Tucson Criminal Defense Law Faqs
Criminal Defense Attorneys Serving Phoenix & Tucson
You just got arrested, what are your rights?
When police in Tempe Arizona arrest you, they are supposed to read you your rights, and they usually do this from a card they carry to make sure they got the wording exactly right. It's know as "Mirandizing" the suspect. This stems from a Supreme court decision in 1966 that affirmed: statements made by a suspect before they are informed of their right to retain an attorney or their right to remain silent can be deemed inadmissible in a court of law. In most situations, police will Mirandize a suspect as they are putting the handcuffs on or as they are putting the suspect in the car. It has to be done before any statements made by the suspect are admissible in court. If you are not read your Miranda rights, it does not mean the arrest will be deemed to be a false arrest by a judge. It does mean than any statements recorded from you will not be permitted in court.
You don't have to incriminate yourself under US law.
This is also known as the right to remain silent. Any time you talk after an arrest, the police can use the information you give them during an investigation, and the statements can be used by the prosecutor or evaluated by a judge during a trial.
In general, you have a right to have an attorney present during questioning.
At Thrush Law Group, an experienced Tempe crriminal defense attorney can prevent police from asking questions that are in violation of your rights. There's an exception to note, if you are suspected of driving under the influence, you may not have a right to an attorney when the police ask you to take a breath test or to give a blood sample to determine alcohol or drug presence.
If the police ask to search your property, you do not have to give them permission to do so.
They cannot just go ahead and search your property unless they have "probably cause" or a search warrant signed by a judge with jurisdiction over the physical location the target property is in. For example, if police spot something out in the open and determine there was "no reasonable expectation of privacy", the police can go ahead with a search of your property immediately without a search warrant.
