Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Wrongfully accused

Should I pay for--name removed--fine of pulling flowers out of--name removed--memorial flower box when the cop did not know who did it, did not see who did it or see the supposed missing flowers? He simply questioned--name removed--group of people and everyone said that we hadn't seen anyone pull flowers. But after I left, the cop supposedly came back to 2 of the other people and they said that I did it. I can't prove that I didn't do it but the cop can't prove that I did. What should I do?


Asked on 7/15/07, 12:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Gibson John W. Gibson, Esquire

Re: Wrongfully accused

Tough question. Rat on a friend or take the fall for him or her? The first question I'd ask myself is how do I know the cop isn't lying about the supposed witnesses? If you didn't do it, why would two people say that you did?

To the extent this is a legal question, if you are accused of the crime you can't assert your friend's Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and you would have to testify as to what you saw. In fact, if you are charged with a crime that you did not do and claim under oath that you did it, you are committing perjury. Some defendants who find themselves in this situation simply plead "no contest" to the charges.

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Answered on 7/15/07, 1:26 pm


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