Being the victim of a felony or misdemeanor charge can be a challenging experience for many honest, hard-working individuals. While a felony or misdemeanor charge can be a stressful experience, many people are able to get charges dropped through a lawyer. The following guide provides simple tips and tricks on how to prepare for a meeting with a criminal lawyer.
Pleading the fifth
It’s important to avoid talking to police at all times. While it’s a good idea to be polite to a police officer and follow his or her requests, an individual is under no obligation to speak to an officer. In many cases, a police officer will twist the words of an individual to use them against him or her. Silence is the only way one can avoid self-incrimination.
It’s also important to avoid discussing one’s charges with other inmates in a jail or prison environment. In many cases, fellow prisoners will act as snitches for law enforcement agencies. Since some prosecutors will reduce an individual’s sentence if he or she can provide information on other inmates, it’s essential to understand that no one in jail or prison can be a friend. While it’s good to maintain a friendly demeanor towards other prisoners, one should never let his or her guard down while incarcerated.
In addition, it’s important to make sure that friends and family know to keep their mouths shut at all time. If people share conflicting details about a story, an individual experience longer times in jail. In many cases, a lawyer or attorney will train an individual in what he or she should say in court.
Court Preperations
When preparing for court, it’s important to make sure that one has documented an incident as thoroughly as possible. However, it’s essential to make sure that this documentation does not result in self-incrimination. Since some courts will require individuals to share information between the defendant and the prosecutor, an individual may be exposing himself or herself to the risk of incrimination. To avoid this, all documentation about an individual should point to his or her innocence.
If possible, it’s also a good idea to gather as much information about other prisoners as possible. If an individual has been arrested with several other people, it may be possible to snitch on them to reduce one’s own sentence. However, this can result in a variety of negative consequences. If an individual snitches on a gang member, that individual may get in contact with a gang once he or she is in prison. Once that happens, it’s possible that a gang may take a hit out on an individual. If an individual qualifies for a witness protection program, this may not be a problem.
Most important of all, it’s essential to avoid talking to anyone except one’s lawyer. Since most people accused of a crime have limited knowledge of the law, it’s important to avoid putting oneself in a position that could result in increased charges or a longer time in prison.
