THEY ARRESTED ME FOR NO REASON
I hear this a lot. It always baffles me. The police are legally required to give you the reason they arrested you. They are legally required in Virginia to take you before a judicial official (a magistrate) and explain what they are arresting you for and the exact law you allegedly violated. Then the magistrate is required to advise you, again, of the exact charge, so you understand why you were arrested. If you are held in jail, usually the next working day a judge will, again, advise you why you were arrested. In addition, the officer or magistrate is required to give you written paperwork detailing exactly why you were arrested, the officere’s name, and the court you are to appear in to answer that specific charge.
***So given all that information, how is it that you call my office and tell me you are clueless on why you were arrested? Now, i can understand if you were drunk or under the influence of drugs, or too scared or worried, or just forgot what happened. I can appreciate that. Being arrested is a scary thing and a lot of things are happeneing at once. Also, sometimes the jail takes away your arrest documents so you do not have any paperwork explaining why you were arrested. But usually you can recall something that caused the police to stop you.. Usually, when I hear, “they arrested me for no reason”, I think that you do not recall very much, or it’s a case of mistaken identity and your name matched a warrant for somebody else (that happens, especially if you have a commion name).
***But most of the time you have good idea of why you were arrested but you're embarassed to tell your lawyer. Don’t be. I’m a big boy. I used to be sailor, so I’ve been around the world and seen many strange things. As a patrol officer, I have learned a lot about the difficult situations people can find themselves in. I have had ups and downs in relationships, so I know all about what can happen in family arguments. With over 20 years expereince defending folks, I’ve seen just about every kind of case there is—from murder, to sex crimes, to exotic things like cheating on the driver’s test or smuggling reptiles. Everything you tell me is protected by attorney-client confidentiality, so just level with me and we can work through this thing together.
Furlong Law Offices PLLC
DON'T BELIEVE ALL INTERNET LAW
DON'T COMPARE YOUR CASE TO OTHERS
I often get told "the Internet says...." some law about a client's case, or that "my friend murdered 20 people and only got probation", quoted by the client or family. The Internet is great for researching specific statutes (written laws) but not great for understanding how a specific law is applied to specific facts in YOUR case.
**There are many variables that make each case different. DO NOT COMPARE other cases to yours. The Internet does not go into all the differences between your case and somebody in Hawaii, or explain that California law doesn't help you in Virginia. I know pot is legal there, but it's still ILLEGAL in Virginia. That means you can be arrested, prosecuted and serve jail time in Virginia by relying on Internet law telling you it's okay.
**When using Virginia Internet law, know that each county and city prosecutor (and police department) may apply or interpret the same law differently. Also, your judge may view different facts as favorable or unfavorable in your case. Because police, prosecutors, judges and juries view things differently, and because your facts are usually different than the Internet case, you CANNOT COMPARE your case to others involving different players and places. Each case needs its own investigation and legal analysis. Internet law may help you understand the elements of a statute (specific law) and give you a general roadmap of where the case may go, but never confuse what you read to reality in court. For example, 2 defendants arrested in the same county could have different outcomes because of variables in arresting officers and different prosecutors. It sounds weird but people are different and that means similar cases can have very different outcomes. Different officers emphasize different things in their reports, different prosecutors value or discard certain things about you or your case, and different judges like or dislike certain facts, crimes, or testimony. These many variables mean that while the same law can apply to similar cases, the outcomes may be very different.
**Experience matters. You don't want to say or use the WRONG argument with the WRONG prosecutor or judge. Hire a lawyer who knows YOUR court, YOUR county, and is familiar with YOUR prosecutor and judge to avoid mistakes in procedure, arguments, etc. Example: northern Virginia counties handle things different than central and southern Virginia counties. What works in one county may not work in another. Make sure YOUR LAWYER knows your local court, local procedures, and the prosecutors likely to handle the case. While U.S. Constitutional rules apply everywhere, there is a lot that's different about how cases are presented and argued in different couties.
***BE POLITE. This is the south where politeness matters, politeness is expected, and rudeness may be punished harshly. We don’t care that you're a pre-law student and want to debate the Fourth Amendment with the officer on the side of the road. Bad idea. They won’t be impressed. Virginia judges often ask the officer if you were “polite and cooperative.” Let’s hope your were.
***DON’T PUSH YOUR LICENSE OUT THROUGH A SLIT IN YOUR CAR WINDOW. The Internet has videos advising folks to roll their car window down a tiny bit and push their driver’s license through the slit when the officer asks to see it. BAD IDEA. The offiucer can order you out of your car, so why be snarky? This is the south and our police do not tolerate that nonsense. You pull that stunt and you likely will be ordered out of the car. The Internet advice says: “don’t roll your window down because then the officer might smell alcohol on your breath.” Well, after the officer orders you out of your car that defeats the Inernet argument. If you refuse to exit your vehicle? Oh, boy—watch out for glass breaking. So by following the Internet advice, you may immediately bring suspicion upon yourself, escalate the situation, and likely make the officer think you are hiding something.
Instead, be calm. You don’t have to answer all the officer’s questions. You don’t have to tell them where you came from or if you’ve been drinking or where you are going. You may decline politely to answer these questions and decline any searches “on the advice of counsel” without beiung rude. Oh, and you are NOT entitled to have a lawyer present with you on the side of the road during a DUI stop (another Internet bad advice video).
Just trying to help you avoid an Internet advised mistake.
SAVING YOU FROM YOUR OWN BIG MOUTH
Do not talk yourself into jail.
The most common legal mistake I see is when a suspect talks to the police—even after the police warn them anything they say can be used against them in court. Why would anybody talk if they really understood this? Because suspects think they can fool the police with a phony story. By talking without a lawyer present, the suspect's ignorance of the law will likely hurt his case.
When I was a cop I loved to hear a suspect’s story—any story. The more they talked, the more I had to work with in proving them liars. The less they talked, the harder it was to build a case. Also, talking to the police may reduce the number of legal defenses available to your lawyer. Remaining silent may maximize your legal defenses by giving your lawyer more to work with. Agreeing with the police is called an admission or confession, both of which usually hurt you. Do not agree. Just give your name and say you will not answer any questions unless your lawyer is present.. Since no lawyer is present, you do not talk.
My favorite police line to get a confession was: “Look, I can’t help you unless you level with me. I want to hear your side of the story. If you won’t talk, then I can’t help you.” That line worked 99% of the time to obtain a confession. I’m amazed suspects fell for it. Their ignorance of the law helped me build a case against them. They did not realize that by talking to the police, they often hurt their case by taking away defenses their lawyer could use in court. By not talking to the police, they maximized their available defenses. You are not a lawyer, so you don’t know if what you say will hurt your case, so do not answer police questions, except to identify yourself.
The US Supreme Court orders the police to read you “Miranda Warnings” because the court found Americans were too ignorant to know their rights. The court wanted us protected from the police so they made the police warn us that we did not have to talk, and we certainly did not have to talk unless our lawyer was present. Despite the Supreme Court of the United States expecting people to wise up and not talk to the police because it could hurt their case, and to have a lawyer present before any questioning, people still talk to the police. Now how ignorant is that?
Anything you say to the police, say in jail, say over the jail telephone say during a jail visit, say to the guards or to another inmate can be used against you. Basically, talking about your case to others may legally hurt you later in court. So do not discuss your case with anyone but your lawyer, and certainly not the police.
If I think you should talk to the police, then I will arrange it and be there. You don’t play lawyer on the side of the road during a traffic stop and try and out talk the cop. One, southern police won’t stand for that nonsense, and two, the more you talk—the more you may hurt your case.. Just politely decline to answer "on the advice of counsel”, and ask for a lawyer before you will answer any questions.
Don’t be that ignorant fool the Supreme Court had in mind when it ordered the police to warn you about your big mouth.
DRUGS: Cocaine, Marijuana, Pills: I handle many drug cases, from small possession cases to airplane shipments. I always look at these critical legal factors:
(1) Did the police have a legal right to stop you? (Does it pass the Fourth Amendment test limiting the police?)
(2) Was the police search legal? (If not, then the police cannot use what they found against you in court).
(3) Did you waive your legal rights that you automatically have? (Did you talk yourself into jail by refusing to REMAIN SILENT. Did you give the police permission to search? Never agree to any search (someone could have put things there without your knowledge).
RECKLESS DRIVING: Warning: In Virginia, driving 20 mph over the posted speed limit is a misdemeanor criminal offense. If you are driving in circles in the snow or in a parking lot screeching tires, the police may arrest you for General Reckless Driving (anything the officer thinks may endanger you or others). Bottom line: driving for cool will make you a fool. There are many kinds of Reckless Driving (going over 80 mph, passing a stopped school bus with children entering/exiting, etc. Virginia doesn’t play around with hot dog drivers. Drive the limit. Be a courteous driver. DO NOT throw anything from the car, including trash or cigarettes. (I warned you!)
DO NOT be snarky with the police. Being rude to Virginia police officers may count against you in court. This is the south. We still value POLITENESS here, y’all.
REMAIN SILENT. “MIRANDA WARNINGS"
Police only have to advise you of your “Miranda Rights” or warnings if your are in a custodial setting (not free to leave) and they are questioning you about a crime they think you did. There is NO requirement that they always read these to you, and courts have allowed DUI arrests and traffic investigations to proceed without the police having to read you Miranda warnings (named after the case of Miranda vs. Arizona). HOWEVER, you should be smart and REMAIN SILENT. Don’t talk yourself into jail by giving a phony explanation. Better to ask for a lawyer and REMAIN SILENT, except you may give your name, address and date of birth (so the police can run a warrant check). If you have warrants, then you may just want to limit it to your name. DON’T ARGUE WITH POLICE. BE POLITE. And if you’re in trouble, do not explain or answer other questions, as you will likely only dig the trouble hole deeper.
