Thursday, 13 October 2016

When On The Wrong Side Of The Law Get A New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney

By Kathleen Walker


At any specific moment the many different law enforcement authorities are investigating hundreds of thousands of crimes. This means that there is always a very large number of people that are under investigation or that are suspected of committing crimes. Thousands of arrests are made each year. No one under investigation or that has been arrested should try and manage the situation without help from a New Jersey criminal defense attorney.

Anyone under investigation or that has been arrested enjoys a number of rights that may under no circumstances be dishonoured. Any accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and they must be treated accordingly. When arrested, the accused have the right to refuse to answer questions or make a statement. All accused have the right to the services of a lawyer, even if the state has to provide one.

It is interesting to note that a large number of accused or suspects do not insist on exercising their rights. They think that to do so is a clear indication that they are guilty or that they have something to hide. Others think that the authorities will be lenient if they are seen to fully cooperate. None of this is true. No accused should ever make a statement or agree to questioning without his lawyer at hand.

Once a lawyer agrees to take on a case he will first make sure that the arrest has been handled according to procedures and that the rights of the accused have been observed at all times. He will obtain all the relevant facts from the arresting authority and then he will do his best to obtain bail for his client. He will also advise his client to communicate with nobody about the case before clearing it with the lawyer.

After bail has been granted it is vital to strictly observe the conditions set by the court. In most cases, the accused may not travel outside a specific area, he may not contact anyone else that is connected with the case and he has to report to a designated police station at regular intervals. Failure to keep to the conditions of bail can result in being arrested again.

The relationship between a lawyer and his client is strictly confidential. Yet many accused still lie to their lawyers or they omit to make all the information that they have available. This is a massive mistake because lies can easily be exposed in court, seriously damaging the case of the accused and professionally embarrassing the lawyer. Honesty is the only route, even if the facts are embarrassing.

People pay for medical insurance even when they are healthy and for car insurance even when they have never been involved in an accident. Yet many people never consider taking out legal insurance for the eventuality that they can become embroiled in a serious legal matter. Legal fees are very steep and court cases have been known to cost hundreds of thousands, even millions.

Nobody wants to be part of a criminal investigation but thousands of people are. Sometimes people just act irrationally, or make poor decisions or show bad judgement by drinking and then driving, for example. Whatever, happened, when in trouble with law enforcement authorities the first priority is to get legal representation.




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