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Although being arrested is the first step in a
criminal prosecution, it does not mean you are guilty of a crime. It does
mean however that the police have some reason to suspect you are guilty
of a crime. If a warrant has been issued, it means a judge or magistrate
has reviewed information brought to him or her by a police officer or
investigator and determined that probable cause exists to believe you
may have committed a crime and therefore should be arrested.
In this situation you do not have time to waste.
Immediately contact our office or another competent criminal defense lawyer.
Explain the situation and ask for an immediate appointment. If you contact
my office we will try to find out which agency obtained the warrant, what
the warrant is for, whether or not a bond is set and if so, in what amount.
We will try to coordinate arrangements to safely surrender you to the
appropriate agency and assist in obtaining bail.
Our charge for an initial office consultation is
only $50.00. This is credited toward the fee for the representation if
we are retained to represent you. Click here
if you would like our office to contact you to arrange for a confidential
appointment at a convenient time. Click here
if you live outside of northwest Louisiana and would like to arrange
for a telephone consultation. Click here
if you would like to find out whether your case is the kind of matter
we would accept.
A police officer's search of your car is a
serious invasion of your privacy. That is why the law prevents the police
from merely stopping cars and searching for contraband or evidence of
a crime. You always have a right to refuse a police officer's request
to search your vehicle, home, or person. But, if an officer has probable
cause to believe that you are carrying contraband in your car, he can
still search your car. Likewise, if an officer stops you for a traffic
violation, he may be able to search your person and the interior of the
car to check for weapons that may be a danger to his safety. Sometimes,
an officer will stop someone for a minor traffic violation and ask permission
to search the entire vehicle, although he does not otherwise have lawful
grounds for doing so. If you consent to the search in such a situation,
the police officer would be allowed to use any evidence or contraband
he found in the vehicle against you in court. On the other hand, if you
do not consent and the officer searches your person or vehicle without
lawful authority, then any evidence that he obtains would not be admitted
into evidence in court. While some people are of the view that innocent
people have nothing to hide and should not mind the inconvenience caused
by a police search, our founding fathers saw things differently. Having
lived under the tyranny of a police state the men and women who drafted
our constitution believed that a person's right to privacy as well as
their right to be left alone should be respected. They believed a person
should feel secure in the persons, their papers, their houses and effects.
That is why they insisted that the fourth amendment be included in the
Bill of Rights.
A police officer's search of your home is a
serious invasion of your privacy. That is why the law prevents the police
from merely going door-to-door and searching for contraband or evidence
of a crime. You always have a right to refuse to allow a law enforcement
officer's request for permission to search your home, your person, or
your automobile. Sometimes, when the police suspect a person of wrongdoing,
but do not have sufficient evidence to gain a search warrant, they will
simply knock on the door and ask permission to search the home. You do
not have to give the police permission to search your home. Many people
do not know this and the police will not usually tell them.
Oftentimes, the police officer will threaten to obtain a search warrant
if the person does not give consent for the officers to search. In such
a situation, it is best to advise the police officers that you prefer
that they obtain a proper warrant and court order authorizing the search.
If the officer obtains contraband or evidence during a search of your
home, you may be charged with a crime, and government will attempt to
use that evidence to convict you in court. If you allow the police to
search your home, the government can use any contraband or evidence that
is found against you. If you did not consent to the search, and if the
officers do not have a warrant or some other lawful basis for conducting
a search, then the government would generally not be able to use the evidence
against you in a criminal trial. While some people are of the view that
innocent people have nothing to hide and should not mind the inconvenience
caused by a police search, our founding fathers saw things differently.
Having lived under the tyranny of a police state the men and women who
drafted our constitution believed that a person's right to privacy as
well as their right to be left alone should be respected. They believed
a person should feel secure in the persons, their papers, their houses
and effects. That is why they insisted that the fourth amendment be included
in the Bill of Rights.
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