March 29, 2024

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What You Should Know About Being Arrested And The Legal Process

The nightmare of being arrested can become a reality if you make a less than wise choice. You can also be arrested unjustly due to false claims or mistaken identity. The most important part of being arrested is keeping your cool as reacting aggressively can lead to more charges being piled on. The legal process can be lengthy and even take years in more serious cases. Less serious cases like that of a misdemeanor might be resolved in a matter of months. The following are things that you should know when arrested and about the legal process. 

Remaining Silent Is The Best Course Action At Times

You should stay silent if you believe that you are going to be arrested. The mistake that a number of people make is admitting to something thinking the police officers will let them off with a warning. This is a huge mistake as the admission of guilt is very incriminating in court. You should be polite but refuse to answer any questions. You don’t have to answer anything regardless if you are detained or arrested. With body cameras, there will be less misinformation being given by officers in the field. The arrest report is going to note most things that are said and the body camera can also be used as evidence. You don’t want to act hostile towards the officer as this could be a bad way to be perceived if the case does make it all the way to trial. 

Your Attorney Matters

You are not going to want to represent yourself in court as legal professionals should not even do this. Finding an attorney that you trust and has experience with the local court system is imperative. You want to have as many options to end the case as possible which can include plea deals or diversion programs. Your budget for criminal defense lawyers will differ as most cases have a fixed fee. Relying on a public defender will not be your best course of action as these legal professionals have a plethora of cases going on simultaneously. 

Deactivate Social Media 

The last thing anyone wants when on probation or facing charges is a social media post getting them into further trouble. You never know what someone is going to post on your social media or what you will be tagged in. If you do not post and are not very active, you might not have anything to worry about. Past posts can be looked at by prosecutors when trying to find a pattern of behavior. Even changing your name might be a good idea if you simply cannot take the idea of deleting your social media applications. 

An arrest is something that you need to make sure you handle appropriately. For certain charges, your freedom could depend on it. Getting out of the legal system is also very important as some terms of probation can be very tough to follow for