If they spoke to you about being a possible witness..say nothing and do nothing.
Possession is 9/10 tenths of the law..and unless you used a credit card..this is hard to prove. If you paid cash..say nothing..do nothing..and most of all..even give them a hint that you will act as a witness..This implies..knowledge.
Without knowing the actual facts and the scope of the question..If they called or came to your residence..would make this past tense..and you might have opened a can of worms.
I used an agency that was busted.LE got my name from their records.They talked to me about being a possible witness.I need some advice on what to do.
Thanks
First of all how do you know who called you? Was it LE, or someone scamming you? Second: At the very most, you might have committed a misdemeanor. The police cannot arrest you for a misdemeanor unless they witness the violation. Third: You do not, and should not, talk to the police about anything. You have a right not to talk to the police and should exercise that right. Someone mentioned Miranda. If you are not being questioned as a suspect, or a possible suspect of a crime, the police are not required to admonish you of your Miranda rights. And last but not least: Who in their right mind would talk to a stranger on the phone? When I receive a call from someone that I don’t know, they get the dial tone. I used to wonder how California was able to fill to capacity the 33 state prisons. Now I have an idea
-- Modified on 1/16/2004 10:28:40 AM
It is true that the police can't arrest you for a misdemeanor they did not witness directly, but that does not mean you can't be prosecuted for it. An arrest is not a prerequisite to a prosecution.
If you give the police enough information to make a case against you, you could be charged even though the police only learned of your activities after the fact.
This doesn't happen often, but it is a risk.
Other than a citizen's arrest, under what circumstances could you be prosecuted for a misdemeanor? If LE obtained your name, etc. from an agency that you had patronized, so what? Even if the girl tells LE that you paid her for sex, you still can not be arrested or prosecuted. Provide an example where someone could be prosecuted for a misdemeanor that was not witnessed by LE.
A lawyer I know has such a case right now. It involves a misdemeanor charge of illegally accessing computer data. No police saw the defendant do it and she was never arrested, but she is being prosecuted based on the computer records. The fact that there are misdemeanors like this which almost by definition will never be witnessed by police proves my point. And the prosecution's ability to pursue misdemeanor cases without an arrest is not limited to these specific crimes.
A girl's statements to LE probably won't get a prosecution started, but if this guy answers police questions and tells them what he's been up to the D.A. can use his statement against him.
If the prosecution has enough evidence to make out a good case, it can go after a defendant whether he has been arrested or not. It's uncommon as I said, but it can and does happen.
If they spoke to you about being a possible witness..say nothing and do nothing.
Possession is 9/10 tenths of the law..and unless you used a credit card..this is hard to prove. If you paid cash..say nothing..do nothing..and most of all..even give them a hint that you will act as a witness..This implies..knowledge.
Without knowing the actual facts and the scope of the question..If they called or came to your residence..would make this past tense..and you might have opened a can of worms.
If they spoke to you about being a possible witness..say nothing and do nothing.
Possession is 9/10 tenths of the law..and unless you used a credit card..this is hard to prove. If you paid cash..say nothing..do nothing..and most of all..even give them a hint that you will act as a witness..This implies..knowledge.
Without knowing the actual facts and the scope of the question..If they called or came to your residence..would make this past tense..and you might have opened a can of worms.
This happened to a friend of mine a few years back. He wanted to get into adult films and took some pictures at an agency that was later busted for prostitution. The detective relentlessly called his home and he finally got scared enough and went down to the station. He met with the detective...told his story and never heard from him again.
I am with Joe Pesci from Goodfellas on this one, if you remember the scene when he talks about the police trying to get a confession out of him.
Cop: Your gonna tell me somethin...
Pesci: I'll tell ya somthin, Go f*ck your mother!
and when they call back...
Oh, you again, I thought I told you to go f*ck your mother!
Seriously.. keep your mouth shut and talk to an attourney, dont take advise from 2 bit hoods that like BJs and like to brag about it on the net :P Most of us have not passed the Bar exam :P