Know Your Rights after an Arrest

Advice from a NYC Criminal Defense Lawyer

Being under investigation for a criminal offense or getting arrested in New York is not a pleasant experience. The hours and days just prior to an arrest, during an investigation or immediately following an arrest are absolutely crucial for the criminal defendant if they want to protect their legal rights. Fortunately, in the United States, criminal defendants have a right to legal counsel at all of the critical stages of a prosecution.

These rights include the right to a criminal defense attorney at the arraignment or even earlier if the situation necessities legal counsel. It is always in the best interests of the suspect to hire a lawyer at the earliest available opportunity. In fact, hiring an attorney prior to an arrest can prevent a suspect from self-incrimination, which happens more often than one might think.

Legal Protection Against Self-Incrimination

It is not uncommon for an entirely innocent suspect who failed to hire an attorney prior to police questioning to make a false confession. False confessions are an unfortunate event, but they can and do happen in our nation's police interrogation rooms. False confessions are so commonplace that they are a leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States.

Although the job of law enforcement is to secure a conviction, they don't always use the most honest and moral methods to extract the information they need. The police are not above tricking or lying to a suspect to get them to come down to the station, and they will often times tell the suspect that they want to get their side of the story when in fact their plan is to make an arrest on the spot.

Crucial Time for Legal Representation

When the suspect is asked to come down to the precinct, it is absolutely vital that they retain legal counsel, that way the suspect is protected against self-incrimination. Mistaken eyewitness identification is a leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States; therefore, retaining legal counsel is vital if the suspect is to be placed in a lineup that was arranged by the police. A defendant has a constitutional right to an attorney in a post-arraignment lineup, having an attorney present to monitor the procedure will be his or her best protection against mistaken identity.

If you are a suspect in a criminal investigation, the single most effective thing you can do is retain the services of an attorney at the earliest opportunity. This way, your 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination can be protected. Furthermore, your 6th Amendment rights to Assistance of Counsel and Due Process rights (5th & 14th Amendments) can be preserved to protect you against damaging admissions and mistaken identification.

Fortunately, an experienced criminal defense attorney from the Law Offices of Daniel A. Hochheiser can not only protect your rights throughout the investigation but throughout the criminal process as well. We can protect your rights through trial by confronting witnesses through cross examination, we can present a strong defense, we can compel the production of evidence and we will ensure that your rights to a fair trial are fully protected.