Defending your rights

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It is a rather surprising fact that only around one half of those arrested and taken to a Police Station or Custody Centre take up the offer of free legal advice. That's FREE, non means-tested legal advice. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you are interviewed a Solicitor or Accredited Representative will come to the station to advise you on that interview. From Abergavenny to Axminster, Brighton to Bridlington a Solicitor is available, and you won't have to pay. And yet around 50% turn this down. It's a bit like being taken to A and E and saying, "D on't bother the Doctor, I'll stitch my own wound." So why do so many people refuse legal advice? There are various reasons given:- "I don't need legal advice because I am innocent." Well that is the very reason you do need a Solicitor. To extend the medical analogy, if you are going to die anyway then maybe you can let the Doctor get on with other work. If the Doc can save you, you need help. The same applies if you are innocent of the accusation against you. Something has led the Police to take the fairly dramatic course of arresting you. You need expert legal advice to ensure that you are not wrongly convicted. "I don't need legal advice because I am guilty." Confession, they say, is good for the soul. It may be bad for your liberty. Can the Police prove your guilt? Might you confess to a more serious offence than can be proved without your admissions? Again, you need a lawyer at the Police Station. "The Solicitor will delay matters." Always an amusing suggestion, this. Typically upon arrest someone is likely to be in custody 8 - 10 hours, sometimes longer, while the police gather evidence, allocate an interviewer and are ready for the interview. Your Solicitor will be at most 45 minutes away. Usually they will be given advance notice of the interview time and so will be there as soon as the police are ready. It is not the Solicitor delays your time in custody. "The Duty Solicitor works for the Police." If you know a Criminal Defence Solicitor then you can ask them to come and represent you. Bishop and Light represents its "own" clients daily across Sussex and the UK. If you don't know the name of a Solicitor you can ask for the Duty Solicitor. You might get us! The fact is that the overwhelming majority of "own" Solicitors are also Duty Solicitors. Whilst you haven't chosen your Solicitor, they will be accredited and wholly independent of the Police. Having a Solicitor has tangible benefits. It ensures that you get disclosure of the case against you before interview. You have the chance to explain your case, in confidence, to someone on your side and you will receive advice on whether to answer questions, make a prepared statement or answer "no comment". Representations can be made about bail and whether you should be charged at all. Now, if you are the type of person who at A and E will stitch your own wound, plaster-cast your broken leg or interpret a complex CT scan then you are likely to ignore the advice in this blog. If you recognise the need for expertise in a difficult situation then if arrested - GET A BRIEF! Like the NHS it is free at the point of need. Bishop and Light are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Police have our number!