3/9/2024 0 Comments Police witness statement![]() However, there are many people that still go ahead and talk to the police in a bid to prove their innocence. Most lawyers tend to advise their clients against making a statement. ![]() Why do some suspects make a statement if it is so bad? Knowing the case against you and getting legal advice means any decision you make will be informed by both the facts and the law. Talk to a lawyer, review the file, get advice, then take responsibility if you so choose. ![]() Once you are a suspect, the police may try and get an admission of guilt through their interrogation techniques. Will I get a reduced sentence if I claim responsibility?Įach case is unique, and it is important that you consult with your lawyer before speaking to the police or divulging any piece of information, no matter how small or irrelevant. It is important that you do not provide any evidence or speak with the police before exercising your right to a lawyer. Instead of making you look guilty, it could go a long way in preserving your innocence. In fact, not making a statement is in your best interests. There are many people that get arrested who feel they are obligated to provide the police with a statement to not appear guilty However, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees your right to silence and states that no adverse inference may be drawn from the decision to not talk. No, you will not look guilty just because you refused to provide the police with a statement. Will I be pronounced guilty if I refuse to make a statement? ![]() If you are charged with an offence, and the police ask you to come to the station to just have a conversation, call a lawyer first. There is no such thing as an “off the record” statement, regardless of what the police officer tells you. Whatever you tell the police can and will be used by the Crown Prosecutor to build a case against you. If you make a statement to police it is likely to be admissible against you in court. It is very rare making a statement early in an investigation will benefit you, but decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis in consultation with a lawyer. Criminal defence lawyers can explain the potential benefits and risks of making a statement as unique to your situation. It is important that you request for a lawyer. You will be given the option to consult with your lawyer before you make a statement to the police. Am I allowed a lawyer before speaking with the police? Your first step should always be to seek legal advice if the police have contacted you to participate by making a statement. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects your right to silence, preventing the police from coercing into making self-incriminating remarks. Scalzi (1981) 126 Cal.App.3d 901, 907.You are not required to speak with the police or give a statement whether you are being investigated or have already been arrested for an offence. Bunyard (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1189, 1204.) Thus, to explain his or her investigation of a crime scene, an officer can testify regarding a witness's statement if the officer's investigation of the crime scene is relevant to an issue in dispute. An out-of-court statement is admissible for a nonhearsay purpose if the nonhearsay purpose is relevant to the dispute. Since neither the spontaneous declaration nor the state of mind exceptions to the hearsay rules apply to these facts, we next inquire whether the testimony can be deemed nonhearsay. The trial court erroneously stated the state of mind exception applied to explain "why the officer then did what he did next." A hearsay statement offered to prove the conduct of someone other than the declarant is not admissible under the state of mind hearsay exception embodied in Evidence Code section 1250. Ruiz (1988) 44 Cal.3d 589, 608, original italics.) The citizen's statements do not reflect the citizen's emotional state and the citizen's state of mind or emotion was not at issue in this case. This exception allows "evidence of a declarant's statements regarding his or her then existing state of mind or emotion, when the declarant's state of mind or emotion is at issue in the case, or when the evidence is offered to prove or explain the declarant's acts or conduct." ( People v.
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