What To Expect When Charged With A Criminal Offense

On 31st Mar 201917th Apr 2019 By Marvin RodriguezIn LegalLeave a comment

Looking for someone to defend you in court? Selecting the right legal practitioner could make all the difference in the outcome of your case.

It’s important to understand that not all criminal defense attorneys are equal. It’s important to make sure they have experience working with cases like yours.

Contacting a Criminal Defense Attorney Early May Affect Your Case

Michigan attorney Jeffrey H. Randa outlines why this is important in greater detail:

“You need to be able to assure the Judge that this really won’t happen again, and explain why you can make that promise… Everyone facing a 1st offense DUI never imagined finding him or herself in this situation to begin with, and while most of these situations arise from a lack of planning, now is the time you need to come up with a plan.”
Facing a DUI Charge in Michigan – Never Thought this Would Happen!

Randa’s explanation hits the nail on the head; while no one ever plans on being in trouble with the law, it can happen. On that same note, judges won’t accept a mere apology. When confronted with DUI charges, actions clearly speak louder than words.

When charged with a criminal offense, it’s important to understand what happens with a typical arrest.

What To Expect When Charged With a Criminal Offense

NOLO contributing author Lauren Baldwin outlines this in her article titled, “Pressing Charges for a Criminal Act.” Baldwin outlines what to expect when being arrested:

“In the most typical scenario, a crime victim contacts the police. The police come to the scene or meet with the victim and ask for information. If the offender is still at the scene and the offense has just occurred, the police may be able to arrest the person immediately, but only if the police have “probable cause” (a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred and the arrestee did it). (See below for more on probable cause.)
NOLO: The Path of a Typical Arrest

In other cases, if the offender is not at the scene, the police will usually need an arrest warrant, issued by a judge, before they take the person into custody. The police must gather information and evidence and determine whether there is a sufficient basis for an arrest warrant. Again, the question that police must answer is whether there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed and the person accused was the person who committed it.”

Understanding what to expect may help ease one’s mind, however slightly that may be. After all, if it’s the first time you’ve been charged with a criminal offense.

Other Situations You Might Want to Retain Legal Counsel

Another common situation that you might want to retain legal counsel is when it comes to domestic disputes (also known as “domestic violence” or “DV”).

Colorado-based criminal defense attorney, David H. Johnson, outlines this in his resource guide to choosing a criminal defense attorney:

Domestic Disputes: Did you know that domestic violence, also known as “DV,” charges can result in restraining orders, loss of rights, or even mandatory jail time and therapy?
Tips to Choose a Local Criminal Defense Attorney

This could also be said for the other charges outlined in his article, such as:

Drug Offenses
Stealing and Theft Charges
DUI and Alcohol-Related Charges
Vehicular Assault
Vehicular Manslaughter
Rape and Sexual Offenses

In some cases, you might want to consider using a public defender.

Typically, one might seek a public defender if they cannot afford to retain a private attorney. This option should not be overlooked. After all, the purpose of a public defender is to represent those faced with criminal charges no matter their background.

According to WikiHow, there are two things to consider when determining whether using a public defender is a valid route to go.

If you have limited resources and your charge is not serious, it is worth your while to consult with the public defender assigned to your case. Ask him for an honest assessment of your case.
Ask the public defender what information he needs to help you get out on bail. You may need to help him get in touch with a family member who can access your financial information.

Conclusion

Clearly, understanding the law and retaining an experienced criminal defense attorney could help your case.

There are several great resources for people charged with criminal offenses to use in order to navigate the legal system. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the related articles below.

Additional Resources:

DUI Resources – What to do if you are charged with a DUI

What Is a Defense Attorney?

AAA – A Resource to Prevent Impaired Driving

Types & Examples of Federal & Criminal Charges + Definitions

When Should You Contact A Criminal Defense Attorney?

On 26th Mar 2019 By Marvin RodriguezIn LegalLeave a comment

If you’re charged with a crime, it can be a sinking feeling. There can be a flood of feelings, such as what legal consequences you may be facing or even where you should turn.

It’s during these times that finding an attorney with specialized experience can be well worth the cost you’ll end up paying.

When it comes to hiring a criminal defense attorney, most people wait until they find themselves in legal troubles.

Unfortunately, what most people don’t realize is that it’s a good idea to contact a criminal defense attorney as early as possible.

Former Wyoming prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney Christina L. Williams, Attorney at Law outlines three situations in which it would be highly advisable to retain the counsel of an experienced criminal defense attorney:

When the police want to question you
When you’re served a warrant
When you receive a notice to appear
Read the full article here

It’s important to remember that police officers are often well-trained in applying pressure to obtain answers while staying within the confines of the law.

It’s no secret that what you say can be used against you in court. However, did you know that police offers are only required to remind you of your right to remain silent while you’re in their custody?

That means that, if an officer is merely talking to you, they do not need to remind you of your right to remain silent.

When it comes to retaining legal counsel, naturally one of the next questions is how much it will cost.

In the following article by Ken LaMance originally posted on Legal Match, he explains in detail what you can anticipate on spending when it comes to hiring a criminal defense attorney.

What are the Costs Associated with Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer?

“…the cost for hiring an attorney who advertises a flat fee charge for their representation of you, will inevitably vary depending on your personal circumstances. For instance, if a lawyer charges a flat fee, and the charge is a misdemeanor, then you can expect to pay anywhere between $1,000 to $3,000.

However, if there is a possibility of trial, then you can expect that price to increase to around $3,000 to $5,000. If the charge is a felony, and the lawyer believes they may be able to receive a favorable settlement, then the flat fee arrangement may range anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000. However, if a felony trial seems inevitable, then a flat fee ranging between $5,000 to $8,000 is not uncommon.”

It’s important to note that the costs of legal representation can greatly vary depending on your specific case and what you’re being charged with.

This brings us to the final point of this article: how much should you disclose to a criminal defense attorney.

Owning up to your misdeeds can be difficult. However, being upfront and honest with your criminal defense attorney can have benefits.

As noted in the article, “I’m Guilty: Should I Tell My Attorney?” by Brett A Podolsky, it’s generally considered best practice to provide your defense attorney with as much information as possible. Brett notes that:

Most attorneys agree that knowing the full details of the situation is the best way to defend a client. Even when you have been caught outright committing a crime, if your lawyer knows the truth, he can advise you on your best chances for acquittal or at least a reduced sentence. Otherwise, you may find you have wasted your money by hiring a lawyer because he is unable to defend you effectively based on lack of information.

The same principle applies even in relation to a civil case, for example, a claim against insurance. In one case study, the defendant had claimed several times for the same injuries in a vehicle collision, which he failed to tell his lawyer who found out only after incurring extensive costs for discovery. By that point, the attorney was not very interested in helping the client, partly because of the potential damage to his reputation and partly because the case had become unprofitable for him.
Read the full article here:
https://brettpodolsky.com/general-law/im-guilty-should-i-tell-my-attorney

Conclusion

If you’re charged with any sort of misdemeanor or felony, it’s likely in your best interest to seek legal representation as soon as possible. While there is a variety of way to help select the best criminal defense attorney to fit your needs, remember that time is of the essence.

Waiting to contact an attorney is perhaps one of the most careless and reckless things you could do when being charged.

For further reading, check out the additional resources below.

Additional Resources

Could Your Attorney Work Remotely?

On 7th Feb 20196th Mar 2019 By Marvin RodriguezIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Video chat has undeniably changed the way we do business.
Businesses employ top-talent in a global arena, doctors can diagnose and prescribe medication from your smartphone, and now your attorney can work from home…

It’s crazy to think that this has become the new normal.

FindLaw columnist William Vogeler explores why some law firms are pioneering the idea of working remotely.

Lawyers, Is Remote Work More Than a Trend?
The American Lawyer says virtual firms with up to 180 partners are breaking the mold. BigLaw attorneys are going virtual because they like the idea of practicing from home.
“Here, I can really work on matters pretty much at any level I choose to without it becoming cost prohibitive,” said Jamal Edwards, who used to work at the 300-lawyer firm of Honigman Miller in Detroit.
These days, an attorney can work from a beach with a smart device and a good internet connection. You may have to show up for mandatory appearances, however, so leave the flip-flops at home. Read more…

According to Carol Kinsey Goman, a contributing author at Forbes, there are several reasons why businesses should thoughtfully consider the impact of virtual vs. face-to-face meetings. In her interview with Michael Massari, Caesars Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of National Meetings and Events, they assert there’s inherent value in personal interaction:

No matter what industry you work in, we are all in the people business. Regardless of how tech-savvy you may be, face-to-face meetings are still the most effective way to capture the attention of participants, engage them in the conversation, and drive productive collaboration. If we don’t continue to nurture strong and positive personal relationships with our clients and coworkers, we won’t build trust, understanding, or a sense of a shared mission – all of which are critical elements to successful partnerships and business success.

Source: The Immeasurable Importance Of Face-To-Face Meetings

For many attorneys, it’s that sense of partnership that fosters trust, something critical for effective communication within a case.
While video chats are considerably more effective than a phone call, there’s still a lack of the personal interaction that is can help foster teamwork among team members.

That said, personal interaction can still be done in remote groups, it’s just a little more challenging.

Tips to effectively run a virtual meeting

Other Considerations For Attorneys Working Remotely

Aside from the obvious challenges of personal communication, what are the other risks of working remotely?

Well, for businesses like attorneys or doctors, confidential information should be considered. Inherently, smartphones can be used to capture sensitive data. Obviously, this has raised concerns about the use of these types of devices within the business workplace.

Should your business consider adopting an at-work cell phone policy?

Jeff Griffin of the JP Griffin Group seems to think so. He believes that adopting a policy on how cell phones should be used at work before issues arise is essential for any business culture to thrive:

How Cell Phone Use at Work is Shaping Company Policies

Many employers don’t create a policy regarding cell phone use at work until they realize they have a problem, which can be weeks, months, or even years into a downward spiral of problems. Like it or not, it’s necessary to have a cell phone use policy at this point. It doesn’t have to be incredibly long or detailed, but it should incorporate the unique nature of your business (such as security or safety concerns)…
There’s nothing wrong with laying out a policy clearly telling your employees how you’d like them to use their cell phones during work hours. Perhaps limiting phone calls to emergency-only is a reasonable solution. You could ask employees to keep their phones in desk drawers on vibrate. If you’re in a setting that involves heavy interaction with the public (like retail or service), you could ask employees to keep their phones in their lockers.
Read full article here…

Making sure that employees understand the expectations and risks of using a mobile device at work. This is especially true for any attorneys working remotely.

Whenever handling personally identifiable information (PII), considering security is of utmost importance.

Conclusion

Whether you’re a doctor, attorney, or business professional, the flexibility of working remotely certainly has a certain appeal. When doing so, it’s important to keep communication, privacy, and security at the forefront of the conversation.

Additional resources:

The real value of virtual meetings
20 ways to improve virtual meetings
Finding a virtual attorney
7 virtual meeting tools

What are White Collar Crimes?

On 1st Feb 20197th Feb 2019 By Marvin RodriguezIn LegalLeave a comment

We often hear about “white collar” crimes, but what exactly does that mean?

For most people, white collar crimes are typically thought of as relating to the financial sector or higher-class jobs. What may be shocking to learn is that these types of crimes could also be committed by someone in a more limited position, such mid-level management, office staff, clerical role, or even as an intern.

In fact, most white collar crimes often go unnoticed. For example, using a company credit card to pay for non-business related expenses, such as a meal or gas, could be considered a white-collar crime.

In almost every instance, a white-collar crime results in some type of monetary or financial gain.

Dallas-based criminal defense firm Broden and Mickelson outline the 7 most common types of white collar crimes:

Fraud
Embezzlement
Bribery
Money Laundering
Insider Trading
Cyber Crime
Forgery

While this list touches on the most common forms of white collar crime, it’s certainly not all-inclusive.

White-Collar Crimes: Facts and Statistical Data

In an article titled, “35 Surprising White Collar Crimes Statistics”, Brandon Gaille points out some shocking statistics about white-collar crime:

Median business losses caused by executives are 16 times those of their employees.
The most costly abuses tend to occur not in large organizations, but in companies with less than 100 employees.
The average company loses more than $9 per day per employee to fraud and abuse.
The average company in the United States loses about 6% of its total annual revenue to white collar crime that is committed by its own employees.
Losses caused by managers are 4x the amount, on average, of those caused by employees.
Men commit nearly 75% of the offenses and cost the company about 4x the amount in white-collar crime costs than women who commit a crime.
The typical perpetrator is a college-educated white male who is working in some form of real estate.
A higher proportion of white-collar offenders are female compared to other offender types.

While this is just a small excerpt of his findings, it’s well worth your time to read the full article here.

What to do if you’re charged with a white-collar crime

What to do if you’re charged with a white collar crime

For most people, being charged with a white collar crime can be gut-wrenching. This is especially the case in more minor forms of theft.

If charged, the first thing nearly any attorney will advise is to seek counsel. This is absolutely imperative, as an experienced attorney can help you better understand your rights.

HG.org, a legal resource guide some very critical information:

A defense attorney will not directly impede the investigative efforts of law enforcement. However, individuals who are represented by counsel are far less likely to unknowingly waive constitutional legal protections, or relent to the demands of investigators when there is no need to do so. And while plea bargaining typically occurs following an arrest, a skilled criminal defense lawyer will act proactively, engaging the prosecuting attorneys early in the process. Read the full resource here –https://www.hg.org/white-collar-crime.html

Simply stated, a criminal defense attorney may be able to help you better understand what information you should (and more importantly, should not) divulge.

Conclusion

By clearly understanding the definition of white collar crime is one of the first steps in identifying the problem. Being aware of the issue can help prevent and deter behaviors that could result in more serious charges.

Additional resources:

White Collar Crimes Cheat Sheet

White Collar Criminal Defense Blog

White Collar Criminal Defense

White Collar Criminal Defense Resources

Tech, Personal Information, and the Justice System

On 31st Jan 20197th Feb 2019 By Marvin RodriguezIn TechnologyLeave a comment

Social media has become an integrated part of our lives.

As electronic attacks become more common and many people don’t fully understand how to secure their personally identifiable information (PII). To complicate matters, hackers are becoming more sophisticated.
It’s for this reason that people should be more aware of what kinds of information they put online.

Social media is one of the most common places people feel the need to share what’s going on in their lives without regard to what kinds of sensitive information they may be broadcasting to the world.

If you haven’t seen the “Mayhem” commercial from Allstate Insurance, it’s kind of like this…

Comical as it is, this commercial underscores an important issue with how people are using technology and the dangers it presents for unsuspecting victims of cybercrime.

In the article below from Findlaw, William Vogeler urges people to understand that the problem of sharing personal information is a real issue. Volger offers some advice to help keep your information as safe as possible as our lives become more integrated with technology:

If we learned anything from the Terminator movies, it’s that technology can be really scary. Not only did Arnold Schwarzenegger come back, he became governor. In the real world, it’s even scarier. The Internet of Things means that everything with an electronic pulse can be hacked: your security system, your thermostat, your refrigerator! Not that anybody really wants to know what’s in your refrigerator, but the experts are right cyber-insecurity. Here’s what the smart ones at Harvard Business Review say to do about the inevitable cyber-invasion:
– Selectively digitize data
– Back up critical systems
– Don’t use devices that can’t be updated
– Make software companies accountable
Source: For the Sake of Cybersecurity, Be Careful About What You Digitize

These are all great points and seem simple enough to follow, but are they enough to keep your information safe?

Massive data breaches seem to happen more frequently and it seems consumers are taking the fallout as ones their personal information has become compromised.

For example, Apple announced that they were pulling Facebook’s enterprise license for questionable use of consumer data.

Apple’s Empty Grandstanding About Privacy

The speech is worth revisiting in light of an emerging fight between Apple and Facebook. Earlier this week, TechCrunch reported that Facebook had been paying people, including teens 13 to 17 years old, to install a “research” app that extracted huge volumes of personal data from their iPhones—direct messages, photos, emails, and more. Facebook uses this information partly to improve its data profiles for advertisement, but also as a business-intelligence tool to help paint a picture of competitor behavior.
After the story broke, Facebook said it would shut down the iOS version of the program. That wasn’t enough for Apple, which canceled Facebook’s ability to distribute custom iPhone apps for internal use by Facebook employees. That might look like a severe punishment that will send a strong message to Facebook, and to other companies. But it’s mostly a slap on the wrist. It gives Apple moral cover while doing little to change the data economy the company claims to oppose.

Though this was done publicly, it seems that was a bit more of a show than taking actual action against Facebook for privacy. It seems Apple’s actions might just be temporary “scolding.” It may be cynical to think things could very easily go back to the way they previously were with personal privacy in the crosshairs of big data.

Beyond people’s information being leaked, there’s an even bigger issue when it comes to criminal defense.

What happens when we start relying on tech to the point we view it as infallible. What happens to the justice system?

William Vogeler of FindLaw makes an interesting assertion, suggestions that technology could even be compromised, resulting in wrongful convictions. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

TechDirt points out the fly in the ointment of machine-learning. The algorithms use statistics to find patterns in data.
“So if you feed it historical crime data, it will pick out the patterns associated with crime,” TechDirt says. “But those patterns are statistical correlations — nowhere near the same as causations.”
It’s the old adage: garbage in, garbage out. But that should be applied to machines, not people.
We still need cops and judges to do their jobs, even with human errors.
Source: Is Tech Ruining Criminal Justice?

Relying on machine learning is truly a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could help law enforcement catch criminals more effectively. However, on the other hand, do we really want to live in a police-state?

How many personal freedoms are we willing to give up in order to rest easy thinking we’re safe and secure?