This article was originally published in the July/Aug 2021 issue of San Diego Lawyer Magazine.
By Michael L. Crowley
You get that call in the middle of the night from one of your clients and you aren’t a criminal defense attorney. “I’ve been arrested and you are the only attorney I know, what do I do?”
Unless you have the number of a trusted criminal defense attorney at your fingertips, you need to give some basic advice until the next business day.
First, if your client hasn’t already given a statement to the authorities, tell them to keep their mouth shut. We know that isn’t easy to do and law enforcement is well schooled in breaking down a person’s defenses. The client should be advised to say, “I hereby assert my 5th and 6th Amendment rights to remain silent and have counsel present at any and all of my interactions with the government.”
If you are comfortable with it, ask to talk to someone trying to question your client and assert their rights on their behalf. To help diffuse the situation, I often say to law enforcement, this doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t ever give a statement, it just means it needs to be done under controlled circumstances, i.e., with me present.
The second thing you can do for the client is to get him out on bail. You can call the San Diego Sheriff’s Department (619-974-2222) to find out what the bail is. You can either, at that point, call a bail bondsman or post the full amount of the bail with the Sheriff, saving your client any fees.
One tip: you can negotiate the amount of fee the bondsman will charge, 10% is not set in stone. Make a few calls and use your negotiating skills to get the lowest rate. The next working day, call a criminal defense attorney or the San Diego County Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service at 619-231-8585.
Michael L. Crowley, Crowley Law Group, APC (he/him) mlcrowley@CrowleyLawGroup.com