Not A Lawyer

Jenni asked me an interesting question in a comment on my last post:

I wonder if you can touch upon a subject for me in an upcoming post. What are some good ways for people who have been (surprisingly) arrested to find a good lawyer?

Imagine a situation like the above where the individual is taken into custody and just has his one phone call. What are some good ways to find a good legal defense when all you have is one phone call?

Please keep up the good work. Thanks.

The key is being prepared for anything these days.

My cousin, an intelligent young man, once showed me a business card for a law office that he kept in his wallet. On the back of the card the office had printed a statement saying:

I have the right to remain silent and I wish to exercise that right. On the reverse side of this card is the number of my attorney who must be present in the event you wish to question me.

When I saw that, to be honest, I laughed. I asked him: “What are you going to do, hand that to a cop as he is shooting you with the Taser? And furthermore, are you expecting to be arrested?”

He said he would just rather be prepared for any situation. And the more Taser stories that I read, the more I think he is right.

So, since no one really ever plans to get arrested, here’s what I think is a good idea:

Get word of mouth referrals now. Ask around, see if anyone you know has anything good to say about a lawyer.. hehe.. That might be difficult though, as no one generally has glowing remarks to make about lawyers (I’m kind of kidding) and you may feel uncomfortable asking people for a criminal lawyer referral. You may not know anyone who has had to use a criminal lawyer. Also, those who have had the misfortune of having to use a criminal lawyer after they have been arrested may not want to discuss it.

Ok, so word of mouth may not pan out. Let’s go on to another option.

Research it online and get online referrals now. There are good (and free) lawyer referral services online that you can use. The first that comes to mind is Attorney Find, because you can search for lawyers by their area of practice and their locality. So that’s a good way to find one near you.

So, once you have found a lawyer in your area that practices criminal law, give him or her a call or stop by to get his business card to keep in your wallet. While you’re there you can ask him or her if it’s a good idea to print on the back that you want to exercise your right to remain silent. At the very least, write down the name and address of a local criminal lawyer and keep it in your wallet. That way, should the unfortunate circumstance come up that you need it, you will have it. Better to have it on hand and never need it than need it and come up short.

Hope this helps! Thanks for asking,

Gerri

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For a while I have been reading the police use of Tasers articles and while it disgusts me, I have not really been afraid of actually being Tased myself.

For one thing, I rarely have any instances in which I interact with cops. I try not to break the law or give myself any reason to be around the police. Secondly, even though I don’t trust cops, if I do have an instance to be around them, I try to be respectful and not give them any reason to think I’m being difficult or obnoxious.

So, until reading this particular story, I wasn’t really frightened of the Taser. Now, I certainly realize that it absolutely CAN happen to anyone. And even further, these types of things are becoming more common and less the case of “isolated incidents.”

Consider this, and then tell me honestly and with a straight face that Taser use is not out of control.

Donnell Williams was in his own home, and had been bathing. He is a hearing impaired man.

So, there Mr. Williams was, in a towel and without his hearing aid when police barged into his home and Tased him.

Someone had falsely reported a shooting at his residence, so the cops forced their way into his home. When they began shouting orders at him, without his hearing aid he couldn’t hear them. As a result they shot him with the Taser gun.

When they realized their mistake, they apologized to Mr. Williams.

Here is the full story: Hearing Impaired Man Tasered By Police

So, are you scared yet? If not, I can’t figure out why not.

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