Every person who is arrested is entitled to receive a Miranda warning that advises of certain key righs including the right to remain silent and right to have an attorney present during questioning. Many Pennsylvania residents who are stopped by a police officer during a traffic stop or questioned in their home or place of work have no idea what constitutes an “arrest.” If you volunteer information to a police officer and are not actually under arrest, your statements may not be subject to suppression even if no Miranda warning was given. An arrest may often be broader than many people realize. It does not necessarily mean that you have been placed in handcuffs or hastily hurried into the back seat of a patrol car. A investigatory stop or voluntary questioning becomes an arrest at the point that a reasonable person would not believe that he or she is free to leave. For this reason, it is important to ask if you are under arrest because this may trigger certain legal protections, such as the right to receive a Miranda warning and to assert the other rights contained within the Mirada advisory.

If you are in fact arrested, it is imperative that you assert your right to counsel and indicate that you do not want to speak further until an attorney is present. It may not be enough to simply stop talking with police. It is critical that you actually assert the right to counsel and right not to speak to police. If you volunteer information after having asserting these rights while not being questioned, you may be interpreted to have withdrawn your prior assertion of these rights so that your admissions may be used against you. If you are taken into custody, there are other events that make a prompt assertion of your right to counsel important.

For example, a identification line-up in a criminal investigation is considered a “critical stage”, a situation where the presence or absence of counsel has an especially important effect on a defendant’s ability to prove his or her innocence. A physical line-up has many ways the defendant may be unintentionally or even intentionally singled out leading to a false identification. One common situation involves a defendant being given an article of clothing that the victim or witness has identified as being worn by the perpetrator during the crime. Another common situation that may lead to an erroneous identification involves multiple witnesses who are not separated during a line-up. This may result in an uncertain witness simply affirming the identification made by a prior witness. More innocently, a police officer conducting the line-up may inadvertently indicate that the defendant is their suspect by subconscious cues or merely fail to mention that the perpetrator might not be in the line-up at all. If you have an experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney present during a line-up, the criminal defense attorney can observe all procedures and conduct so that any errors in the line-up process are documented. These mistakes may provide a legal basis for your Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney to request that the identification be excluded from use at trial.

The key information in all this is that a failure to promptly assert your right to counsel not only significantly delays the attorney’s presence in aiding you, but reduces their ability to assist you in proving your innocence. If you invoke your right to counsel early and firmly, it ensures that you do not make mistakes because you are unfamiliar with your legal rights. A person who clearly and unequivocally asserts their Miranda right to counsel and right to remain silent will also facilitate an attorney’s presence if the police intentionally or unintentionally engage in practices that may be a violation of the rights of the accused or create a basis for successful a criminal defense strategy. If you are arrested, you should contact me, Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney Michael V. Worgul.

With a focus on thorough preparation, superior client service and dedicated representation, I help families and individuals solve a wide range of DUI and criminal litigation issues.

I will respond to your email submission as promptly as possible. I ask that you consider calling me, Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney Michael V. Worgul, directly at 1-412-475-9217 or toll free at 1-855-DUI-CRIM for a free initial consultation to discuss your case.  You will also find out how our practice can be put to work for you.

I look forward to listening to the circumstances of your case and discussing all available options under the law.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Worgul

Michael V. Worgul, Esq., LLC
429 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Toll Free: 1-855-DUI-CRIM
Phone: 412-475-9217
Fax: 412-288-8943