Lawyers- help!!

[WCUgirl]

Originally Posted by WVU alpha phi

Just thought I'd fill you all in on what's been going on with this situation.

I went to the police station on Monday for my appointment with the officer, and he wasn't there. On Tuesday he called me during class, didn't leave a number, and when I tried to call back on the number he called from, I didn't get anyone on an answering machiene, even though I called 3 times throughout the afternoon. Wednesday morning I woke up and had 2 missed calls from him, again no number to return to. I decided to Google him to get his extension, so I left him a message explaining why he hadn't heard back from me.

When he called back, he was a complete a**hole to me. He told me he'll put warrants out for my arrest unless I tell him who gave me the ID. He said they can get me for forgery (because I signed the citation under a different name) which is a felony, underage, open container, obstructing an officer, and fake ID. The he launched into how I'll never get a job with htis on my record, no one wants to hire a criminal, things like that. By this point I'm crying and he asked if I was familiar with my miranda rights. He paraphrased them to me and I said I understood, so he asked if I knew the girl whose ID I have. I said I didn't want to answer anything until I spoke with my parents. He seemed angry and said as long as I cooperated and told him what he wanted to know, he'll lessen the charges against me. He kept reiterating if I don't cooperate and I'm not 100% honest, he'll go ahead and arrest me. I had to tell him twice that I didn't feel comfortable answering anything without speaking to someone first. Finally he said OK, then recommended that I don't get a lawyer because it's just a waste of money.

I was so upset and when I told my parents, they FLIPPED OUT. My mom was furious that the cop would treat me like that and threaten to arrest me. They called a Morgantown lawyer for me, and they're waiting to hear back from him today. They think the cop was just manipulating me and taking advantage of me since I told him I had no idea what I was doing because I've never even gotten a speeding ticket. My dad talked to his friend, who is a lawyer, and he said as long as I haven't said anything yet then I should be OK if I show up with a lawyer on Friday, when I have to go back to the police station.

I'm completely freaking out at this point, crying nonstop, and am convinced I'm going to get myself and my friends (2 of them are involved with the ID) in trouble. I don't know what to do at all.

Dude, STOP TALKING TO THIS GUY UNTIL YOU HAVE A LAWYER!

I can't believe he brought up Miranda rights over the freakin' phone.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by AXiD670

Dude, STOP TALKING TO THIS GUY UNTIL YOU HAVE A LAWYER!

I can't believe he brought up Miranda rights over the freakin' phone.

Seriously. If he hasn't arrested you by now, he's not going to. Plus, he's not the one that determines what charges are brought against you, that's the DA's job.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Seriously. If he hasn't arrested you by now, he's not going to. Plus, he's not the one that determines what charges are brought against you, that's the DA's job.

Actually this is incorrect; in some areas it is the police that bring the charges. Depending on the jurisdiction, the prosecutor may only screen a small number of the total cases.

In any case, TALK TO A LAWYER. You're going to get a lot of opinions from people here who aren't lawyers, and the ones who are can't directly help you. Find a reputable lawyer, talk to him or her, and go from there.

[valkyrie]

This is why we say:

DO NOT SPEAK TO THE POLICE AND DO NOT SPEAK TO A PROSECUTOR, UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

Never, ever, ever trust the police or anything they tell you. Seriously. If I had $1 for every time I had a client in jail say "Oh, the cop said that if I told him what happened, I'd get to go home," I'd have, well, quite a few dollars, and maybe I could use some of them to bail out the dudes sittin' in the pokey because they told the cop what happened and did not get to go home.

I do think that many minor legal dilemmas can be handled on your own -- however, as in this case, when a cop is getting all crazy on you, you're smart to get a lawyer. Make sure to tell your lawyer everything you told the cops from the beginning -- and good luck!