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Can I recant my interrogation if I was on meth when being questioned by the police?

Asked in Phoenix, AZ - 8 months

I was interrogated while I was spun out on meth then got arrested and charged with a class 1 misdemeanor: theft-control of property for driving someone who had stolen something which was unknown to me at the time. The police took me in and said I was just going to be questioned I answered their questions then I got arrested.

Attorney Answers (3)

Craig S Orent

Craig S Orent

Mesa Criminal Defense Attorney

Licensed in AZ

Answered 8 months ago. An attorney would have to sit down with you and assess the entire surrounding circumstances to answer that question; the answer depends on those circumstances. You need an attorney to assist you in your defense; don't represent yourself.
Orent Law Offices, PLC
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Paul E Knost

Paul E Knost

Tolleson Criminal Defense Attorney

Licensed in AZ

Answered 8 months ago. Your lawyer can challenge the admissibility of your statements for voluntariness. This is a very fact-intensive motion. The mere fact of being "spun out on meth" probably won't get the statements thrown out. You can testify in your own defense and tell the jury you were on meth and didn't know what you were talking about. But this is not a winning strategy. The jury will think that a person who does meth is a person willing to commit theft. They are not supposed to blur those concepts, but they always do.
NONE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE IS MEANT AS, NOR INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE. THE LAW IS CONSTANTLY... more
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Joshua Sachs

Joshua Sachs

Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney

Answered 8 months ago. I agree with my colleague that you need to discuss this situation with your attorney. A likely scenario, which may or may not apply in your case, is that the officer who questioned you would testify on behalf of the prosecution and would summarize your post-arrest statement. Your attorney would explore on cross-examination the extent to which you appeared to be under the influence of some drug, along with any other points that might make the jury tend to doubt the reliabililty of the statement. Then, when it is time for your case, you could elect to testify and to tell the jury that the statement is not true, explain why you made it, and tell the jury what you now contend is the truth. The jury would then decide whom, if anyone, to believe and which version of the incident, if either, to accept.

But that is just a very general answer explaining one way in which the matter could be handled. It might be the best way in some cases and the worst possible way in others. Do not take what I have said as advice as to what you should do. You need to have a lawyer representing you, not my top-of-the-head thoughts online. If I were actually representing you I might put weeks into preparing your case, not the thirty seconds I have devoted to this answer.
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