10 Mistakes You Should Never Make If You Are Arrested
Being arrested is bad enough, but some people still manage to make their situation even worse. Here are the ten ways in which you can make your arrest even worse and damage your case:
1. Skip bail. If you fail to appear for any scheduled court appearance, you are going to ljeopradize your chances of getting probation. Moreover, the judge will issue a warrant for your arrest which will rear its ugly head at worst possible time, like when you are standing at the airport trying to leave for vacation or when you get stopped for speeding on the way to work or an important event.
2. Move, but do not tell anyone. If you do not get your mail you will not get court notices and you will violate #1 above. Just because you may have notified the Post Office your new address doe not mean that the court system, bail agency or your attorney knows that you moved or where to reach you. It is not the job of the court system to hunt you down. It is your job to keep them informed of your whereabouts.
3. Change telephone numbers, but do not tell anyone. So this way, the only method left of communicating with you is by mail or email. You have now put yourself at a disadvantage because your lawyer can not find you, or at least can not find you on short notice.
4. Talk about your case on Facebook. Facebook is not private. Cops and prosecutors have it too, and sometimes they can see more than other users can see. If you are charged with stealing a TV, do not post a picture on FB of yourself holding the TV. If you are charged with armed robbery, do not post a picture of yourself on FB holding a firearm. Do not post anything about the arresting officer, the prosecutor or the judge. These posts will not help you in any way.
5. Talk about your case on jail telephones. Those are recorded. Just assume that anything you say on a jail telelphone to anyone but your lawyer can and will be used against you. Calls to your lawyer are not supposed to be recorded, but why take the chances?
6. Get arrested for something new while your other case pending. If you do so, you can be fairly sure that in all proabability you are going to sit in jail until both cases are resolved. Moreover, you have know demonstrated ot the court that you need prison more than probation.
7. Don’t pay your lawyer. Taking your case seriously means paying your attorney to work on your case.
8. Fail a drug test. If you are on bail or in a diversonary program and you fail a drug test, you are going to end up back behind bars. Urine tests are incredibly sensitive nowadays.
9. Lie to your lawyer. Lie to everyone else all you want, but do not lie to your lawyer. We can not help you if you do not help us understand what is going on with you or your arrest. We know only as much about the case as you tell us, and everything you say is confidential.
10. Talk to police. No single act puts more people in prison than the act of sitting down with a cop and telling “your side of the story.” Cops are trained professionals in techniquest to convince people to talk about things they shouldn’t admit. Remain silent and call your lawyer.