What are her rights? What should we do? Attempting to flip her into informing.: My wife was taken into custody for a felony vusca charge. She was lured into meeting an LEO under false pretenses and then ambushed her once she arrived. I drove her to meet him, she went inside and a few minutes later he came out and told me that she's was being taken in from an arrest warrant, this was a lie, he even told her he was "just going to tell him that it was an arrest warrant." She was then taken to a holding location and basically left there for 72 hours to wallow in the misery of being in jail until being interrogated by two detectives at the end of the maximum legal detainment period. During that time she was denied phone calls to family, friends, or for an attorney to be present during questioning. After being interviewed she was then released without any charges being filed, her Miranda Rights being read, or receiving any paperwork. At the end of her interview she was instructed to contact one of the detectives in the coming days. The intention was to turn her into a confidential informant. She's now being told she cannot have an attorney present when she meets him and he will be forced to proceed with filing Federal charges.
Scott’s answer: She absolutely needs an attorney. You wife is in trouble. Criminal charges will be filed. She can dig the whole deeper or start preparing to fight the case. There are so many things in your question that need to be addressed in greater detail than is possible on this forum. If this is a federal level case, working for a local police department won't shield you from prosecution. Entering an agreement to be a confidential informant rarely actually ends in successfully making the charges go away. She has to have an attorney be part of this process or there is a high likelihood she will get screwed. Holding a person for 72 hours without having a judge review probable cause is illegal. I could go on, but you need to spend an hour or two with an attorney to figure out what you should be doing next.
What should I do arrested with a DUI?:
Hi looking for advice. On September 13th I was driving home late at night after having drinks fell asleep a few blocks from home and crashed into a tree in Camas WA. My son was in the car and he walked home. Police arrived and I blew a 0.1 was arrested for dui and have a court case this Thursday the 24th in Vancouver WA Clark County. I asked to make a phone call to my son who is 13 yo and they somehow made me confess he was in the car. So I am worried about child ends now.
Since everything seems ominous should I just show up to court and plead guilty at the arraignment or should I hire a lawyer and see if they can somehow help me plead to a lesser charge.
Scott’s answer: Not only should you not show up to court and plead guilty at arraignment, the court is unlikely to take a guilty plea to a serious charge like this without you first having consulted with an attorney. People plead guilty at arraignment less than 1% of the time. There are so many options for how to proceed. The very worst of these being pleading guilty without actually looking at all the possible defenses or other ways to resolve the case. Hire an attorney. If you cannot afford one, ask the court to provide one.
How much will it cost to hire an attorney for theft 3 case: I was charged for shoplifting $58 in a grocery store
Scott’s answer: Depends on the jurisdiction, the facts, your history, the attorney's skill and experience and a lot of other factors. Schedule two or three consultations with attorneys. After you've talked with a couple different attorneys you will have an idea of what it will cost and what you are looking for in an attorney.