Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania
Attorney acting in best interests of client?
Several weeks ago, my husband was asked to go for a police interview believing it to be as a witness. He waived the miranda warning & when he realized he was a suspect, stopped the interview & left.
He hired an attorney & heard nothing until this week when his attorney said they had to attend an interview & he might be charged with 2 misdemeanors. At the interview, he was told he was not being recorded & was not re-advised of his miranda rights.
His attorney told him to make a verbal statement which he did & which put him at the scene. The officer then said he should come home, write a statement & submit it. He also said the charges were not misdemeanors but felonies.
Now, we are very confused. 1.Why the attorney would tell him to make a statement before charges have been brought? 2. If the officer had probable cause for felonies already, wouldn't he have charged him? Presumably he wants a confession or something he can pull apart.
I would ask the attorney this but at the moment I am not sure we can trust him.
3, since the interview was not recorded & a miranda warning was not given the 2nd time, are his verbal answers admissable or do they fall under the waiver of the miranda warning from several weeks ago?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Attorney acting in best interests of client?
As to why an attorney would have him make a statement, that is a matter of strategy. Sometimes, a statement can help. Without knowing the facts and circumstances, it is impossible to comment.
As to why the police do what they do - that's also very difficult to say. Police are permitted, and even encouraged, to lie and make false promises to people in order to confuse, trick, and trap them.
As to the admissibility of the statement, the fact that his attorney was present when he made the statement takes away the suppression issue. The statement is admissible - even though it was not recorded.
In order to get the best result in the criminal justice system, it is important for an attorney and his or her client to work toegether. Bonds of trust are difficult to forge in just a few meetings - sometimes people lie to lawyers or lawyers don't do a great job explaining the system. I would never presume that a lawyer does not have a client's best interest at heart, and I think most attorneys do a competent job. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule.
I recommend that you have a frank and open discussion with the lawyer and get this all out in the open. I know that when I have a client who doesn't trust me all the way, it makes my job harder. I always appreciate it when a client speaks up and explains his or her worries to me.
I wish you and your husband good luck in getting through this.
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