Should I Talk to the Police? – South Bend Criminal Defense Lawyer

Posted on October 30, 2011 by jeffhaupt

The police have brought you in to question you about a crime? Are you a suspect? Or do they just want to see what information you may have about a particular crime? How do you know?

Good question! Remember the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution allow you the right to remain silent. If you were arrested you should have been told this right when your “Miranda Rights” were read to you. It is probably the most important right that you have in a criminal investigation.

Do the police have to be honest with me?

The police may or may not have evidence that you have committed a particular crime. They do not have to inform you of what evidence they have or don’t have. They don’t even have to be truthful in what they say to you. But, if you start offering up statements, even in denial, you can make their job of showing you committed a crime a lot easier.

How? For instance, if you deny that you did anything wrong, but admitted to being at the place where a crime happened you may have just given the police a piece of evidence they didn’t have before. Perhaps they had no clue whether you were at the scene of the crime, but now they can place you there because of the statement you made denying the crime.

Ask to Speak to a Lawyer

The best way to handle the matter, ask to speak with a lawyer. Do this in a polite manner, without denying or admitting anything. The fact that you ask to speak with a lawyer cannot be used against you in a court case, and isn’t an admission of guilt. At this point, the police should stop talking to you until your lawyer arrives. Your lawyer will be in a better position to determine what, if anything should be said by you.

if the police have contacted you about a crime, contact my law office. i will work with you to make sure your rights are protected.

The Law Office of Jeffery M. Haupt is located in South Bend, Indiana and helps people handle family law issues such as divorce, parenting time, child support, paternity, and child custody, criminal defense matters, DUIs, theft charges, and license suspensions. The information in this blog should only be used for educational purposes and not be construed as legal advice. Nothing in this blog creates an attorney-client relationship between me and any readers of this blog. No attorney-client relationship is created until you have a document from me saying so. DO NOT POST ABOUT CASE PARTICULARS IN THE COMMENT SECTION.

What NOT to do When You Are Arrested

Posted on August 15, 2011 by jeffhaupt

Being arrested in Indiana you have certain rights. First and foremost if you are actually being arrested you should be advised of your Miranda Rights. These rights are famously heard throughout TV programs and movies and are pretty common place in our society. Essentially, the Miranda Rights gives you the right to keep from incriminating yourself by reminding you of the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present during questioning.

The Right to Remain Silent

The 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives us the ability to remain silent so that we do not incriminate ourselves during the course of a trial or investigation. Once you are arrested you should be advised of this right. If you are brought in for questioning after your arrest it is important that you invoke this right and explicitly let the police officer investigating the crime know that you wish to remain silent or simply remain silent.

By talking to the police about the crime or the investigation, your statements can be used against you in a subsequent prosecution. Remember, it is the State that has to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt in order for you to be convicted. By offering up statements during the course of an investigation you could be essentially making the case for the State (or even implicating yourself in an unrelated crime).

The Right to Have Counsel

During the course of questioning by the police you have the right to have counsel present. Your attorney can advise you of what questions to answer and what not to answer, what the police are trying to get at and what sort of charges you could be facing. Having an attorney present can prevent you from implicating yourself. Regardless of what you see on most TV shows where the suspect, who has an attorney with him or her, goes on a tangent because he was being pushed to hard during an investigation, that simply isn’t reality. Most competent lawyers would make sure you understand what can happen to you based on the questions that you are about to answer.

The Law Office of Jeffery M. Haupt is located in South Bend, Indiana and helps people handle family law issues such as divorce, parenting time, child support, paternity, child custody and criminal matters such as DUI/OWI, drug offenses, traffic offenses, etc. The information in this blog should only be used for educational purposes and not be construed as legal advice. Nothing in this blog creates an attorney-client relationship between me and any readers of this blog. No attorney-client relationship is created until you have a document from me saying so. DO NOT POST ABOUT CASE PARTICULARS IN THE COMMENT SECTION.

Genetic Testing in Indiana Criminal Cases

Posted on August 10, 2011 by jeffhaupt

A recent opinion by the Indiana Supreme Court would suggest that genetic testing could be used similar to an identifier, like finger prints for purposes of evidence gathering. Arturo Garcia-Torres v. State of Indiana The Court weighed several factors as to the level of intrusiveness involved in completing a cheek swab for the purposes of gathering a DNA sample and how in many ways this can be less intrusive than simple fingerprinting.

What the Court did recognize is that in this case the DNA sample was, “a search requiring its own separate probable cause proceedings, even for a suspect in lawful custody for rape.“ The Indiana Supreme Court then had to consider whether or not consent was given by the Defendant in a voluntary and knowing manner. In this particular instance his Miranda rights were not violated as the Court found that the Miranda warning only protects against self-incrimination (5th Amendment) rights.

Pirtle Advisement

The Pirtle Advisement stems from the case Pirtle v. State of Indiana and basically states, “a person held in police custody is entitled to the presence and advice of counsel prior to consenting to a search and that the right, if waived, must be explicitly waived.” 263 Ind. 16, 29, 323 N.E.2d 634, 640 (1975). In weighing the Pirtle Advisement requirements the Court explained how the Pirtle rule has been applied only to “the weightiest intrusions.” The Pirtle Advisment has not been required in situations where searches are minimially intrusive, such as pat downs, field sobriety test, and chemical breath tests.

Going back to my original introduction above, the Court found that the intrusion was only slight and shared more in common with fingerprinting than a car search.

In the end, the Court upheld the DNA results being admitted into evidence. As with any case you have to examine all of the facts to determine whether a similar case would turn out the same way or if the facts are slightly different enough to allow for better arguments than the Defendant had here.

South Bend Criminal Defense – Do I Have to Talk to the Police?

Posted on August 8, 2011 by jeffhaupt

Talking to the Police The police have brought you in to question you about a crime? Are you a suspect? Or do they just want to see what information you may have about a particular crime? How do you know?

South Bend Lawyer – Jeffery M Haupt

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Tag Archives: 5th Amendment