How Should You React To Being Arrested?

By Author: Leonard Simmons
Total Articles: 152
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Unless you are a career criminal, being arrested on suspicion of committing a crime can be a shocking experience. Often, suspects make critical mistakes early in the process that can have an impact on a successful defense against charges. For this reason, many a criminal defense lawyer suggests that you bring consult an attorney as early as possible when you know that you are under suspicion or expect to be questioned about involvement in a crime. Most agree it is never too early to have legal advice regarding criminal matters. However, attorneys specializing in criminal defense also are fairly united in the opinion that even if you have not had advice up to the point of an arrest, it is never too late to get legal representation.

Perhaps you have been questioned, and now you anticipate an imminent arrest. Perhaps a family member or close friend has been “picked up” by authorities, and you want to be able to advise them on what to do next. You will not get much disagreement from members of the legal profession about this advice: say nothing! Police will, if they are doing their job, have advised you of your ...
... right to remain silent. And from then on, it is their job to get you to talk. It is important to understand that this is their job, and many detectives and prosecutors have become very good at it. They are going to ask questions, attempt to “hook” a suspect or even use anger and recrimination to elicit a reaction.

They must stop questioning a suspect the moment he or she “invokes” – states that they want a lawyer. The police call this “lawyering up”. They may not like it, because it means that they have to end all questioning until an attorney is alongside a suspect. But it is an absolute Constitutional right, and it can eliminate mistakes that can be very costly to structuring a good defense.

It should be pointed out that a person does not have to have been arrested in order to invoke the right to counsel. You can have a lawyer at your side before answering any police questions. You won’t hear about it from authorities, because they only have to read your rights if arresting you. On many a TV law drama, the defense lawyer is heard telling their client to say nothing in these circumstances, too.

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