Our Free Guide to Handling a Minor Criminal Charge Without a Lawyer
While you are dealing with criminal charges, you might feel as though you should contact a Galveston criminal lawyer because that is the easiest and safest thing to do. However, you will notice that some minor changes can be dealt with on your own.
When this is the case, you can use these simple steps to get the results you want. While reading through this free guide, remember that many minor charges only require one court appearance or a simple fine. In some cases, you can even take additional steps that will reduce the fines or other penalties related to the case.
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Do Not Answer Every Question
You have a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate yourself, and that means that you do not need to answer questions. Cops will ask you leading questions all the time hoping to get you to reveal something incriminating. If you know you should not answer a question, you can say, “I invoke my Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination” or “I take the Fifth”. You should also be allowed to take notes during any interrogation and ask questions yourself. You never know what you will learn if you ask the cops how they came to their conclusions.
Criminal Charge Without a Lawyer: Challenge Procedure
You can challenge police procedures and warrants with relative ease. Make sure that you challenge the warrant, any searches, and any police procedure that occurred. You never know when you will catch the police doing something that they should not have done. Moreover, you can get cases thrown out if it is shown that the police gathered evidence improperly or simply handled an arrest improperly.
Do Not Sign Anything
You should not sign anything. You may not have a lawyer, but you can be sure that the cops will ask you to sign things that could be confessions along with other things that are simply illegal or will incriminate you. In many cases, you are perfectly innocent and you know you have done nothing wrong. Even so, the cops will try to pin something on you because they need to close the case. They are hoping you do not know what you are reading or that you will do anything to go home and get out of whatever charge they are holding over your head.
Check The Cop’s Schedule
Many bogus arrests occur at the end of a cop’s schedule. These cops get overtime if they are sitting around processing you or questioning you. You should also make sure that you look into other arrests they have made under similar circumstances. You might find a pattern of a cop trumping up bogus charges to make extra money in overtime.
Challenge Their Equipment
If you get pulled over for speeding, you should challenge the radar gun and if it was calibrated and when the cop was trained to use it. You might find that the police department has not handled one of these parts of the arrest in the right way.
Ask For A Continuance
If you are asked to appear in court, you can ask for a continuance if you need more time. One of the best things to do is to go through the discovery period and ask the police to hand over the evidence they have collected. You should make sure that you read over that evidence and uncover any inconsistencies.
Ask For Reduced Fines and Alternative Programs
You can easily ask for reduced fines and alternative programs when you are in court. There are a lot of simple courses or programs you can go through that will reduce your fines or keep you out of jail. Some people are not sure what their options are, but you can easily look this up online. Ask the judge or prosecutor which program they will let you do, and then you can go down that path instead of being stuck with major fines or jail time.
Criminal Charge Without a Lawyer: Handle Charges On Your Own
When you want to handle these criminal charges on your own, you should make sure that you follow each step. You have rights, and there are many things that you can challenge. You are trying to make the case as minimal as possible, and you can do so while also working within the court system and taking advantage of alternative programs that might be available.
