What To Do If You Are Accused or Under Investigation

People often hire lawyers prior to charges being filed, and when they are not a target of investigation. Why?

Contacting an experienced lawyer at the investigation phase of a case can sometimes help figure out if there is any likely potential legal liability. There are any number of ways to respond to an investigation, and the right counsel can guide you on the best way that limits possible civil or criminal legal exposure.

Sometimes when you contact experienced attorneys, they tell you their help isn’t needed.

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Under Texas law, there may be an affirmative requirement to report suspected child abuse.  Though the intent of the law is well-intentioned, it sometimes means that innocent people are not believed by CPS and police.

This is a way people who have never been in trouble with the law can accidentally find themselves caught in the system.

How does this happen? Common reasons: CPS caseloads are immense; employees have varied experience; miscommunication; people deciding to be cautious with uncertain information.

Ideally, if you are suspected of child abuse, you should contact an experienced attorney right away before any adverse action happens. Sometimes the counsel you receive at this stage of a matter can prevent CPS from taking your children and having charges be filed against you.

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Most people know of juries from trials. A grand jury is different.

The grand jury is a group chosen used to investigate whether criminal charges should be brought against suspects. Though a representative of the state is allowed in the grand jury room, a representative of the suspect is not.

That said, an experience criminal defense attorney can be of immense help before the grand jury looks at evidence:

  1. They can determine whether a suspect or witness should testify in front of the grand jury. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it does not, sometimes it is hard to tell, and it is an important judgment call.
  2. Though they cannot attend the grand jury, criminal defense attorneys can sometimes offer the grand jury a packet of information that may help get a case “no billed,” where a matter does not get charged.

If the only information the grand jury has during their deliberations comes from the accuser, prosecution and police, they are less likely to no bill. An experienced criminal defense attorney can often give jurors a fuller picture of a situation that results in the grand jury no billing a case.

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Sometimes those investigations can have an adverse effect on your school or work career. Sometimes the investigations may also have a criminal element. It can be hard to know for sure as you are in the middle of such an investigation.

Often workplace and school rules are stacked against you. Rules by their nature are meant to cover every situation but sometimes in practice it hurts people.

Contacting an attorney early on can help figure out a way of responding to the investigation to minimize miscommunication and try to ensure your rights are respected.

Schools, employers and the government have lawyers. Hiring your own can balance that out. Often hiring one at the investigation stage can save money in the long run.

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Sometimes yes. Even though you may know you didn’t do anything wrong, people who do not know you will be investigating and judging you. It can be good to have someone doing the talking for you to minimize miscommunication and not unintentionally making a situation worse.

Police officers are not required to tell the truth when they are investigating things. There have been many instances of people falsely admitting things because the pressure they felt under expert questioning.

Bill is often hired as a just in case option for on-going investigations to give advice and knowing how to talk with law enforcement and governmental agencies.

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From the outside, it can be difficult to determine what is a true or false accusation. If you are falsely accused, particularly in a contentious situation, it can be difficult to know what to do.

Defamation claims are an option, but they can be expensive and privacy invading.

Hiring an experienced attorney to assess the accusation can help ease your mind about what can and cannot be done to protect yourself. It can sometimes also prevent problems from getting worse.

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Peoples’ view of law enforcement differs based on their life experience. Whether your experience is positive or negative, it can often be helpful to have an experienced criminal defense attorney assess your situation.

It can be frustrating to read the words, “it depends,” when dealing with legal matters. But for many things, it is a judgment call based on experience and the facts of a situation.

We particularly enjoy helping people through investigations because it is better to avoid charges from happening in the first place versus needing to defend baseless claims.

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