Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
being investigated
A Detective wants to question me because he doing an on going investigation on me. Do I need an Attorney?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: being investigated
It is a really bad idea to go in for an interview with an officer who is investigating you without first consulting an attorney.
Re: being investigated
Not if you like prison food and accommodations. For once, listen to the advice on TV: exercise your 5th Amendment right to SHUT UP when questioned without an attorney. DA's will proudly tell you that 95% of convictions are because people 'cooperate' with investigators.
Re: being investigated
A detective wants to trip you up and use anything you say against you in order to build and quickly close the case against you. Generally, you have two ways to go - not to talk to detective at all and wait until you get charged or to talk to him if you believe you can provide some information which would prevent charges from being filed, but only when your attorney is present.
Even if you do not talk at all, an attorney could be very useful in negotiating the terms and time of your surrender, i.e, bail and other issues up front rather than leaving in a situation where you get that unexpected knock on your door.
Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.
310.273.1361
www.lentzlawfirm.com