Arrest: The First 48 Hours
Arrest: The First 48 Hours
CANNON & ASSOCIATES is dedicated to Fierce Advocacy for those facing Criminal Prosecution. It is crucial you contact an experienced Oklahoma Criminal Defense Attorney, if you have been arrested for any criminal allegation. You need a Fierce Advocate to defend your rights, your property, and your freedom. This page is an overview of what to do after you have been arrested, specifically within the first 48 hours after arrest.
I’ve Been Arrested, What Do I Do Now?
Being arrested is a confusing, stressful, and terrible experience, especially during the first 48 hours. The initial process can and will cause you and your family to have many questions. It is important you know your rights and understand the process. You have heard of Miranda Rights in television and movies, but did you know it is actual law? You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to speak to an attorney. You have the right to stop speaking with law enforcement at any time. You have the right to have your attorney present with you when you speak to law enforcement. When your freedom and future are on the line you cannot afford to risk speaking to police without your attorney.
Many of our clients have never been arrested before and this is their first experience having no freedom. Many worry about their safety, their future, and the effects of this experience. The most the average person knows about being arrested is from a television show. Fortunately, for your or your loved one, television exaggerates the process and the experience for entertainment purposes. In most counties in Oklahoma, including Oklahoma County and Tulsa County, upon arrest an individual will be processed at the office of the law enforcement agency/police department making the arrest and then will be transported to county jail, including males and females.
What Happens after I get to Jail?
Upon book-in, the police department or other law enforcement agency will notify the detention center (county jail) of the recommended charges, which are often highly exaggerated, and bond/bail is set based on a schedule determined by the District Court. Once bail is set by schedule, you may post your complete bail, cash bond, which you/your family will have returned to you at the conclusion of your case or you can hire a bail bond company, a bondsman, to post the amount and you will be required to pay the company a percentage of your total bond. Most bond companies require 10% of your bond, which the company will keep at the conclusion of your case. One wrinkle in this process can come from having charges or holds in more than one county, which an attorney can address for you.
Those individuals that do not post bond, either by cash or a bondsman, will stay in jail until released by the Court or will be in custody until an attorney can seek to have their bond reduced or an agreement on conditional bond, which does not require money.
What Is It Like Getting Booked Into Jail?
The book-in process is long and boring with hours of waiting to complete tasks prior to being placed into an actual cell in the jail. Whether you bond out or not, you will be required to appear at arraignment, your first court date, either to receive your charges or be notified that charges have not been filed yet. At arraignment, you should enter a plea of not guilty, if you have hired an attorney he/she can argue for your bond to be reduced or for more favorable conditions of being out of custody.
After arrest it will likely take hours before having access to “your phone call” to contact family or an attorney. There is no time like the present to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to begin fighting your case and reduce the damage in your case. I recommend contacting an experienced Oklahoma criminal defense attorney at the first sign of criminal trouble. Hiring a criminal defense attorney as a suspect, during the investigation, or before arrest maximizes your opportunity to minimize your exposure. A hired criminal defense attorney can contact the law enforcement agency investigating you and possible stop the process or help you avoid arrest.
Alternatively, if arrest is inevitable, your criminal defense attorney may be able to facilitate the time, date, and place you go into custody. This small amount of control can provide a great amount of peace of mind for someone anticipating arrest. Your attorney can contact the prosecutor and appear before the judge assigned to your case, if a warrant is pending and seek to have your case placed on the docket (receive a court date) without going into custody at all.
Common Mistakes After Arrest
Time heals all wounds, except being charged with a criminal offense. Often time is the enemy of your criminal defense, as it offers more and more opportunity to make mistakes. The advent and spread of social media has resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of admissions and damaging statements being introduced against criminal defendants in Oklahoma. Whether you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney or not, be smarter than advertising admissions to a crime.
Talking about your case is the most common error criminal defendants make after being arrested. Phone calls are recorded in jail and used against defendants by the prosecution every day. Conversations can be recorded in Oklahoma, if one party consents to the recording. What does that mean, a person on their own accord or with assistance of police can choose to record a conversation with you and turn that information/recording over to the prosecution or police. You should speak to no one on earth except your attorney about your case, period.
Does Hiring an Attorney make me look Guilty?
Hiring an attorney is simply the smart exercise of a Constitutional right, to anyone associated with your case. Police, prosecutors, and judge assume nothing more than you know your rights and you are exercising them when you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney. You have rights, you should use them. Police/law enforcement will not attempt to coerce a confession out of you or a loved one, if you are represented by counsel. Police know they cannot use a confession, if they question someone in custody without their attorney, assuming that person has hired an attorney. It is reversible error, a big problem, if anyone uses the fact you have hired an experienced criminal defense attorney against you in court. Once you have been arrested, your only line of defense is your attorney. This is one right you do not want to waste. The first 48 hours may be boring; however, they may be far worse for your future, if you do not hire an experienced Oklahoma criminal defense attorney.
CONCLUSION
Being arrested and the first 48 hours after arrest is the scariest time in the life of many of my clients and their families. I hope this page has given you useful information about arrest in Oklahoma and the time immediately after arrest in Oklahoma.
Experience matters when your freedom or the freedom of a loved one is on the line. It is important to know the attorney you hire is a Fierce Advocate and has experience defending criminal cases. John Cannon, owner of CANNON & ASSOCIATES, PLLC, will personally work along-side you during the entire process, including meeting with you in jail until you are released.
John has been honored by being identified as a Top 40 under 40 in Criminal Defense by the National Trial Lawyers Association. John has the experience you need and will bring it to bear in your case. Additionally, he has an outstanding record of reaching the best possible outcome for hundreds of clients accused of the wide variety of criminal charges, evidenced by receiving the highest possible AVVO rating – 10 (superb). Contact CANNON & ASSOCIATES to protect your freedom and Fight your Case. You may send an email inquiry, complete the contact form on our website, or call at (405) 657-2323.
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