How Do I Protect My Rights When I Have Been Arrested? • The Havok Journal

by Avery Devereaux

Everyone in America has rights no matter who they are or what kind of circumstances they find themselves in. No one can be denied their rights and that includes people who have been arrested. It might seem like someone who has been accused of a crime automatically forfeits all of their rights, but that is not the case. Even someone who has been arrested has rights that they are owed and which need to be upheld.

If their rights get violated, then that could mean trouble for the officer who made the arrest. One of the rights a person is owed is the right to make a phone call and contact an attorney. An attorney can help to make sure that your rights are protected so that you are treated fairly during the arrest procedure. You can find more information at thefloridatriallawyer.com if you want to know how an attorney can protect your rights when you get arrested.

Your Rights After Getting Arrested

You may have heard of the Miranda rights from various movies and TV shows, you might even be able to remember some of them yourself. However, Miranda rights are not just for show, they are an integral part of the arrest process and everyone is entitled to them. Police are required to recite those rights to anyone they arrest, but even if they don’t the suspect still has those rights. The Miranda rights are as follows:

The right to remain silent.
Anything said by the suspect can be used against them in a court of law.
The suspect has the right to an attorney.
If the suspect cannot afford an attorney, then one will be provided for them.

As for what each of those rights actually means, let’s break them down. The right to remain silent means that you do not have to say anything to the police or answer any questions that they ask you. This right helps to protect the suspect from self-incrimination since the Miranda rights also say that anything said by the suspect can be used against them. So it is best if someone remains silent and does not say anything after getting arrested because they cannot get in trouble for doing so. However, they can get in trouble if they say the wrong thing.

Anyone who has been arrested is also guaranteed a phone call as well as the right to an attorney. It is best if they use that phone call to contact their attorney because they should not say anything, sign anything, or make any decisions without a lawyer present. If a suspect makes a phone call, then the police are not allowed to listen in, however, they can listen in if the suspect makes a call to anyone else, so that is something to be mindful of.

What If Your Rights Were Violated?

If an officer fails to read a suspect their Miranda rights after arresting them, that does not mean that they can escape punishment, but it does mean that anything the suspect says while in custody cannot be used against them. If the police violate the suspect’s rights in other ways, then they should try to record everything they can remember about the incident including the officer’s badge number, their patrol car number, and the agency for which they work.

If there were any witnesses, then they should try and get their contact information as well. The person should then file a complaint with the agency’s internal affairs division or their civilian complaint board. This can be done anonymously if there is fear of reprisal.

Contact an Attorney To Protect Your Rights

Even someone who has been arrested has rights and they deserve to have those rights protected. That is why it is important that anyone who has been arrested contact an attorney as soon as possible. An attorney will make sure that their client’s rights are upheld and that they are treated fairly. However, a person can protect their own rights by remembering that they don’t have to say anything to the police and that they should not speak to them without a lawyer present. So make sure that you have a lawyer on call to protect your rights if you ever get arrested.

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