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As a criminal defense lawyer for the past 20 years I have represented thousands of people from DUI cases all the way up to sex offenses and murder charges.  What should you do if the police call you and want you to come in and answer some questions for them?  While it depends on what you are being investigated for, the general rule if you are being investigated for a crime is to put a buffer between yourself and the police so that they can't use your words against you in court should charges come down on you.

One problem is that many people go in to meet with the police thinking that they will not make any statements that might incriminate them during the interview.  I have seen problems occur once the client signs off on a Miranda waiver form that they thought they were signing just as a matter of procedure.  Once the waiver is signed, the officers have a long time to extract a “voluntary” statement from you.  Not good.

I have also seen cases where a client went to the police before retaining our criminal defense law firm and when asked if he knew a certain person, the client indicated yes and that he had seen her the previous week.  While the client though he was not admitting anything, his words were used as an admission that he was at the scene of the crime.

Some people think lawyering up shows and admission of guilt.  The truth is that asserting your rights can never be used against you in a court of law and lawyering up has prevented many of my clients from ever being charged with a crime in the first place.

If you or a loved one has been contacted by the police and they want you to come in and meet, you should contact the criminal defense lawyers at John W Callahan, Ltd., before making that move.

Posted by John W Callahan – criminal defense lawyer