If you are a person who tends to make bad choices, and if you have a criminal issue facing you, or you are likely to have one, make sure you don’t make these mistakes:

Sharing information on social media, emails or texts

Even if only on TV or in the movies, you’ve surely heard the Miranda warning that law officers must provide people they are going to arrest, including the advice that “Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.”

Well, anything you convey online (via email or YouTube) or in social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) can also be used against you later in court. Texting conversations are also fair game for investigators and prosecutors.

For instance, if you face a charge of robbery, you should convey nothing online which could connect you to the site of the alleged crime. You should also avoid posting any photos which could suggest you acquired sudden wealth. Avoid contacting anyone online who has any bearing on your case. It’s not your job to point out to police and prosecutors who they should be interviewing.

Remember: Online posts last forever, and prosecutors often look there first to gain evidence they can use against you later at trial.

Telling your side of the story to police

Speaking of Miranda warnings, these only must be issued if a person is in custody and law officers want to question them about a crime. That’s usually done at a police station following an arrest. So even before a Miranda warning is issued, you shouldn’t talk. In fact, even after it’s issued you still shouldn’t talk.

If you do talk, all you’re doing is answering questions which law officers pose to trap you and make you look guilty. So don’t talk to police when you’re arrested, don’t give detectives written or oral statements after your arrest, don’t talk to other inmates about your alleged crime if you are placed in jail, and don’t talk about your case on jail phones which may be recorded.

Only talk to your attorney. Then, your attorney will speak up for you while defending your legal rights. One of those rights is your Fifth Amendment constitutional right to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination, or making yourself look guilty. And don’t worry, by “pleading the Fifth” and not talking, you’re NOT admitting guilt. You’re only applying your legal right.

Not caring how you look in court

While we’ve all been told that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, keep in mind that “judging” is exactly what a judge is supposed to do. It’s their job—and you should respect that.

If you show up for a hearing looking messy and dirty, a judge may consider you to be disrespectful and treat you that way. But if you show up looking neat and clean, a judge is more likely to treat you like a responsible person.

Demanding to take an active role in your defense

Your criminal defense lawyer worked for years to learn the law and how it’s applied. He or she is a legal professional. You’re not.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking your persuasive powers in arguments with friends or family about sports or politics make you qualified to steer your defense strategy. Leave that to your defense attorney, who will advise you the best courses of action and then proceed with your consent.

Failing to hire an attorney in the first place

Even worse than getting in the way of your attorney’s job is having no attorney at all and trying to represent yourself. After your arrest, you should engage an attorney as soon as possible to represent you at each stage of the legal process. If you don’t, police and prosecutors are more likely to take advantage of you.

Alexander Truluck focuses his practice as a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.criminallawyerclearwaterflorida.com
or call (727) 799-3550.