Florida City Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you’ve been charged with a crime it’s incredibly important to keep a level head and to focus on thinking carefully about how to defend yourself against the charges. When a person is arrested and/or charged with a crime the first response many people tend to have is panic. Back when we were cavemen panic was part of a flight response that kept us from getting eaten. Nowadays, panic mostly just serves to get us into even worse trouble.

Not panicking is a good first step in the journey towards fighting criminal charges. The next step is to make sure you know your rights. If you’ve been arrested it’s important to be familiar with how you can protect yourself and to know how to deal with police and prosecutors.

Our Florida City Criminal Defense Attorneys Want You to understand your rights

The U.S. Constitution provides a number of protections for people who are charged with a crime. Some state laws may be different and often separate rules apply when entering or leaving the U.S. and at certain checkpoints. That said, a few of the most important protections the Constitution offers both citizens and non-citizens are:

• The right against self-incrimination – This means that if a police officer or other government agent stops you, you are not obligated to answer their questions. If you are arrested and the officer questions you, you have the right to refuse to answer any and all questions.
• The right to an attorney – If you’ve been arrested, you have the right to an attorney. Upon being arrested you should ask for an attorney as soon as possible.
• The right to refuse a search of your person or property – This one gets a little tricky. While you can refuse to consent to having your body or your property searched you should never try to physically stop a police officer from conducting a search. One notable exception to this right is “implied consent” found in Florida law that allows police to administer a breathalyzer test if you’re driving.

The rights above are just a few of the important ways in which you can act to protect yourself. Always try to exercise your rights in a calm and polite manner as it makes it less likely that police will see you as a threat.

Call Katz & Phillips, P.A. to speak with our Florida City Criminal defense attorneys today

Regardless of how you were arrested or why you were charged with a crime, hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney is always a good idea. Sometimes police and prosecutors like to tell people who are under arrest that only guilty people get attorneys. That is nonsense.

Don’t let police or prosecutors bully you into submission. Call Katz & Phillips today to start building a fantastic legal defense. Our lines are open around the clock and our website makes it even easier to reach us. Get in touch with us as soon as you can so we can help you.