HOW STATEMENTS CAN BECOME CONFESSIONS

I recently had a caller who wanted my immediate advice about whether or not he should give a statement to the police. He was on his way to meet with the detective investigating the case. He was told it would be a brief interview, the police just want to find out what happened. My advice- meet with a lawyer first.

A police officer calls you and asks you to come to the police station and make a statement. You are briefly informed of your rights. No big deal, just procedure. The police officer just wants you to give a statement telling them everything that happened. Doesn't sound so bad, at first. So you go and start giving a statement and all of a sudden you realize that you are a suspect. The officers begin grilling you and asking you questions about your involvement in the case, your whereabouts, your motive, why you did it. They tell you they have fingerprints, eye witnesses that saw you, evidence pointing to your guilt. They might be lying, but guess what- they can. The police are allowed to lie to you when they're trying to get a confession.

Most people are simply not aware of their rights. You have a constitutional right to remain silent, to not give a statement to the police, and your choice to exercise that right cannot be used against you. If you are a suspect in a case, many times police officers will say, "Listen, just give us your statement and you can go home" or "we're here to help you, if you tell us everything, we'll go easy on you". So people will talk, because they want to believe police officers, they think they can talk their way out of it, or they know they did nothing wrong. The unfortunate truth however, is that police officers sometimes lie. And though you're going in for what you think is just a statement, you may walk out with what the police consider a confession.

So how do you know whether or not to talk? The only way to make an informed decision is to consult with an attorney first and if you do decide to give a statement, have your attorney present. You also have a constitutional right to a lawyer. If you are being questioned by law enforcement and you tell them you want to talk to a lawyer, they have to stop. They don't always stop though, and you have to keep on telling them you want a lawyer, no matter what.

Some people think they'll look guilty if they ask for a lawyer. Truth is, if you are a suspect in a crime, the police officer probably already thinks you are guilty. If you don't say anything, a judge or jury will not be able to consider that as evidence of your guilt. If you do make a statement, anything you say can and usually will be used against you. Though I hesitate to say it doesn't matter what you say, it does matter more what the victim says. After all, the police are investigating this crime because there was a victim that reported it. You can say your innocent all day long. If the victim is credible, the police will tend to go with their version of events.

Helen Simotas became licensed to practice law in Texas in 1996 after graduating from St. Mary's University School of Law. Ms. Simotas is also a graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College.
No information in this article is intended to constitute legal advice. For specific legal advice, please contact an attorney.

FIGHTING FOR YOUR FREEDOM

As a criminal defense attorney, one of the most common questions I get is "How can you defend people who you know are guilty." That's the easy part. What's harder is defending someone I know is innocent.

Most clients come to me not because they want me to "get them off" or find a loophole, but because they're afraid. Afraid to go to prison, afraid of the criminal justice system, afraid of going to court. They want me to get them the best deal possible, perhaps a reduced jail sentence, or probation period. It's also my job to make sure the government does theirs. If the arrest was illegal or the search was bad, then the case could and should get dismissed. We all have standards and rules to uphold to, including law enforcement. If we have to play by the rules, so should the government. We all enjoy the freedom of being in the comfort of our own home and knowing that a police officer can't just break down the door and come search our home without a search warrant or probable cause to believe we've committed an offense. These are the freedoms defense attorneys fight for.

Sometimes guilty people are set free, but worse yet, there are too many instances when innocent people are convicted.