How You Should Respond After Being Arrested

The process of being arrested differs for everyone as some are brought into a police station while others have a warrant served. The process of your arrest is going to be important as someone that is requested to turn themselves in likely has consulted with legal representation. The way that you react after an arrest can impact a trial or perception of yourself at trial. Getting arrested while out on bail might speak to a pattern of behavior that will impact your sentence. The following are tips for people to respond in a constructive way after being arrested. 

Consult Legal Representation 

Defending yourself in a trial is a recipe for disaster and is rarely recommended. Even top attorneys enlist the help of others to help defend them in the case of an arrest. What you want to do is to find an experienced lawyer in the area. You want an attorney to have relationships with the prosecutor as this can help you get a far better plea deal. A criminal defense attorney might also have knowledge of which judges are good to go to trial in front of. You do not want to be stressed by wondering what will happen as a top lawyer can help reassure you. There is going to be paperwork and other things that need to be filed that your attorney will handle. Don’t settle for a public defender that is likely overwhelmed with a huge number of cases. 

Start Getting Help If You Need It 

Substance abuse is something that impacts people of all races, genders, and socioeconomic classes. Getting help is important as most people with an addiction need help to overcome this addiction. The importance of getting help cannot be stressed enough as addiction is a progressive disease. You want to get help before your addiction gets too deep. A judge will likely give you a bit of leeway in terms of sentencing if you are making a concerted effort to clean yourself up. Look online to see the list of substance abuse meetings available online as there are a number. 

Get Off of Social Media 

Social media is a way that people interact but can be used as evidence in a case. You do not want to have social media accounts set to public and restrict who can post on your account. Even if you are sorry, you do not want photos of you out for friends to be misrepresented as a lack of remorse. This doesn’t mean that you should delete social media forever. Cleaning up your accounts if you do not decide to delete them is imperative. You do not want a post from years ago to come back to haunt you in a serious criminal trial. You would be surprised as to how many times social media posts are used as evidence during a trial regardless of the severity of the charges. 

Getting arrested should not send you into a downward spiral in terms of your behavior. Remember that you are innocent until proven guilty which is essential to keep in mind.