Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: Identity Theft Question

Chances? Your guess is as good as any of ours. Depends on what they find on your computers, and what you confessed to in your 'discussion'. Since you turned over all the evidence, without forcing them to get a warrant, without having counsel to advise you to exercise your 5th Amendment right to SHUT UP, you now you get to defend any charges filed, as best you can. At least now, get an attorney before helping the prosecution any further. If this is in SoCAL, feel free to contact me if you get serious about doing so.

Re: Identity Theft Question

You need a lawyer ASAP. Whether the D.A. will want to pursue this will depend upon a variety of factors which I cannot assess, including his office's workload. Your offense is serious enough to justify a prosecution, though. Prosecution will be all the more likely if the investigators find evidence on your computers of other crimes.

This leads to the question of just how the officer was able to "confiscate" your computers. Did he have a warrant? What did the warrant say? If there was no warrant, did you hand the computers over willingly? You should do what you can to get a lawyer before the police have a chance to look too thoroughly at your computer, just in case she is able to get an order blocking such an inspection.

Re: Identity Theft Question

Are the computers your own, or ones you use at work? When you say officer, do you mean a police officer or an officer of your company?

Illegally-obtained evidence can be suppressed, even if it is evidence that shows a crime was committed.

An attorney who does criminal defense as a principal business, not a sideline, who knows 4th Amendment and Penal Code 1538.5 motions backwards and forwards, can help you.