5th Amendment Right to remain silent

The Law Firm of Johnny Ramirez Castaneda has provided criminal defense for thousands of clients throughout the State of Georgia.

Being charged with a criminal act is not a pleasant experience. The variables that are involved in a criminal case are complex and must be addressed with great care and skill.  It is important that you immediately take steps to protect your rights and your liberty.  Your actions and/or inaction could make things worse for yourself and limit your defense strategy options. The results of your criminal defense will directly impact your freedom in our society.

If you think you might be charged with a crime, you should consult with an attorney BEFORE you speak with anyone else. You may inadvertently make your case worse by speaking with someone else first.

If you have been arrested, you should immediately invoke your 5th amendment right to remain silent and let your request for an attorney be immediately known. If you make no (zero as in none) statements (verbal or written), then the prosecutor will not be able TO USE YOUR OWN WORDS against you in the future.

FYI: If you give CONSENT to the police officer to search you, your car, your house etc… then the Police officer does not need a search warrant. Police officers will say many things (lies) to get you to say something. They will say lies such as : (1) I am going to get warrant if you do not give me consent to search you, your car, your house etc.. knowing full well that they cannot get a warrant from a judge ; (2) If you do not give me the code to your phone, I am going to smash it up, in an effort to intimidate you, because they know they cannot get a search warrant to look at your phone in most instances. You cannot trust the words of the police officer that is arresting you, they are ALLOWED, by twisted up loopholes in the law, to LIE TO YOU to get you to make statements that they WILL use against you to convict you.

You see news reports everyday as to how police officers abuse their position and are themselves arrested. I have read thousands of police reports and it is sickening to realize that most are blatantly inaccurate. I have caught police officers lying on the witness stand too many times to count. There are literally thousands of NOT GUILTY verdicts handed out in court every year. Why, think about it for moment. The Police were called, they spoke with people at the incident, so Deputy Inept makes a determination that someone broke the law, Deputy Inept makes arrest, Defendant goes to trial, Deputy Inept testifies, Defendant found NOT GUILTY.  Hmmmm, the trier of fact (the judge or the jury) determined that SOMEONE was lying when they testified. If the defendant is found NOT GUILTY, then that leaves the other witness, in this example, Deputy Inept to be a not credible witness (a polite way to say LIAR).

Police officers use your lack of knowledge (a polite way to say ignorance) of your legal rights as a weapon against you (they laugh about it all the time).  You do not need to make their job easier for them. There are thousands of people every day that know their rights, that do not give consent to search, that do not make ANY statements, that remain silent, that ask for an attorney and as a result have no charges pressed against them.