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When the police approach or arrest you, making the right decision can be difficult. This can be a very stressful situation for you, and the law enforcement officer doesn’t need to explain your legal rights at this moment. Because of this, you may say things that you should have kept to yourself.
If you confess to committing a crime to the police, you must understand what this implies for your case. Despite the confession, you may still have many defenses available. However, you must handle the case very carefully. This includes hiring a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Check out this website to speak with a good attorney.
If you have been charged with a crime in Jersey City, it’s important to make smart decisions with your short- and long-term interests in mind. Despite making incriminating statements to law enforcement, this does not mean you are done. To determine the available options, you must work with a skilled defense attorney who can address your concerns and enlighten you on things such as the following:
Whether You Truly Make Incriminating Statements
Criminal laws in New Jersey are complex, and even if you believe you confessed to committing a crime, this may not be the case. Every crime has several elements and the prosecution should prove these elements to get a conviction. Your statement should address every element of your alleged crime to be considered a confession.
For instance, if you have been charged with assault and you told the responding police officer that you hit the plaintiff, the prosecutors must prove you tried to cause or knowingly, purposely, or recklessly cause harm to the plaintiff. Thus, if you did not admit to acting this way, you can still argue some defenses like self-defense, involuntary intoxication, and defense of others.
If what you say is not considered a full confession, this could help the prosecutors to prove their case. This means that you are not fully in the clear. However, before you make decisions regarding your approach to the case, ensure you accurately understand the effects of your statement.
What You Are Being Charged With
If you believe you have confessed to committing a crime, ensure you understand what you are being charged with. For instance, if you are facing charges for an altercation and you said that you were trying to hit your alleged victim, you almost confessed to simple assault.
However, let us say that prosecutors charge you with aggravated assault instead of simple assault. In this case, they need to prove that you tried to cause bodily harm to the plaintiff or cause injury knowingly or purposely. If you did not try to cause severe bodily injury, you aren’t guilty of this charge. Thus, your statement alone isn’t enough to justify an aggravated assault conviction.
The Circumstances Under Which You Confessed
Let us say you confessed to committing the alleged crime. But your case isn’t over yet. Even in this situation, your defense attorney can still protect you in many ways. It’s necessary to determine the possible violation of your constitutional rights by the police. For instance, if the police did not read your Miranda rights before subjecting you to questioning, your confession while in custody may not be admissible in court. Under such cases, your confession may be involuntary and your attorney can use this as grounds to file a motion in court to suppress.
You must take into account some factors. Did you make the statement because of the police’s improper actions or statements? Was it a result of an unlawful arrest or search? Were you interrogated while being under the influence of alcohol or drugs? If your answer to these questions is yes, your lawyer can argue that your statements must not be allowed to be used against your case.
