The problem with your normal everyday people engaged in a little criminal activity (usually minor drug offenses) is that they don’t know their rights when it comes to dealing with the cops. As a Seattle criminal attorney, this really irks me, not because I’m for criminals, but because I am for the Constitution. Read this article to learn a little bit about your rights.

Here’s the classic example that I see all the time. You are walking around in downtown Seattle. It’s late. You are alone, and a cop car pulls up along side of you. They ask you if you are all right, ask you for your name, and ask you for your identification.

You answer the cop’s questions and turn over your identification, even though you know you have an outstanding warrant or something else that is going to raise the cop’s suspicions. And you have a small amount of drugs on you, which you are worried about the cop finding. So you do everything he asks, the cop ends up arresting you on the warrant, and he finds the drugs anyway.

In this case the courts have ruled that the cop has not seized you. This is referred to as a “social contact” because in the court’s eyes the encounter is completely voluntary and the cop has not acted in any way to make you think you couldn’t just end the conversation and walk away (except for the fact that he’s a cop!). Seattle criminal attorneys don’t like this rule because it’s one that doesn’t work out in the real world.

So what do you do in this situation? Do you tell the cop you don’t want to talk to him, walk away, and let him think you are guilty of something? The short answer is yes, that is exactly what you do.

If you follow these rules and hold strong when the cops get angry, you should be able to walk away without any problems. If the office does arrest you, which happens from time to time, a good Seattle criminal attorney should be able to get the evidence suppressed.

Deciding to hold your ground and not talk to the cops is a tough thing to do. They intentionally try to be intimidating and demanding, even when they don’t have the upper hand (like now). If you do what they say, you’re going to be charged with a crime, so why not give exercising your rights a shot? What do you have to lose?

Want to find out more about how Seattle criminal attorneys can help you? Then visit our site on how to choose the best Seattle criminal lawyer for your needs.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Criminal Lawyer

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!