Understanding the Risks of Your Words
Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing criminal law and family law for eight years now, and I want to help you make the law easier to understand by discussing how to protect yourself from incriminating statements being used against you later on.
The simple answer here is, just don’t say anything. But that’s a little bit of a given. I’m more talking about being very aware of your surroundings, your audience, and the mode of communication. Because I’ve had clients who never in a million years would think that statements they made outside of a courtroom would come back to bite them in the rear.
A Real-Life Case Study
I just recently got a case like this. I had a client who was just sending messages to his buddies, talking to his friends, no big deal, not thinking about it, just typing away on his phone, letting chats fly out in the universe to anyone and everyone that he thought to send them to. Well, unfortunately, some of the people that he was chatting with were law enforcement officers.
He didn’t know it at the time, had no idea, thought he was just chatting with a buddy. And unfortunately, he said terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible things. Guys, I know that this is going to sound kind of kitschy and cliche and whatever. It’s great to dance like no one is watching, but you need to text as though it’s going to be read out loud in front of a judge.
The Impact of Your Words on Legal Proceedings
Because the things that were in these messages, no bueno. It’s not a good look. It’s not. And one, that makes it harder for you to come out of your case unscathed. Two, that’s going to make your attorney’s job harder, because now your attorney is going to have to get around every incriminating statement that you said and try to either mitigate it, downplay it, or get it excluded while also defending you.
I don’t care what you’re into. I don’t care what you’re about. I don’t care what your hobbies and passions are. That’s great. Do you. But protect yourself. Watch your back. Watch your words. And above all else, do not put anything in writing that you would not want a judge to hear.
Schedule Your Initial Strategy Session
If you have questions about this, give me a call. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa felony defense attorney with Wirth Law Office. And I want to help you make law easy. Contact us today for a low-cost initial strategy session at 918-879-1681.
