Know Your Rights

What Should I Know if I’ve Been Arrested?
Being arrested is not an easy experience, but it can be made tolerable when you understand your rights and how our criminal justice system works. Remember that you have the right to a presumption of innocence, meaning that you are considered innocent until proven guilty. You also have the right to challenge the allegations made against you by the government, and you can do this with the assistance of legal representation.

Can I Be Detained without Being Arrested?
Depending on the circumstances involved in your unique situation, law enforcement officers can lawfully detain you while determining whether you may be connected to a crime. However, they must have reasonable suspicion whenever they stop and detain you, and they cannot move you from the location where you are detained unless they make an arrest or you voluntarily comply.

What Rights do I Have After an Arrest?
You have a number of rights following your arrest, including all the rights you had before, such as the right to remain silent. You also have the right to be made aware of the reason for your arrest and to communicate by phone with family, friends, bail companies, or your lawyer. At all stages of the arrest and criminal process, you have the right to legal representation, which can ensure you navigate the process smoothly and that you have the resources to fight the charges against you.

What should I do if I get questioned?

If you get arrested and law enforcement begin asking questions, then YOU SHOULD ONLY SAY THAT YOU ARE NOT ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS WITHOUT YOUR ATTORNEY. It doesn't matter if you have an attorney or not. Invoking the right to an attorney will end questioning.

Jail Phone Calls and the Ramifications of Saying Too Much

One of the biggest temptations for any defendant once they get behind bars is to call loved ones. Obviously, anyone in that situation would feel the need to reach out to their support group for help, advice, and/or direction. However, and almost without fail, we see instance after instance of inmates talking about the facts of their case to loved ones. And, in almost every single case, the information they are sharing is either incredibly hurtful to their case, somewhat hurtful to their case, or neutral at best. Never, and we mean NEVER, is it helpful.
Despite knowing the ramifications, however, each and every day thousands upon thousands of inmates spill the beans to their friends and families over a recorded and monitored telephone line. Amazingly, they’ll discuss their guilt, their intent to commit the crime, their accomplices, their motive, and even going as far as telling their family to lie to the police or prosecution. Why? Because most defendants believe the chances of a prosecutor or detective actually listening to their calls is incredibly slim given the enormous amount of phone calls made each day.
What many find even more surprising is that prosecutors do in fact listen to jail phone calls — thousands upon thousands of them! 
So, in the end, the only person that should talk to an inmate about their criminal case is the lawyer, and the lawyer only. Those conversations are guaranteed to be private, confidential, and privileged. While you may believe that you can outsmart the prosecutor or a detective, you can’t — and even if you can, the risk is too great given communicating through your lawyer accomplishes the same thing without the risk.
If you find yourself in a situation with a loved one being incarcerated, and you have questions about jail phone calls or any other criminal issue, give the experienced former prosecutor, Johanna Curry a  call today.