and the law changes from time to time. So, you better hire someone who knows the nuisances of criminal defense and practices criminal defense on a daily basis.
Hiring Someone Inexperienced
If you want to get out with a clean record, then you better hire someone with at least ten years of experience under his belt. The more experience a lawyer has, the better.
Extensive experience also means the layer has a professional and respectable relationship with the judges and prosecutors. So, don’t waste your chance by hiring someone new or cheap. It will cost you dearly in the end!