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Criminal Law
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Criminal law entails everything from speeding tickets to murder to
white-collar fraud and embezzlement.
There are a number of stages to any criminal investigation and
prosecution. The earlier you obtain legal
representation, the better your defense will be and the more your rights
will be protected. If you have been
arrested or if you believe you are under investigation, you will need an
experienced criminal attorney.
Contact the attorneys at Eskens, Gibson & Behm Law Firm, Chtd. for a free initial consultation
at 507-345-5500.
Click on an item below:
IF YOU HAVE BEEN ARRESTED
IF YOU ARE STOPPED
IF THE POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU
IF YOU ARE IN POLICE CUSTODY
DWI - AND THE DRUNK DRIVING STOP
IF YOU’VE BEEN ARRESTED…
Call an experienced criminal defense attorney at Eskens, Gibson & Behm
Law Firm, Chtd. immediately. We can advise you
of your rights while in police custody and help protect you from hurting
your chances in court. We can
prepare for and appear at your arraignment, arguing against the
prosecutor’s request for the judge to set
bail. We can thoroughly investigate your case and interview witnesses who
may help you. If appropriate,
we can help present your side of the story to a grand jury. Ultimately, we
can challenge the evidence
against you in court proceedings such as suppression hearings and trial.
IF YOU ARE STOPPED BY THE POLICE:
If a police officer stops you on the street, you are not obliged by law to
answer any questions he may ask.
You can simply say, “I do not wish to speak to you” and walk away. The
police officer, however, may
attempt to continue the contact through further questioning. If he
suspects you of a crime, he will try hard
to get you to say something that can justify arresting you, and that can
later by used against you in court.
Even statements of intended “denial” may seriously hurt you in court
(i.e., if you deny the burglary but
admit you were in the neighborhood, or if you deny being drunk but admit
“only a few beers”). In this
situation, if you are free to leave, you should excuse yourself and do so
immediately. If you are not free to
leave, you are essentially in police custody and have been “arrested.”
Talking to the officer will not change
that. You should say nothing except basic pedigree information (your name,
address, date of birth, etc). Call Eskens, Gibson & Behm Law Firm, Chtd. immediately, and refuse to answer any questions
without your lawyer present.
Sign nothing.
IF THE POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU:
If the police are calling your home asking to speak to you, you may be a
suspect in a criminal investigation.
Quite often, the detective will seek to question you on the telephone
about the incident, and then ask you
to come voluntarily to the station house to “straighten things out.” If
you go to the station house, you will
probably be asked to talk further about the case. You might be asked to
give “your side of the story”.
While this might seem like a golden opportunity to get out of trouble, it
is often a trap. It is sad to discover
later that sometimes the only basis the police had for arresting a person
at all was the statement he or she
gave to them. Often this statement (which the prosecutor will call a
“confession”) is the most damaging piece of evidence at trial. The best thing you can do if the police come
to your home or call for you on the telephone is to answer no questions
and call an attorney Eskens, Gibson & Behm Law Firm, Chtd. immediately.
The police can sometimes arrest you even without your statement. For
example, if the police are in
possession of an active arrest warrant or a bench warrant (a warrant
issued for failure to appear in court),
they will come looking for you. If they do not believe you are a flight
risk, they may call you by telephone
and try to arrange a voluntary surrender. Another example is where the
police believe that they already
have enough evidence against you to constitute “probable cause” (although
no warrant has been signed).
Since your arrest may be unavoidable under these circumstances, it may be
wise to voluntarily surrender
rather than force the police to find and capture you. Of course, it is
crucial that you do not make any statements to the police or answer their questions, and that you quickly
obtain legal counsel. An attorney
can negotiate the terms of your voluntary surrender in a manner which can
minimize your time in police or
court custody. A person who voluntarily surrenders on a warrant is always
looked upon more favorably
by an arraignment court judge during a bail application. The manner in
which a lawyer handles the arrest
and arraignment process in these situations can mean the difference
between a release in one’s own
custody and the setting of a high and unaffordable bail.
IF YOU ARE IN POLICE CUSTODY:
In Miranda v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court held that prior to
any questioning of a person in
custody, the police must advise the person of certain rights. These
rights, commonly called the Miranda
rights, are now generally as follows: “You have the right to remain
silent. Anything you say can and will be
held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney now.
If you cannot afford an
attorney, one will be appointed for you.” The police will often read these
rights off a preprinted card.
They will read you these rights only if they intend to question you. After
reading them to you, they will
question you in an effort to get you to incriminate yourself. They will
write down your statements, and
often ask you to sign a written version. Answering questions but refusing
to sign a written statement
doesn’t help you. Oral confessions can be just as damaging as signed
written ones. In Minnesota, all
in-custody questioning must be tape recorded. Answer no questions until
you have spoken to a lawyer.
What if the police neglect to read you your rights? It could result in a
major blow to the case against you.
Even a full written confession to the crime can be thrown out of court.
And if the confession led the police
to further evidence against you, that evidence could be thrown out too!
However, although evidence is
thrown out, remember that the case itself is not necessarily dismissed. If
there is other evidence of your
guilt, that other evidence could still be used to prosecute you. Also,
remember that Miranda is limited to
custodial interrogation. If you are not in police custody, such as in
conversation on the street or over the
telephone, the police can generally question you without reading your
rights. And if you are in custody, but spontaneously volunteer statements (not in response to questioning), the
police can write down your words
and use them against you in court. The best thing you can do if you have
been arrested is to answer no
questions and call an experienced defense attorney at Eskens, Gibson &
Behm Law Firm, Chtd.
immediately.
IF YOU ARE STOPPED FOR DRUNK DRIVING (DWI):
Contrary to what some people may think, there is no constitutional right
to refuse a breath or chemical test
to determine the level of alcohol in your body. You are deemed to consent
just by the act of driving in
Minnesota. If you’ve been stopped and arrested for drunk driving, you will
be faced with the decision of
whether to take such a test. On the one hand, refusing to take the test
has its consequences: your license
can be revoked for a year merely for the refusal (even if you’re perfectly
sober); and your refusal may be
admissible as evidence of your guilt at a trial of the drunk driving
charge. Accordingly, in Minnesota,
where there was no accident, it is most advisable to take the test. On the
other hand, if you were involved in a serious accident, it may be advisable not to take the test and endure
the revocation rather than provide
evidence of a possible criminal vehicular operation.
In addition to the chemical test, the police will generally request you to
submit to various physical
performance tests, such as walking heel-to-toe and touching your finger to
your nose. There is no legal
obligation to take these tests. As the consumption of alcohol can impair
your ability to perform these tests,
it may be advisable to refuse to submit to any performance tests and
thereby limit the potential evidence
against you. The officer may ask you to blow into a small box at the scene
known as the Preliminary
Breath Test (PBT). You are not required to do this. However, refusal will likely
lead to your arrest and delivery to a
law enforcement center for an evidentiary test (blood, breath or urine).
It is also advisable to request the
opportunity to contact a lawyer directly from the station house, or to
call a friend or family member and
ask him or her to immediately seek an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
A criminal defense lawyer
can often speak to the police who arrested you while you are in custody,
thereby gathering information
about the case even before it gets to court. He can then appear at your
court arraignment to argue on your
behalf.
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Eskens, Gibson & Behm Law Firm, Chtd.
115 E. Hickory St. - Suite 200
P.O. Box 1056
Mankato, MN 56002-1056
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