Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions Relating to a Criminal Defense Lawyer
Q: Why should I hire a criminal defense lawyer?
A: The State of Minnesota has literally millions of dollars
of resources at their disposal to prosecute you if you are
charged with committed a crime. These resources include: a team
of experienced prosecutors, a vast number of law enforcement
personnel, forensic scientists, crime scene technicians, and
other professionals. You, on the other hand likely do not have
the same resources at your disposal should you suddenly be faced
with defending yourself.
A skilled Minnesota criminal defense attorney can greatly
increase your chances of success in a court of law. When you
hire an experienced attorney to represent you in court, you will
gain superb advice, multiple resources, legal guidance, and a
confidant on your side. Some people choose to represent
themselves, but this is never a good idea. Hiring an attorney to
represent your case has many advantages, and will ensure that
your needs and rights will be acknowledged, fought for, and
protected.
Q: How do I pick a criminal defense lawyer?
A: There are many factors to consider when choosing a criminal
defense attorney. The experience of the attorney is very
important and the lawyer’s background and training play a role.
Other factors include your comfort level and the ability to
communicate with your lawyer. You MUST feel that the attorney
understands you and will work diligently on your case. You MUST
feel comfortable being honest and open with your attorney to
allow them to effectively represent you. Only then, can you have
the confidence you’ll need to get through this trying time.
Q: When should I hire a criminal defense lawyer?
A: You should contact a criminal defense lawyer right away you
if are under investigation or arrested for an offense.
Q: Can a criminal defense lawyer guarantee the results of my
case?
A: No one can guarantee a future event especially in a Criminal
Defense Case. In fact guaranteeing results is against the
Minnesota Bar Rules. The outcome of a criminal case is a future
event like any other. An experienced criminal trial attorney can
usually give opinions as to the possible outcome, but these are
no more than professional opinions. Be careful not to mistake a
criminal defense attorney's opinion for a guarantee. If the
criminal defense attorney is truly giving you a guarantee
contingent upon hiring the lawyer, ask the attorney to give you
the guarantee in writing.
General Questions Relating to Dealing with Police
Q: Should you speak with police?
A: Absolutely not! Do not sign anything or make any kind of
statement! If you are under investigation by police, you might
not even know it. They could ask you to come to the police
station and give them a statement. You might think that this is
your opportunity to tell them your side of the story. Do not do
this! This is a risky time for anyone under investigation for an
offense or charged with a crime. Do not let law enforcement
authorities intimidate or scare you into responding to their
questions. Some police officers will promise or do almost
anything to try to trick or coerce you into giving a statement.
Rather than speak with police, talk to a defense attorney right
away. Your lawyer will intercede and talk to detectives and
police for you. This is a good way to give valuable information
about your innocence and could lead to police not filing charges
against you. It will also prevent you from making any statements
that can be used against you. The police are not meeting with
you to clear you of the charges. They want to gather as much
evidence as possible to make a case against you that could lead
to a conviction. Any statement that you give them, including
statements that you think are innocent, could be damaging and
used by the prosecution during trial.
Q: Can the police detain you without arresting you?
A: Yes, with limitations. Under Minnesota law, based upon
reasonable, articuable, suspicion that you may be involved in
criminal activity, a police officer may require you to identify
yourself and explain your presence at a particular time, without
arresting you. Under Minnesota law, the police officer may not
remove you from the immediate vicinity without making an arrest,
unless you voluntarily accompany the police officer to some
other location.
If the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that you are
armed, he or she may conduct a limited pat-down of your outer
garments for the purpose of detecting weapons. If this "frisk"
results in a reasonable belief on the part of the police officer
that you are carrying a weapon, the officer may remove the
suspicious object for protection. The officers must return to
you any object found unless they places you under arrest. Unless
the officer places you under arrest, the frisk or search must be
limited to suspected weapons. At the conclusion of this
temporary detention the officer must either arrest you or let
you go.
Q: What are the “Miranda” rights?
A: You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of
law.
You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an
attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a
lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.
Q: When do police need to inform me of my Miranda rights?
A: The Miranda warning is only in effect during a custodial
interrogation. This means that the person being questioned is in
custody or in an environment in which the person does not
believe that he is free to leave. Also, the questions being
asked, even if in custody, must be the type of questions that
could elicit an incriminating response. In other words, even a
person arrested does not have to read their Miranda warnings
prior to the officer asking them their name, address and other
biographical information.
An example: Police can question witnesses at crime scenes
without reading them their Miranda rights, and should a witness
implicate themselves in the crime during that questioning, their
statements could be used against them later in court.
Police can detain or arrest a person without reading them their
Miranda rights. However, any statements made by the person prior
to being informed of their Miranda rights during an
interrogation may be ruled inadmissible into evidence against
the person.
The Miranda rights do not apply to all incriminating statement s
made to police. Miranda does not apply to statements a person
makes before they are detained or arrested. Similarly, Miranda
does not apply to statements made "spontaneously," or to
statements made after the Miranda warnings have been given.
If you first say you don't want a lawyer, you can still demand
one during questioning. A person being questioned by the police
can terminate the interrogation at any time by asking for an
attorney and stating that he or she declines to answer further
questions until an attorney is present. However, any statements
made up until that point during the interrogation may be used
against the person in court.
Police who claim they can “help you out” if you just talk to
them or that they can influence the judge and get you a lighter
sentence are LYING!! Once a person has been arrested, the police
have no control over how the legal system treats them. Criminal
charges and sentencing are totally up to the prosecutors and the
judge.
General Questions Relating to Being Arrested
Q: What should I do if I am arrested?
A: The Dos and Don’ts
The Dos
- Do be polite and as courteous as possible to the
police.
- Do ask for the police officer's name and badge
number, or read it off of his or her badge. Try to
remember it. Try to get a good look at the officer's face so
that you can identify him or her later by that method, if
necessary.
- Do, if you are arrested in your car, show the
police officer your driver's license and registration
information. Note that in other situations where you are not
stopped in your car, you cannot be arrested for the sole reason
of refusing to provide information, including your name and
address, to the police.
- Do place your hands where the police can see
them.
- Do, if you are taken into custody, demand the
right to have an attorney present before speaking to the police.
- Do ask if you are under arrest. If you are, you
have the right to be told why.
- Do clearly inform the police that you will not
speak to them about anything without an attorney being present.
- Do, as soon as you can, write down everything
that happened during the course of your arrest so that you can
use that writing to refresh your memory at a later date.
- Do, if you are physically injured by the police
during the course of your arrest, seek medical attention and
inform your medical providers of the cause of your injuries.
Take photographs of your injuries as soon as possible.
- Do remember that you do not need to answer ANY
question that the police ask of you. If you answer a question
which at first seems harmless, be aware that it may come back to
haunt you later.
The Don'ts
- Don't offer information to the police, no matter what
tactics they use.
- Don't assume that the police have a search
warrant just because they say that they do. If they say they
have a search warrant, ask to see it.
- Don't get into an argument with the police, no
matter how hard they may try to bait you into losing your
temper.
- Don't initiate physical contact with the police,
even if you mean them no harm.
- Don't give them any reason to find you
threatening. Do not give them the impression that you are hard
to deal with or irritating.
- Don't run away from a police officer if you see
one (or more) approaching you. Running away may give the police
reason to suspect that you are hiding something from them, even
if you are totally innocent.
- Don't interfere with or obstruct the police. If you
do, you can face additional criminal charges.
- Don't resist arrest. Even if you think you are
innocent, the time to protest comes later. If you resist arrest,
you may face additional charges.
- Don't allow the police to listen in on any
telephone call that you make to your lawyer once you have been
arrested. While the police may listen in on conversations to
other individuals, they cannot listen to a conversation with
your lawyer because it is protected by the attorney-client
privilege.
- Don't speak to the police about anything before
your attorney arrives and talks to you first.
- Don't provide the police with any information
other than your name and address if you are arrested unless your
attorney is present and approves.
- Don't sign anything, no matter what it is,
without an attorney being present.
- Don't say anything if your attorney instructs
that you remain silent. Let your attorney do the talking for
you, no matter how hard it may be to resist the urge to speak.
- Don't agree to participate in a line-up without
your attorney being present.
- Don't lie to your attorney, or to the police if
you choose to talk to them.
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