MD Criminal Defense Attorney: 5 Reasons Why You Cannot Talk to the Police Without Experienced Private Attorney Present

             The addicting hit Netflix documentary, Making of a Murderer, shows everyone the real-life consequences of talking to the police without an attorney present.  In the documentary, a juvenile was charged with murder and ultimately found guilty by a jury based on information given to police during interrogations where there was no lawyer present. 

   1.      Police officers will employ several different tactics, including tricks, to get the person they are questioning to say what the police want to hear. 

   2.      Everyone has the right to an attorney and should always make that request known to the police.  You simply must say “I want an attorney.”

   3.      Police officers oftentimes will say that everything will go a lot easier if they just talk.  Someone who is scared might just understand that to mean that if they tell the police what they want to hear, everything will be ok and they can go home.  This is absolutely not true.  In fact, as the show reveals, sometimes the only evidence the police have comes from statements made by a defendant.  These statements often lead to an arrest.

   4.      Always assert your right to have a lawyer present and do not talk to the police.  Continue to make that right known if police continue to ask questions without your attorney present.

   5.      Hiring a private criminal defense attorney to help defend the charges against you is your best bet to avoid being tricked into talking by the police.  Public defenders provide adequate representation, but it is no secret that they have too many clients to provide the best legal defense possible.  Further, they are often simply incorrect.

             Once a statement is given, a competent attorney can file and argue to keep the statement out by a Motion to Suppress the evidence.  Be careful who you pick to argue that Motion.  Oftentimes, if that Motion is lost, the case itself will be lost.  The public defender did just that in the show, “Making of a Murderer.” 

   

                   If you or a family member has been charged with a crime in Maryland and would like a free legal consultation or if you would like more information please feel free to contact our office at (301) 854-9000 and schedule an appointment at our office in Silver Spring or throughout Maryland, or visit us on the web at http://www.portnerandshure.com/Criminal-Defense/