It is always important to contact an attorney both during an investigation and after being charged with a crime. An experienced lawyer will be able to properly advise you of your rights, help prevent you from self-incrimination, and provide recommendations for how to proceed with the court case or the investigation. It can be difficult to proceed in choosing the right lawyer for you if you are unsure about the process, or if you are looking for more information on how an attorney can help you with the specifics of your case. Call an experienced Arlington criminal attorney to learn more about how they can help you if you are facing criminal charges.
The right to an attorney only applies in custodial interrogation situations where police are going to question you when you are in custody. Even though you may ask for an attorney on the side of the road, the police do not have to provide you one. Of course, once you are in the court system and you are in court, you are allowed to have an attorney at that point and the court will work with you to get one. Police do not run and get an attorney for you on first request.
The Miranda Warnings are protections against self-incrimination. Self-incrimination are statements made by someone against their will. That is where the right to an attorney comes into play. You can of course request for an attorney at any time, but the police do not have to honor that unless they are going to ask you questions in a custodial situation.
Contacting an attorney ultimately depends on when the police allow you to do so. In general you should request one early on, and continue to request one until one is given to you. The police might not honor this request, and they might wait until they finish their investigation first, but you should request one early and often after being taken into custody.
Asking for an attorney does not imply guilt in any way. It cannot be used against you in court to show that you have a consciousness of guilt and it cannot be used to infer guilt by a judge or a jury. You do not have to worry about it in that respect. You can request an attorney at any time. It neither implies guilt nor can be used to inference guilt, and cannot be used against you later in quest for attorney.
If the police are investigating you and you are aware of it, contacting an Arlington criminal attorney can help you control and minimize the amount of information flowing out to the investigating officers. A lawyer can facilitate this process and will help make sure you do not inadvertently provide the police with evidence or make an incriminating statement.
An Arlington criminal lawyer advises you on how you are going to deal with the police, how to minimize your exposure in court, and prepare you for a possible arrest and trial. They can also work with you to turn yourself in if you realize you have a warrant for your arrest, help prepare you for a bond motion, and advise you on other events or situations that are coming towards you when you are facing a criminal arrest and investigation.
Attorneys know the law, they know what the police are looking for, they know how everything will play out in court, and they will give you advice every step of the way to make sure that you are in the best position possible when you get to court.
Every case is different, but you should be speaking to your Arlington criminal attorney about what you believe the allegations are. Make sure to discuss each and every fact that may lead law enforcement officials to believe that you have committed an offense, where you are located, what are the witnesses there are, what steps the police have already taken and why you believe that they are trying to investigate you.
Let your Arlington criminal defense lawyer know your criminal record if you have one, any immigration concerns and in general the more information that you can provide to your attorney about the investigation, the alleged incident that you think you are being investigated for, who you are, who does it involve all that can only help your attorney understand the situation. Communication of the facts is very critical in dealing with your attorney because only then can they give you the best possible advice for you only when they know all of the information. You should also be prepared to discuss with your attorney numerous things that you may think of being relevant to the discussion because your attorney is trying to get information to help protect you.
When you are contacting an attorney you should be able to speak about the charge that you are facing, the allegations that led up to that charge, in fact necessary but hopefully you will be able to tell your attorney who your potential witnesses may be, what the potential defenses to the charges are, what stage you are in the proceedings, have you been charged or do you expect to be charged, have you already been to the court. All this information should be conveyed to the attorney on the first visit so that your attorney can know what you are dealing with and guide you in the right direction.
The best plan is to give more information rather than less. Any bit of information is helpful to your attorney because an attorney who is well aware of the facts can make better decisions throughout the course of the arrest and investigation and ultimately at the trial.