Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

You need an attorney at all criminal interviews

Right to an Attorney

You did the right thing, absolutely. We handle a lot of these cases and all too often see suspects interviewed by the Police without proper legal representation. Any lawyer with experience in this area will advise you against interviewing with law enforcement, without counsel, for various reasons.

First, you cannot talk yourself out of this type of case. In fact, when suspects attempt to do so, they often implicate themselves even further by revealing information which appeared on its face to be helpful, but when taken with other facts, hurts even more. Second, many suspects, for a variety of reasons, feel compelled to confess, either to prevent embarrassment to themselves or their family. Law enforcement is trained about this psychology and will attempt to pressure suspects into confessions. Law enforcement will also tell you if you have nothing to hide you don�t need an attorney or if you cooperated they will go easy on you. These are all just typical law enforcement tactics to get you to talk.

The reason you need an attorney in these situations is simple. Your attorney can discuss the case with the investigator without anything that is said being used against you. We can often elicit enough information from law enforcement to get better understand the allegations and facts surrounding the case. Then we can discuss the case with our client and form an appropriate strategy, which in some cases could involve cooperation. The bottom line is DO NOT, NEVER, allow yourself to be questioned regarding suspected criminal activity. You can tell them you want to cooperate but want to have your attorney present.

JOHN T. FLOYD LAW FIRM � HOUSTON CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER

WWW.JOHNTFLOYD.COM