Here are the first things you should do if you are arrested in Pennsylvania:
- Tell the police you are invoking your right to remain silent
- Tell the police you are invoking your right to an attorney
- Say nothing else and do not sign anything until our Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer arrives
If You Are Arrested in PA, What Are Your Rights?
A critical component of the criminal justice system is that even people arrested for a crime maintain certain rights. This begins with your Miranda rights, which the police are required to inform you of at the time of your arrest.
One of the rights you should have been informed of is your right to remain silent. Always take advantage of this right. Even if you believe you did nothing wrong, do not tell the police anything. Under Frazier v. Cupp, the police are allowed to lie to you during interrogation, so maintain your right to silence even if they:
- Insist that cooperating will make things easier for you
- Say that they have definitive proof of your guilt
- Try to threaten or intimidate you into a confession
- Say they do not think you are guilty and only want information
You also have the right to an attorney. You can ask the police to assign an attorney to you, but you can also call our PA criminal defense lawyer for arrests to come and defend you.
How Our Pennsylvania Lawyers Protect Clients’ Legal Rights After an Arrest
What you do after an arrest in Pennsylvania can make all the difference. Getting legal advice is a very important step. For example, our criminal defense law firm can help you by:
- Explaining how the arrest process in Pennsylvania works.
- Ensuring that the police respect your rights. We urge you to tell us how you were treated prior to our arrival because, if your rights were violated, we might be able to get the charges against you dismissed.
- Informing you about what other rights you have and how to protect them as your case proceeds.
- Reviewing the evidence the police have collected and conducting an investigation of our own. We might find something the police missed or discover that the police’s case is not as strong as they present it as.
- Deciding how best to defend you against the charges. If a dismissal is impossible, you might still have the option of getting the charges reduced, signing a plea agreement, or fighting your case in court.
Being arrested can be frightening, but never forget that you have rights and that our Pennsylvania defense law firm is here to defend them.
Our Arrest Defense Attorney in Pennsylvania Can Advocate for You
McKenzie Law Firm, P.C., believes that getting fast legal help is one of the most important steps to take after an arrest in PA, so do not delay: if you are arrested in Pennsylvania, call now. Our criminal defense attorney can protect your future.