Put Prosecution Experience On Your Side

Avoid these mistakes in your white-collar crime case

On Behalf of | May 17, 2023 | Criminal Defense

A white-collar crime conviction can have tremendous implications for your life. It can result in an extensive prison sentence, but even if you’re able to escape long-term incarceration, you can face damage to your reputation, your ability to secure and maintain employment, and your ability to secure housing.

Even though that can be stressful to think about, there are ways to defend yourself. But your defense starts the moment you come under investigation. How you interact with the police can be crucial to the trajectory of your case, and all of your statements and actions will be put under the microscope. In other words, everything you do and don’t do is important.

Mistakes to avoid in your white-collar crime case

Therefore, if you want to protect yourself as fully as possible, you need to know how to avoid some of the most common mistakes in these sorts of cases. Let’s take a look at some of them here:

  • Volunteering information to the police: The police have a job to do. They’re goal is to obtain evidence that can be used to support criminal charges and obtain a conviction for criminal wrongdoing. With that said, you should push from your mind the urge to speak to the police to try to explain away any suspicions. If you speak to the police, you might be giving them the information they need to take formal legal action against you.
  • Hiding or destroying evidence: Once you come under suspicion, it might be tempting to hide or destroy documentation and other evidence that could incriminate you. But this might be a crime in and of itself, and when the prosecution finds out what you’ve done, you’ll probably look even more suspicious. So, avoid doing anything that might look like you’re trying to cover up criminal wrongdoing.
  • Allowing a search of your home or business: The prosecution is going to need strong evidence on its side if it hopes to obtain a conviction. To gather this evidence, they’re probably going to have to search your home and/or your business in hopes of recovering incriminating documents and electronic devices.

But before the police can search these places, they need a valid warrant that’s supported by an appropriate amount of probable cause. However, the police can forego that requirement if you consent to a search. Don’t make that mistake, as the police might lack the probable cause that they need in your case. You don’t want to simply hand over incriminating evidence if you can avoid it.

  • Talking to others about your case: When you’re being investigated for a crime, you have a lot to think about and a lot to say. While you might be comfortable talking about your concerns with a family member or friend, this can be dangerous given that these individuals can be subpoenaed to court to testify about what you’ve told them. That’s why you should probably refrain from talking about your case with anyone other than your attorney.

Know how to get through your white-collar crime case

There’s a lot on the line when you’re accused of committing a white-collar crime. That’s why you need to do everything you can to protect yourself. This includes understanding how the police operate in these sorts of cases and the strategies that they use to try to gather incriminating evidence. You can also better protect yourself by knowing your rights and acting on them.

We know that you might be under a lot of stress right now, but by researching how to best defend yourself, you might be able to develop a strategy that protects your interests and your freedom.