NCJ Number
117368
Date Published
1989
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article suggests how a civil family lawyer can help a client family when a family member is arrested for a drug offense.
Abstract
The civil attorney can help a client family deal with the arrest in a rational manner, including the tempering of emotional overreactions. The civil attorney can also assist by taking the initiative in hiring an effective criminal attorney, negotiating the legal fees, obtaining pretrial release, and communicating the defense strategy to the client. The civil attorney can also help the criminal lawyer receive payment from the client, preserve the defendant's confidence, and confirm for the client that the case disposition -- if not a dismissal or acquittal -- is the best that could have been achieved. Specific pretrial efforts include advising arresting police not to interview the suspect in the absence of counsel, instructing the client not to provide information to the police, reporting to the jailer any incarceration difficulties of the client. An informal, courteous conversation with the arresting officer may yield valuable information and lay a foundation for later efforts to reach a satisfactory disposition of the case. A credible civil lawyer can persuade a judge to deviate from routine criteria for pretrial release by providing evidence of the family's stability and willingness to cooperate in seeing that the defendant will appear in court. The article also discusses the selection of a criminal lawyer for the suspect and when it is in the best interests of the client to cooperate with the authorities.