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Chicago Federal Defense Lawyer Michael Leonard explains the dangers of talking to law enforcement without an attorney

by | Jan 14, 2025 | Firm News

Chicago Federal Defense Lawyer Michael Leonard explains the dangers of talking to law enforcement without an attorney. Far too often, we are contacted by clients who have been charged with Federal or State criminal offenses where the clients’ own statements to law enforcement served as a basis for the decision to charge them with crimes.

Many people believe that, if approached by law enforcement, they are under an obligation to speak to, and cooperate, with law enforcement. That is not accurate. You have an absolute Constitutional right not to provide any statements to law enforcement. More importantly, that bedrock Constitutional right encompasses the fact that your silence cannot be used against you.

Many people also believe that, because they think they have nothing to hide, there is no reason not to speak to, and cooperate with law enforcement. Certainly, there are times when such a thought process and strategy results in no charges being brought against that cooperating individual. However, the converse is also quite true: often such statements and cooperation serve as a basis for that individual being charged.

The difficulty about cooperating under such circumstances without the advice or presence of counsel includes the fact that the individual may not have all of the facts straight and clear in his/her mind; may not have thought through the facts; may be misremembering or mis-recalling facts; and likely does not have the benefit of documents and other information that would fully inform his/her responses, and refresh his/her recollection. Thus, the statements given to law enforcement may not be completely accurate.

Equally important is the fact that such initial encounters with law enforcement are quite often not audio or video recorded. Instead, a summary of the conversation with law enforcement is prepared by law enforcement. Such summaries may be incomplete, or intentionally or mistakenly provide a misleading portrayal of what was communicated by the individual. The individual is not afforded the right to review and comment on such summary reports. Yet, at trial, that same individual may face the prospect that a member of law enforcement may be allowed to testify to what that individual stated by relying upon the summary report of that encounter. At that stage, it may be quite difficult to persuade the jury that the statement is wrong, misleading, or incomplete.

In sum, the presence and/or advice of counsel prior to any communication with law enforcement is always a great idea. We at Leonard Trial Lawyers stand ready to assist you.

Michael Leonard

Leonard Trial Lawyer

January 14, 2025