State of Arrest: Know Your Rights
If you ever get arrested, you have a lot of rights that can make or break your case down the line. While it might be tempting to simply go along with whatever happens, there are a lot of variables that can impact how the next few months or even years of your life will go. You have a lot of rights, including those the police officer is required to inform you of. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power.
Stay Quiet
When you are arrested, you have the right to remain silent. That means more than not doing anything stupid like resisting arrest or trying to cuss out the cops. While anybody who has any remaining sanity knows not to do those things, they sometimes forget that anything they say can easily be used against them in court. Do yourself a favor and do not arm the prosecutor by saying a bunch of things that can come back to haunt you later on.
Don't Tell on Yourself
If you did something wrong, there's a good chance the truth will eventually come out. However, you do not want the truth to come out of your mouth. If you say something that is against yourself, you have just admitted guilt in so many words. Your Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate yourself applies all the time. So don't say anything about anything you might have done without following the advice right after this.
Use an Attorney
Attorneys are great. If you don't have a lot of money, you can still get an attorney who will at least be able to advise you on the basics. Public defenders are known for being heavily overworked, which means you won't get the same level of service you would get with a highly paid private lawyer. However, any good legal advice is better than no legal advice whatsoever, which is what you'll end up with if you try to go it alone.
Remember the Officers' Actions
If the police officers acted improperly in any way, you might be able to get off solely because of that. Remember what happens if you are not read your miranda rights. Typically, one of the officers will take out a small piece of paper that has your Miranda rights printed on it and read it to you verbatim. If this does not occur, or only partially occurs, you can get a mistrial solely based on that tiny breach.
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Stay Quiet
When you are arrested, you have the right to remain silent. That means more than not doing anything stupid like resisting arrest or trying to cuss out the cops. While anybody who has any remaining sanity knows not to do those things, they sometimes forget that anything they say can easily be used against them in court. Do yourself a favor and do not arm the prosecutor by saying a bunch of things that can come back to haunt you later on.
Don't Tell on Yourself
If you did something wrong, there's a good chance the truth will eventually come out. However, you do not want the truth to come out of your mouth. If you say something that is against yourself, you have just admitted guilt in so many words. Your Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate yourself applies all the time. So don't say anything about anything you might have done without following the advice right after this.
Use an Attorney
Attorneys are great. If you don't have a lot of money, you can still get an attorney who will at least be able to advise you on the basics. Public defenders are known for being heavily overworked, which means you won't get the same level of service you would get with a highly paid private lawyer. However, any good legal advice is better than no legal advice whatsoever, which is what you'll end up with if you try to go it alone.
Remember the Officers' Actions
If the police officers acted improperly in any way, you might be able to get off solely because of that. Remember what happens if you are not read your miranda rights. Typically, one of the officers will take out a small piece of paper that has your Miranda rights printed on it and read it to you verbatim. If this does not occur, or only partially occurs, you can get a mistrial solely based on that tiny breach.
