Criminal Defense Do's and Dont's

TIPS FOR PERSONS CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL OFFENSES

DO NOT:

1) DO NOT discuss what happened with any member of law enforcement. This includes police officers, investigators and district attorneys. If you are a suspect or are charged with a crime, you have a right to remain silent and you should exercise it to protect yourself, even when you know you are innocent.

2) DO NOT discuss your case with your friends and family (especially if you are in jail). Naturally friends and family will be curious. A natural first question when talking to or visiting a friend or family member will be what happened?" It is vital that a person charged with a crime avoid any discussion of their case because anything they say will be used against them in court.

3) DO NOT contact any witness or named victim who is the listed in a mandatory protection order in your case. If a mandatory protection order issues in your case, it will be handed to you and will list the names of persons protected. You may not even attempt to contact persons listed in a mandatory protection order.

4) DO NOT attempt to influence any witness to testify falsely or not to testify. Doing so will result in a separate felony charge.

DO:

1) ONLY discuss your case with your attorney. Nobody else.

2) Family members of those incarcerated and/or charged with criminal offenses should tell their loved ones not to discuss their case with anyone except their attorney, not even friends and family. It is vital that a person charged with a crime not discuss his or her case because jails record all conversations between inmates and visitors and the State will attempt to use them against the person charged. Even if the person charged is not incarcerated, friends and family can be subpoenaed to testify against their will against their loved one regarding statements they have made.

3) Consult an attorney as early as possible. Consults at Cohen & Cohen, P.C. are free and confidential.