You didn’t intend to get involved in a fist fight when you stepped out for a night with your friends, but one thing led to another and you ended up getting pulled into a violent incident with a perfect stranger and the police got involved. Now, you’re facing multiple assault charges for the first time in your life and you don’t know what to do. The best thing to do is to talk with a criminal defense attorney experienced in handling assault charges.
While you are making a decision on whom to talk to, here is a list of common mistakes made by individuals facing assault charges that ended up hurting them in the long run.
- Talking to Police. Police are trained to manipulate people to get what they want, including evidence against you. Let’s say that you’ve been involved in a bar fight and the police are called. They may take you aside, hand you an icepack for your wounds, tell you the other guy is a jerk and ask you for your side of the story. Naturally, you want to explain yourself and tell your side, so you do. At that point, the police arrest you and charge you with assault. Unfair? Yes. Legal? Yes. Avoidable? Also, yes. You do not have to talk to the police. If you do not talk to them and they take you into custody, they must inform you of your right to remain silent and to obtain legal representation. If this happens, exercise your right to remain silent and stay silent until you can talk with an attorney.
- Talking with Others About the Assault. Being involved in an assault can be traumatic for everyone involved. Again, it’s natural to want to talk things through with other people, explain your side of the story, or ask for advice. Just like talking to the police, anything you say to other people, even those close to you, like parents or siblings, can be used against you in court.
- Posting About the Incident on Social Media. Any time you are involved in an incident that may result in you appearing in court, do not post about it on Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat or any other social media forum. Prosecutors love to blow up Tweets and Images for the benefit of the jury and use your words against you.
- Contacting The Victim of the Assault. You may want to apologize, or clear the air. Regardless of the reason, do not do it. Again anything you say to the victim may be used against you.
- Destroying Evidence. Perhaps you’re reading this after having posted a video of the incident for which you are being charged. Do not delete the post and do not delete the video from your electronic devices. This is a crime that will land you in more trouble.
Just as there are there are lots of things you can do to hurt you, there are also things you can do to improve your situation, and with the help of an expert criminal defense attorney, you should be able to make it through this time. If you’ve been charged with assault, you need to speak with an attorney, call us today to set up a free legal consultation!
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Article references:
www.phoenixcriminaldefense.com/criminal-defense/top-5-things-not-facing-assault-charge/
