Know Your Rights

If you were arrested on criminal charges and made a confession, chances are you didn’t have an experienced  criminal defense lawyer by your side. If you did, you probably would have been advised not to talk to the police. However, even if you made a confession, that doesn’t mean your case is over. Your criminal defense attorney will want to closely examine how that confession was made to see if it was coerced. If so, your lawyer can argue that it be thrown out as evidence.

Understanding Coercion

A criminal defense lawyer will understand that being brought in for questioning by the police is very stressful. For instance, as your criminal defense lawyer will point out, if your family was threatened during the questioning, then anything you said could be invalidated. This holds true if matters of child custody or loss of government benefits was used as a bargaining chip by the police. If that happened, your criminal defense attorney will make a motion to the judge to keep that evidence out of the case, as such conduct is improper coercion.

For a confession to be valid it has to be voluntary. In some cases, if you were in pain from an injury or under the influence of drugs or alcohol and confessed, that could be considered involuntary. Additionally, the police can’t make up evidence to trick you into a confession. That might work on television shows, but many courts have found the practice to be coercion. All of this points out the need for a skilled criminal defense lawyer working on your side.

Your Defense Begins With an Experienced New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer

Often, a criminal defense lawyer doesn’t need to know if you are guilty or innocent. What they are focused on is whether you were treated correctly by law enforcement officers. Having a qualified attorney like Tim Anderson on your side will be a big boost for your defense. His proven track record of success should bring you peace of mind knowing your case is being handled by a competent criminal defense lawyer. You can reach out to his offices today by calling 732-212-2812 to set up a consultation.