|
I am being investigated! What should I do?
Most of my clients get arrested and then call me to help them,
but not all cases start this way. Sometimes a client learns that
the police have received a complaint about him or her and they
are knocking on his door and questioning neighbors and
acquaintances. Some suspects just keep the door locked until the
police leave. That is a very short-term solution. They will
continue investigating, but they will only get the other side of
the story. So should you tell the police your side then? Why, so
they can use your statements against you as a confession? There
is a better way.
Many people just sit passively waiting to be arrested, perhaps
out of fear of expensive lawyer fees. But what will it cost if
the suspect goes to jail for a year or two? Many lawyers will
give you an interview without charge in order to determine
whether he can help you. That has always been my practice. There
are many good reasons to make that telephone call.
One of the best criminal defenses I ever gave was for a client
who never got charged. Let’s call him Diego. This is a true
case, but the name is not true. He had a perfectly clean record,
but he exited Highway 101 and was blinded by the late day sun.
He ran into an elderly woman and killed her. The CHP and the
District Attorney began looking into a charge of negligent
homicide, a felony.
Diego came straight to me as soon as he learned the DA was
investigating. Perhaps if he had done nothing the prosecutor
might have decided not to charge him anyway, but he chose not to
gamble. In my opinion, they would have charged him. Diego
overheard the ambulance attendant saying “Oh, THIS ramp again!”
Based on that comment, I interviewed that paramedic and learned
that many accidents had happened there for the same reason: the
off ramp pointed directly into the setting sun.
I contacted the prosecutor who was investigating and he advised
me that the family was understandably upset and were pressuring
him for some “action”. I suggested to him perhaps the
intersection was more at fault than my client, since neither
speeding nor alcohol nor drugs were involved. He said he “did
not know about that” but that he knew my client killed the
woman. I wondered: what would be his attitude if he DID know?
I contacted CALTRANS, which maintains a database of accidents on
every intersection and road in the state. They track the
locations that seem to be dangerous, and they do (in time) try
to fix them. They were helpful enough, and faxed me print outs
of the accidents at that intersection, including the times of
day of the accidents! |
|
I immediately shared this data with the prosecutor. He studied
it and said he’d contact me. Several days later I still had not
heard from him and called him. To my surprise, he still felt
that prosecution was in order. I pressed on and pointed out that
this accident could have happened to anyone. Then he leveled
with me that the decedent’s family was incensed that my client
had not so much as apologized for the death, and so was pushing
the D.A. for a prosecution.
It’s usually wise not to apologize, since it can later be used
as a supposed admission of “guilty” knowledge, so I had advised
her not to talk to them at all. It now appeared that if only the
family would back off, the D.A. would probably drop the case.
This is crucial information that no prosecutor would ever give
to a suspect directly. I compromised and had my client write a
heartfelt note of condolences, blaming the sun and the bad
design of the bus pad and offering his prayers for their mother.
The case was dropped.
Now had my client talked directly to the police, they would have
just gone about gathering evidence against him, including his
own words, not developing the facts that exonerate him. If he
had called the family directly, they might have argued about
“fault” or worse still, there might have been offense taken, or
a disagreement about what he said. By letting his attorney
intercede on his behalf, the felony charge was never filed,
without any risk of worsening his position legally.
Other types of cases that often benefit greatly from early
attorney assistance include domestic violence, drug conspiracy,
accusations of child abuse, gang violence, and all white collar
crimes. Even if the prosecutor decides to charge anyway, the
attorney can often arrange for release without going through an
arrest or posting bail. In most cases, an attorney retained
before the charges are filed can get the police not to come
arrest you at home or work, but allow your attorney to surrender
you on your schedule, with your immediate release arranged.
So it is not wise to just “wait out” a police investigation and
hope for the best. Either you will worsen your case by talking
to the police, or your side will go unsaid before charges are
filed. The fact is: if the police are investigating, you can’t
afford not to see an attorney.
|
