What You Should Know About Facing Criminal Charges

If you  find yourself facing criminal charges of any kind, you need to understand the situation that you are in, particularly if you are charged with something potentially life-altering. Before you find yourself in a situation in which you have made a major mistake or miscalculation when dealing with criminal charges, get to know a few of the most important facts about facing criminal charges. Then, you can be better prepared to defend and handle yourself.

You Cannot Just Get the Victim to Drop the Charges

Many people who are faced with criminal charges believe that it would be easiest to just get the charges against them dropped. And they often feel that the victim of that crime, particularly if it is a case of assault, can just drop the charges. However, this is not the case.

Once criminal charges have been filed, it is up to the state to uphold or drop the charges. As such, talking to the victim of the crime about dropping the charges would not only be fruitless but would be ill-advised. Trying to coerce or convince the victim or witness of the crime to change their story or recant their statement could be considered tampering with a witness or obstruction of justice and may result in additional charges and penalties because it makes you look guilty.

No Matter How Innocent You Are, You Should Not Make Statements Without an Attorney

You may be one of those people who is being falsely accused of a crime and want to just clear things up and be on your way after the police bring you in for questioning. In fact, you may think that you have an ironclad story that the police and anyone else involved will  believe.

However, any time you are being questioned in relation to criminal charges, you will not want to provide any answers or information without a criminal law attorney. Even if you didn't do it, you may have an inconsistent story, trip up on your words, and incriminate yourself in the process. Always answer questions under the supervision and advice of a criminal law attorney so that you can be sure to avoid making incriminating statements without realizing it.

Now that you know a few of the facts that you should know when you are facing criminal charges, you can hopefully handle yourself as well as possible in a difficult situation.

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