Things you should not do
Things you should not do
dO NOT SPEAK TO THE POLICE
without A LAWYER PRESENT
The first thing that a police officer will want to do is get you talking. You might think, “I’ve done nothing wrong, if i just explain myself, I can solve this”. The mistake here is that even in “explaining yourself” your giving up critical facts. Where you were, when you were there, who else was there. Even seemingly innocuous facts can lead to devastating implications at later stages in a case.
You might think, “If i don’t say something, it will make me look guilty.” That’s perfectly ok…. the prosecution can’t use the fact that you chose to remain silent against you. Who cares what you look like so long as in the end your outcome is better? Let them think what they like.
Police will often use language similar to, “now is the time to help yourself,” or “if you work with me now I can help you out later”. You should interpret this to mean, “Help me make the best case I can against you without actually having to do anything except repeat what your telling me right now to the court.” The “helping you out later” bit that they throw in is just fluff.
They will say all kinds of things like this in order to attempt to condense the time within you really need to make a decision. The police know that if you don’t speak now… you will likely get competent advice from an attorney that you should not speak to them and they will have a much more difficult time making a case against you. There is always time later to make a trade with the police if you have something to offer. Trades, though, are accomplished through negotiation, not “gimmes.” Get a lawyer.
Things you should not do
- Speak to the police without a lawyer present
- Make posts on social media
- Speak to your friends and family about the facts of your matter
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain
DON’T POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you have had an interaction with law enforcement you should not post about it on social media. Even if they have not charged you.
Keep in mind, the police have access to social media as well. Even if you think your post is “private” or access to it “limited”, its out there. Once, your words are in a post, they are permanent, and they could come back to haunt you.
don’t speak to your
Friends and family
Anything that you say to anyone, unless that communication is protected by a legal “privilege” can be used against you. If you speak to your friend about the facts and circumstances of your matter; that friend could be subpoenaed to testify against you or he could be pressured by the police to make a statement against your interest. The safest approach is just not to speak of the facts of your matter with your friends or family.
When you speak to an attorney you’ve retained about the facts of your matter, your communications are protected by the attorney/client privilege.
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