What are your rights after being arrested in San Diego, California?

What are your rights after being arrested in San Diego, California?

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Being arrested for a criminal offense in San Diego, California, is not a pleasant experience. However, you need to know and understand what your rights are if this ever happens to you.

The hours before an arrest are just as crucial as those during the investigation or immediately after the arrest has been made. It is important for the accused to have their legal rights protected.

In the United States, anyone arrested has rights, including the one to request legal assistance at every critical stage of a judicial process. One of them is to have a criminal attorney present when being interrogated.

In fact, having an attorney with you from the start can prevent you from self-incriminating yourself. It does happen more often than you think.

Protect yourself against self-incrimination

As we just mentioned, when someone is interrogated by highly-experienced police officers and detectives that know how to get a confession from someone, even if they are entirely innocent, they could be pressured to make a false confession.

Police officers are often pressured to solve cases as quickly as possible, and therefore secure a conviction. Unfortunately, this leads to some professionals using questionable tactics to do so.

When is the crucial moment to have legal representation in case of an arrest?

When a suspect is asked to come down to the police station for interrogation, it is crucial to have legal representation present. A criminal defense lawyer will be able to give expert legal advice to protect the suspect against self-incrimination.

Besides, a criminal defense attorney will know and take action if police officers go beyond the line of what is acceptable in an interrogation.

What are your rights after being arrested?

You should know that if you are questioned before you are read your rights, the police cannot use anything you say as direct evidence against you in a trial.

These rights are popularly known as the Miranda warning (ordered by the U. Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona), and they are:

• You have the right to remain silent.
• If you do say anything, what you say can be used against you in a court of law.
• You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during any questioning.
• If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire.
• If you choose to talk to the police officer, you have the right to stop the interview at any time. 

It does not matter if the interrogation takes place in a jail, crime scene, or in the middle of nowhere. If you are taken into custody, the police must give you a Miranda warning if they want to question you, and you are not obliged to respond.

In the case that you are not in police custody, a Miranda warning is not required.

If you want to remain silent during an interrogation, you should say so to the interrogator. Otherwise, they will continue to interrogate you until you say something you may regret. There is no exact phrase that you have to say, just that you wish to stay silent until there is an attorney with you.

If the police continue to question you after you have said that you wish to remain silent, they will be violating the Miranda rights. As a result, anything you say will not be able to be used in a court at a trial.

Why you should talk to an attorney and not the police

A criminal defense lawyer will help you deal with the police and in any trial. Even if you are innocent and giving an honest statement to the police, you could get yourself into trouble. For instance, the statement might contain inconsistencies or inaccuracies that the prosecutors may use against you.

Someone that is under arrest benefits more by talking to a criminal defense attorney than the police.

We understand that being arrested and charged with a crime can be viewed as someone’s worst day in their lives. At Kannan Law, we handle every case carefully and are ready to represent and advise you throughout the entire process. Contact us today for more information!