Living in the United States means that you have the right to remain silent until you are with a lawyer. This is exactly what you need to do if you ever find yourself in a compromising situation where police decide to take you into custody. Say that you want to retain the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer, like a lawyer from Tuttle Law, P.A., before speaking with authorities. They need to honor this request. If it is not honored after you say that you need a lawyer, this can be incredibly problematic for the prosecution later on in court. They should give you this right without much of a fuss. Here are a few important things to know about criminal defense lawyers.
A Criminal Defense Lawyer Will Speak with You Privately
It is important to hire a criminal defense lawyer because you can speak with him or her privately about what exactly happened so that you can come up with a plan of how to talk to authorities about the events that occurred. You may or may not be guilty of the crime that you are being accused of committing. If you are not guilty, your lawyer will try his or her best to offer proof that you are innocent. If you are guilty, your lawyer will still do his or her best to make sure that you do not get too harsh of a punishment for the crime that was committed. After all, people make mistakes. Perhaps you did not mean to commit the crime or you did not even realize that what you were doing was illegal. There should be some leniency because of this. A criminal defense lawyer will understand how to go about this.
A Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Speak on Your Behalf
After you have spoken with your lawyer, he or she can speak to authorities with you. He or she will sit in all of your meetings and stay by your side so that you do not say anything potentially incriminating. This is very important as anything you say can be held against you. Your lawyer will be experienced enough in the field to know what questions to answer and what to avoid doing.
A Criminal Defense Lawyer Will Have Your Best Interest in Mind
Your criminal defense lawyer will always have your best interest at heart. He or she will give you advice throughout this difficult time in hopes to have the least amount of repercussions possible for your actions. Or, if you are not guilty, your lawyer will do their best to prove your innocence. The justice system is supposed to assume people are innocent until proven guilty. A good criminal defense lawyer knows this and will be able to offer suggestions on an alibi that will hold up in court as well as proof that the crime committed was not you. You should not have to pay for a crime that you did not commit, and a professional criminal defense attorney will do his or her best to prove that you are not the person who should pay for this crime.