Charlie Sheen has been making a lot of public statements that are not only painful to watch, but, if he has legal representation, are every attorney’s worst nightmare. When a client comes to an attorney for help after they have made statements to the police or in public, it is always much more difficult to defend them-although not impossible.

Every United States Citizen has the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the states in which they reside. This means that they cannot be compelled to provide evidence against themselves, nor can their silence be used against them in criminal proceedings. This privilege is not common in most other countries where suspects can be held without bail and required to cooperate with an ongoing investigation.

Often defendants who have made statements think that they have helped themselves. However, when criminal proceedings begin and the police reports are turned over to the defense in discovery, their words have always been used against them. This was clearly exemplified when Martha Stewart was taken by her attorneys to speak with government agents regarding an insider trading matter they were investigating. They apparently did so with no leverage because Ms. Stewart was convicted by her own words and ended up doing a term in federal prison.

Aside from waiving any right to put forth a defense that the statement was unconstitutional (unless in custody duress can be established), these statements put the suspect at the scene of or show him directly involved in the matters being investigated. Otherwise, police would have to prove these facts by independent evidence rather then directly out of the suspect’s mouth.

Furthermore, even if the legal matter is civil, public statements pin the person down to a position that will be difficult to change later, if necessary. Such statements clearly establish the person’s view and interpretation of facts which, if established to be otherwise, defeat the person’s position.Nowadays with all of the social networks, photographs and statements available online, they can be and often are obtained by the police and used to incriminate suspects and witnesses. Conversely, a good criminal defense attorney will definitely seek background information from the internet for cross examination purposes on victims and witnesses.

Law Offices of Sara L. Caplan

P.O. Box 3335

Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Office: 310-550-5877

Fax: 310-362-0411

www.saracaplandefense.com