OVI-DUI-Driving

Pulled over? Any experienced criminal defense attorney will tell you that your best bet is to remain silent.  Here’s why:

  1. Talking to the police rarely ever helps you. If the police are talking to you, it’s because they suspect you have committed a crime. If they have detained you, it’s because they already have enough evidence to arrest you and they want to see if you will admit it and thus, give them an even stronger case against you. No one has ever talked their way out of an arrest. Often people believe they are think that they are educated enough to sway police to not arrest them.
  2. Even if you are guilty, don’t confess.  People plead guilty in America every day. Call a criminal defense attorney instead.  You will get your time to confess and admit guilt at a later time during proceedings.  An attorney can get deals together where you may get something in exchange for accepting responsibility – a better plea bargain, or maybe even immunity. If you confess to the police, you get nothing in return except maybe more severe prosecution because the state’s case is now airtight, now that you have confessed.
  3. Even if you are innocent, it’s easy to tell a little white lie. Happens everyday. You can passionately argue your innocence, even go overboard by denying an insignificant fact, because you want to sound as innocent as possible. But if the police have evidence of that lie, it makes your entire statement look like a lie. The prosecutor will ask: “Why did he lie to the police? Why indeed would he lie to the police, unless he were guilty?”  One little white lie could be used to destroy your credibility at trial.
  4. You might be innocent and only tell the truth. But, there is always the possibility that you will divulge some bit of information that might be used to convict you. Police are trained to use conversation to take notice of any “indicators” or criminal activity. They are trained to do this.
  5. Police often tell people that THEY will make a deal with any information you can give. No. The police do not have authority to make deals, grant immunity, or negotiate plea agreements. This can only be done with a criminal defense attorney as your advocate. Despite their claim that they are trying to help you, they are just looking for more information they are sure you will give.
  6. When you tell your story one time at trial and you tell the truth and you’re innocent, there’s very little the prosecutor can do by way of cross examination. But if you’ve already told your story to police upon arrest in a statement that is most likely months apart, the chances are very high that, even if you are telling the truth, some little details in your statement are going to change. A good cross examiner will pick up on these changes and will relentlessly question you about them in an effort to make it look like you are lying.

The Bottom Line:  Guilty or innocent, remain silent.  If you are pulled over, the only answer to give is “I am going to remain silent. I want to call my lawyer”. Keep my number in your mobile and call me any time.  513-260-2099