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Legal Rights

Know Your Legal Rights in Los Angeles

Many people that get arrested in Los Angeles are unaware of their legal rights. If you have been arrested for criminal conduct, as criminal defense lawyers, our duty to you, as our client, is to protect your legal rights.

There's nothing more valuable than information, especially when it comes to defending a criminal case in Los Angeles County. It is one of the biggest metropolises in the world and has probably the most prosecutors in any one jurisdiction.

You've got to know your rights and you can't just go on the internet and look at a couple of things.  You can't get it in books, California Penal Code, Vehicle Codes — yes, they can give you some information, but only a seasoned criminal defense attorney can breathe life into that information and can give you the information that makes sense for your case.

A lot of people are coming in with some sort of preconceived notion about their case, their situation, and what's going on, and they're trying to use common sense.  They're scared.  They're looking at things.  They're making moves, but they're not realizing how important it is to have an attorney who has been down the exact road that they're going down and who can put things into context.

Miranda Rights and Unreasonable Search and Seizures

Criminal defense is not that simple.  You realize there are laws passed, and then those laws don't cover every situation.  So, then people have to go into court and judges, jurisdictions change the law, interpret them, add things, so you are trying to figure that out if you've got one of those situations, it's just not going to work out.

You're not going to be able to figure it out as well as a criminal defense attorney can that's handled the cases, knows your rights, knows when you have a 4th Amendment Right against unreasonable searches and seizures; knows when you have a right to confront a witness pursuant to the Sixth Amendment; knows your gun rights; knows you Miranda  rights.

People keep telling me they didn't read the Miranda rights.  They never have to read the Miranda rights in a criminal case.  Unless they can get other evidence besides your statement, they don't need to read the Miranda rights.

It's when you're in custody or the equivalent of being in custody, and they start asking you direct questions, or they're asking you questions designed to try to get you to incriminate yourself — that's when they need to read the Miranda rights.

But if they don't, they can still proceed with the case.  There's just going to be an argument that your statement can't come in.  It can't be used against you, and of course, that's got subtleties.  What if you testify?  What if they violate your Miranda rights?

Your statement can't come in, but you get on the witness stand and say something different than what's in those statements.  Now you have a problem.  Now, they probably are going to be able to impeach you with those other statements that were taken outside Miranda.

So, you're darn right.  You better know your legal rights if you're going to deal with a criminal case in Los Angeles County, but the way you're going to know your rights is to have a seasoned defense attorney by your side who knows what they're doing and knows the inside and out of the court.

Reviewing Best Defense Strategy

I love to have people come in.  We sit down.  They retain me.  We talk about their case.  We strategize.  If they've got a good point, I'm going to tell them.  If they have a point that doesn't make any sense, isn't part of their rights, and doesn't really have any relevance to their criminal case, I'm going to tell them that too.

Of course, that's the way it should be.  You don't want to be going under some false perception when it comes to a criminal case.  You want to make sure that you understand everything, you handle things the right way, you know your rights, and you let your attorney assert your rights so you end up with the best possible resolution.

Contact our criminal defense attorneys immediately following your arrest. With our combined 75 years of experience, knowledge, and skill, we are prepared and qualified to fight for your legal rights.

If you have been charged with a crime, contact our law firm and set up a free face-to-face consultation. We will explain your legal rights and give you all the necessary information.

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