Criminal Defendants On Trial: (02) Under Immediate Arrest

by Ira Still, Esquire
South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer

(02) Under Immediate Arrest

Article Summary:

If you ever find yourself being handcuffed and shoved into a police patrol car, this can be a devastating couple hours of your life. No one wakes up in the morning and hopes to be arrested and facing a massive legal problem. There is so much you need to know and no place to turn for answers. That is, not until now. The author is a seasoned criminal defense lawyer who has written this article from his vast experience to guide you through your time in the criminal justice system. His helpful advice will steer you through the process that usually begins with the police placing you under immediate arrest.


Article:

The police have a chilling way of ushering a person into the criminal justice system: “You are under arrest!” Through the shock of these words you realize that you better comply with their directions or you might feel the sting of the taser, the bite of the police dog or the wrath of the night stick. Terror, anger and confusion fill the moment. You are on your way to the jail, the first appearance hearing, the bondsman’s interview, the lawyer’s office, the trial court proceedings and the jury trial. You are now inside the criminal justice system until the entire process is concluded.

* What is a warrant or capias?

An arrest could be based upon a warrant. But these comprise only a small percentage of arrest situations. A warrant (or capias) is a document issued by the trial court. It is a demand that the police take you into custody immediately wherever they may find you. Since these previously issued court orders were based upon circumstances that you knew were in the works [like violations of probation, failure to show up for a court hearing, etc.], they shouldn’t be a total surprise. You might blow a stop sign and get pulled over. The police run your driver’s license and a capias appears on the screen. Within a very short time you will be under arrest.

* Could I be arrested without a warrant?

Yes. The vast majority of arrests are made by police officers acting without a warrant. Suppose you are shopping. You walk to the door with packages in hand. When you get out to the parking lot, you’re stopped by a security officer. He looks in your bags and finds the clothes you just bought. He asks, “Where’s the sales slip?” You can’t find it. “Come on back inside so we can straighten this out.” The sales clerk doesn’t remember you at her register. The police are called in. You are now under immediate arrest.

Imagine you are driving your friends around and stop at a store. They go inside. You can’t see what happens but they come running out. They jump in and yell, “Drive, drive! Don’t stop!” You follow their demands and drive off. A high speed chase ends with a swarm of cops standing around your car; guns drawn. They are screaming, “Out the car and on the ground.” Later you learn that one of your friends tried to rob the cash register. When it went bad, he shot a man. You are being charged with felony murder. You are panic stricken and you are also under immediate arrest.

* What if I try to resist the cops?

Let’s address what to do and what not to do when you are being detained. Never try to fight the police. You will get additional charges. Don’t try running away. You will get more charges and rough treatment. This is not a battle between you and the police. This is the police doing what the government has hired them to do. They are under a duty and they will not back down.

Go along peaceably. This will help you now and later it may help your case. As in all of life, humility conquers arrogance.

Don’t try to talk your way out of it. You should only tell the police your name, age, address, and other personal background information. If you don’t give them this identifying information you could get an additional charge known as resisting an officer. But that is where you must stop talking. SAY NO MORE!

* How do I get them to stop all the questions?

Do not talk about the facts or circumstances of the case to anyone. Tell the detectives that you refuse to talk until you have an attorney. That is a key phrase in the law. Under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution you have both the right to silence and the right to counsel. If you assert the right to silence by saying, “I do not want to say anything,” the police can keep trying to get you to talk. If you begin talking about anything at all, the trial court may rule that you waived your right to silence. Only you can waive your rights, so don’t speak.

If you say over and over, “I want to speak to an attorney,” the law says the police must immediately stop questioning you until your attorney is present. When your attorney arrives, he will instruct the police that you won’t be giving any statements.

* Will the circumstances of the arrest be part of the court case?

The police will definitely testify in court about the arrest. They will tell the jury what you said and what you did. Keep these things in mind:

- - Police cars are equipped to take videos. Some can audio tape conversations. There are
also video cameras in police stations and jails. These may be put into evidence in your
court hearing or trial.

- - WARNING: Prosecutors use audio and video taped jailhouse visit conversations in trial.
There is no right to privacy while in custody. Only talk about your case with your attorney.

- - The police might conduct a “show-up Identification.” This is where the victim is brought to
the scene of arrest to see if they can identify you. Be calm and collected. Do what the
police instruct you to do.

- - If your friends are arrested along with you, don’t talk to them about the case either. Don’t
communicate with them at all. This could seriously impact your case.

The terrifying experience of being arrested will come to an end. From the initial police stop through the booking process, this might be the worst day of your life. The single most important thing to keep in your mind is don’t talk to anyone except your attorney about the facts of your case.




For more helpful information on success strategies for a person charged with a crime, contact

Ira Still, Esquire
Email: aistill@bellsouth.net
Web: www.istilldefendliberty.com
Info Blog: http://istilldefendliberty.blogspot.com

Ira Still has been a criminal defense trial lawyer in Florida for over 30 years. He successfully represents his clients on all crimes and in all courts. Ira has had many, many jury trials and is well known in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale as a very successful trial and appellate lawyer. He has argued death penalty collateral appeals in the Florida Supreme Court and in various District Courts of Appeal. He has filed briefs in the United States Supreme Court. Ira has tried high profile cases such as police shooting the wrong person; persons charged with shooting police; capital murder and capital sexual battery; violent crimes; drug trafficking; and virtually every other criminal charge. Ira is also an author, speaker, teacher, mentor and coach.

© 2009 Law Offices of Ira Still

Criminal Defendants On Trial: (01) Police Request a Voluntary Statement

by Ira Still, Esquire
South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer

(01) Police Request a Voluntary Statement


Article Summary:

If you ever open your front door to find police detectives asking you to follow them down to the station to discuss a crime they are investigating, this can be a devastating moment of your life. No one hopes to be instantly confronted with a massive legal problem such as this. There is so much you need to know and no place to turn for answers. That is, not until now. The author is a seasoned criminal defense lawyer who has written this article from his vast experience to guide you through your time in the criminal justice system. His helpful advice will guide you through the process that might begin with the police requesting a voluntary statement.



Article:

It’s 4:00 a.m. and you are fast asleep. Loud pounding on your front door startles you to quickly try to awaken. You go to see who is there. Two very serious looking men dressed in shirts and ties show their badges to the peep hole in the door. They are the police. Adrenalin rushes through your circulatory system but you unlock the door and ask them what is wrong. They say they are investigating a crime in the neighborhood and ask you to drive down to the police station to tell them what you might know about the crime.

You think, “Aren’t they supposed to read me my rights? I have seen that dozens of times on T.V.” You don’t know what to do. You don’t want to be impolite. They are the authorities. You guess that you must comply with their request. So you ask if you can get dressed first. Then, hoping to make it easy on yourself, you give up your rights and do what they tell you to do.

The first thing you need to understand is that the police are not always required by law to give you your rights when they want you to talk to them. In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court decided the landmark case concerning when and under what circumstances the U.S. Constitution requires police to advise a suspect of the right to silence and right to consult with an attorney prior to answering police questions.

Police are not always required to read you your rights under the Miranda decision. When police come to the scene of a crime and make an arrest but they do not want to talk to the person they will not read him his rights. If the police stop you on the street and begin questioning you and you volunteer to answer them, this is called a consensual encounter. They don’t need to read your Miranda rights. If they ask you to voluntarily go to the station and talk to them, even if it is tape recorded, they don’t need to give you your rights first under Miranda.

Does this sound strange to you? Well, here is the two minute wrap up on Miranda. Basically, the Miranda decision requires that whenever there is custodial interrogation the police must first advise the person of his 5th amendment rights to silence and counsel. If they fail to read and get a valid waiver of those rights, the statement will be suppressed by the trial court. That statement or confession will not be admitted into evidence at trial.

First, the court will determine whether you were in custody. That depends on a number of factors. Were you told by police that you are under arrest? Were you handcuffed and placed into the police vehicle? Were you free to walk off or leave? If you were taken to the station did you drive yourself there freely and voluntarily? If you were talking voluntarily, were you free to get up and walk out at any time? Did police questions focus on you as their only suspect? The answers to these and other similar questions can be used to determine if you were in custody for purposes of Miranda. However, a suspect could be clearly in custody but the police do not try to interrogate him when he pipes up and begins to confess to the crime. This is the next inquiry under Miranda.

Second, the court must determine whether the police were interrogating you. The word “interrogate” simply means “to question.” Are the police asking the suspect questions while he is in custody? Of course, questions of personal background [i.e. name, address, date of birth, etc.] may be asked and answered without the necessity of Miranda warnings. But any questions that go to the facts or details of the crime and its surrounding circumstances may not be asked and answered until the police warn you of your constitutional rights.

Now, with this basic primer in mind, let’s look again at the central issue of this article: “Come on down to the Station House and talk to us.” As you can tell no Miranda warnings are required. The police are asking you to come voluntarily. You could say, “No. I won’t go and get off my property.” You could go inside and hop back in bed. However, if you decide to voluntarily go with them anything you say will be used as a basis for charging you with a crime and arresting you right then and there.

Look at it this way, you are not in custody. You have not been charged with a crime. The police do not have probable cause to arrest you. They are looking for something to hang their hat on in order to arrest you. They hope you will come down to their Station where they are in control and they will get you to talk. If the government has the entire burden to prove a case against you beyond a reasonable doubt, then they must do so on proof [real evidence and testimony] other than your own words alone. If, you choose to talk, you do so at your own peril. You have constitutional rights. You must assert them or lose them.

So, when they come to call on you and try to shake you down, just say, “No thanks!” Don’t go with them. Don’t agree to leave your home and go with the police unless and until they arrest you. Always demand an attorney. Be loud and clear. Keep demanding to talk to an attorney until you get one. Never give a voluntary statement to the police without demanding to have your attorney present first.



For more helpful information on success strategies for a person charged with a crime, contact

Ira Still, EsquireEmail: aistill@bellsouth.net
Web: http://www.istilldefendliberty.com/
Info Blog: http://istilldefendliberty.blogspot.com/

Ira Still has been a criminal defense trial lawyer in Florida for over 30 years. He successfully represents his clients on all crimes and in all courts. Ira has had many, many jury trials and is well known in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale as a very successful trial and appellate lawyer. He has argued death penalty collateral appeals in the Florida Supreme Court and in various District Courts of Appeal. He has filed briefs in the United States Supreme Court. Ira has tried high profile cases such as police shooting the wrong person; persons charged with shooting police; capital murder and capital sexual battery; violent crimes; drug trafficking; and virtually every other criminal charge. Ira is also an author, speaker, teacher, mentor and coach.

© 2009 Law Offices of Ira Still

Criminal Defendants On Trial: (03) In Jail or Out on Bond

by Ira Still, Esquire
South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer

(03) In Jail or Out on Bond

Article Summary:

If you ever get arrested and are facing criminal charges, this can be a devastating time of your life. No one hopes to wake up in the morning with a massive legal problem such as this. There is so much you need to know and no place to turn for answers. That is, not until now. The author is a seasoned criminal defense lawyer who has written this article from his vast experience to guide you through your time in the criminal justice system. His helpful advice will guide you through the process whether you are in jail or out on bond.



Article:

Trying to understand and cope with the entire process leading up to your jury trial can be more than overwhelming at times. The information presented here can help you deal with the inevitable stress of the Justice System. The goal of the author is to share his vast experience to help you overcome your fears.

You have a constitutional right to silence in the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never give a written or verbal statement to the police. Their job is to get you talking. If you volunteer to speak to anyone, you waive your right to silence and what you say to them will be admitted into evidence in front of the jury at trial.

When you get to the jail everyone in there will ask you one question, “What are you in for?” Do not talk to them about the facts of your case. The other inmates are facing their own serious charges. If you talk to them, they may inform the prosecutor and become a witness against you. That might earn them probation for informing against you. That is known as “substantial assistance.”

Let me tell you a story about Andrew who lost his case because of jail inmates who sought to perform substantial assistance just to benefit themselves. Andrew was arrested for premeditated murder. While in the county jail, two inmates tried to get him talking about his case after they saw the story on the local T.V and read articles in the newspaper. Unfortunately, Andrew discussed his case with them. Of course, the inmates contacted the State Attorney’s Office. They gave recorded statements that appeared to reflect Andrew’s confession to the murder.

At Andrew’s trial, one inmate testified that Andrew told him that he had broken into a friend’s apartment looking for money and drugs. When she woke up and discovered Andrew there, she began screaming and went for the phone to call the police. Andrew sought to stop her by force. This testimony was the basis of the State’s argument that Andrew had killed the victim in order to avoid arrest. This aggravated the sentence to the death penalty. Andrew has been on Death-Row for 18 years. The jail inmate had his own sentence reduced from 10 years prison to probation because of his substantial assistance in helping to convict Andrew. [The facts of this case were adapted from a real death penalty case that the author has been litigating for 11 years on the capital collateral appeals. The author did not represent Andrew at trial or on his direct appeal.]

Your discussions over the jail phone can be overheard by the other inmates. Be careful not to talk to your family or friends about the facts of your case. The State is going to reward the other inmates for what they hear you say. In addition, you do not want to make your family and friends witnesses against you.

While out on bond, make sure you don’t get into any further trouble with the law while your case is pending. If you have driver license problems correct them or don’t drive. Read and follow the terms of the bond (no alcohol or firearms, etc.). Be on time and don’t miss any Court hearings or you could be arrested. If you get arrested on another charge, the State will revoke your bond and hold you in jail until your trial is completed.

Whether you are in jail or out on bond, the day of your jury trial is approaching so, hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer and let him investigate the facts and evidence and prepare your Defense.

What do you think about the U.S. Constitution?

What do you know about fundamental rights?

How important is indivdual intellectual freedom?

Should we be more concerned with serving our government without question or individual rights?

My Unique Competitive Advantage

A. Focus on the benefits I offer, the value I bring, and the results I seek:

1. I have been a sworn Traffic Hearing Officer for 7 years. This quasi-judicial position is one of trust. I am an insider—a person working within the justice system.

2. I am committed to teaching my clients about the system they are thrust into by their arrest. I unveil the litigation process to my clients. I reveal the workings of the Courts so my clients will be more confident during the progression of their case.

3. I dissolve the fears that my clients and their families have in order to remove the frustration they have from being arrested and charged with a crime.

4. I advise and teach my clients so that they will be able to make intelligent and informed decisions about their rights and their case. You alone have the ultimate say as to how your case will proceed from start to finish. It is the client's Constitutional rights that I protect; not mine.


B. Focus on how I serve my clients better:

1. If the best solution to your legal problem is for your case to have a negotiated plea, I will work diligently to iron out the best plea possible. I take the time to get it right, hammer out the details, and craft a successful plea for my client’s welfare.

2. If your case is one where a jury trial would be the best solution, I will try your case to win it! I will teach you all about the trial process so that you can have faith in our justice system. Remember, the key to liberty is the jury trial. You will be confident by the time the trial begins. You will overcome your fears.

3. I constantly and consistently work your case in every detail. I utilize a highly experienced private investigator, a top professional court reporter, and the best available experts such as psychologists, DNA, firearms fingerprint examiners and every field of expert needed to win your cass. We will labor over the details while crafting the correct solution to your case.


C. Focus on solutions:


1. Starting at arrest, the criminally accused [or the defendant] has a legal problem. These human beings are not a “lawbreakers” or a “criminals.” My labor is spent crafting the best solution to your legal problem. This will only be a temporary problem in your life. I am here to help you get your legal problem solved so fast so you can get back on track for your personal success. I will get you up and running again with a fresh new start for successful living.

2. Of the hundreds and hundreds of people that I have helped and hundreds of cases that I could talk about if you had time to listen, I have selected one case that our team won, a very high profile Miami murder, case to tell you about. I’ll call my client “Fabian.” Here is his story.

Fabian was here from Jamaica. He was a fine young man who loved music and worked in the music industry arranging concerts and promoting artists within the Reggae music community. He was based in Ohio but traveled to New York and Orlando for business and to visit his family. As time went on, Fabian was arrested on a federal charge of possession of drugs and sentenced to a term of years in federal prison in central Florida. While he was there, he never got into trouble. He was well liked by the inmates although he primarily stayed with fellow Jamaicans.

Fabian talked about his music business and some of the concerts he had arranged in Miami. Some non-Jamaican Miami based inmates thought that Fabian might have been connected with the home invasion murder of a well known and beloved DJ by the name of Albert Moss. “Uncle Al” as he was commonly known promoted “Peace in da Hood” concerts every summer in Miami. When he was gunned down for no apparent reason people were in an uproar. When his murder developed no suspects and went unsolved, the city mourned his loss and the outcry for justice kept going through the several years that followed.

The federal prisoners from Miami saw a chance to get their violent sentences commuted by telling the authorities that Fabian had confessed to the murder of beloved Uncle Al. They wrote over and over again to the lead detective. More and more inmates jumped in seeing this as their shot for freedom. Based upon their statements alone, the State filed charges against Fabian for second degree murder and sought to raise it to first degree murder with the death penalty. Fabian was brought to Miami jail. There he was repeated attacked by the Miami inmates. His teeth were knocked out.

When our team was called upon to defend Fabian, we got into action. We focused on dozens of witnesses in Ohio, New York and Florida. We began looking for them to obtain video taped statements in order to defend our client. We interrogated the numerous State witnesses from federal prison and sought to interrogate Fabians friends from the facility. They were too afraid to be witnesses because of retaliation from the jail snitch inmates.

Finally after a year of intense work, we cracked the case. Here’s how. If you were asked under oath to positively tell me where you were and what you were doing 7 years ago on say April 18th what would you say? How could you be certain and prove it in a court of law? This case was different. Uncle Al was murdered in Miami on September 10, 2001, at approximately 7:00 p.m. The next day was the infamous 9-11. Everyone alive then can tell you precisely where they were and what they were doing on 9-11, right? With that frame of reference, the Ohio witnesses knew for certain that Fabian was in Ohio because they remembered him calling them and telling them to turn on the TV to watch as the buildings came down. They knew he had been there in Ohio for weeks prior to that because one was the mother of Fabian’s child and he had to baby sit for her and the other was the woman called “grandma.” Fabian had brought her a grill at her house the day before 9-11 which was 9-10-2001. Fabian was in Ohio during the time of the murder and couldn’t have flown to Ohio on 9-11 because, as one witness pointed out, all the planes were locked down and nobody was able to fly anywhere after 9:30 a.m.

Because of the diligent hard work of the Defense Team on behalf of our client in whom nobody believed but us, we convinced the State to nolle pros the case and throw out the charges at the very moment that the jury was set to come in to start the trial. Oh yes, and Fabian is a free man today. He fully believes in the power of the Constitution and the jury trial system.

While we still mourn the death of “Uncle Al,” we will continue to fight for the fair administration of the justice system in America. A broken man, humbled by the awesome power of public opinion and the legal work of the team that stood up for his rights, Fabian lives free today in Jamaica.