Six Myths about the Nevada Criminal Justice System |
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| Christina A. DiEdoardo, Esq. and I were chatting over lunch one day about some of the myths perpetuated about the Nevada criminal justice system. |
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| While some myths are patently ridiculous and others are exaggerations grown out of aberrant true stories, the most disturbing ones are those that a criminal defense attorney hears clients repeat again and again. Some of these myths are perpetuated by television programs and the media, but we tend to believe that they are passed on by well-intentioned believers. Much like urban legend, neighbor passes the story to neighbor, friend to friend, father to son, each believing the other has investigated the validity of the story. |
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| I have listed some of the myths for you, below, with Ms. DiEdoardo’s myth-busting responses. |
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(1) I only need an attorney if I’m arrested or charged with something. |
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| FALSE. You will get the most value out of legal representation if you retain an attorney as soon as possible after the police make first contact with you. If you are contacted by the police, you are generally better off informing them that you need to speak with an attorney first (even if you don’t have an attorney yet), jotting down the detective or officer’s contact information, and saying nothing more. Criminal defense attorneys are used to getting emergency phone calls, so don’t be afraid to call one on an emergency basis. |
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| (2) The police have to tell the truth and aren’t allowed to deceive people. |
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| FALSE. The police are absolutely allowed to lie to you and to deceive you under normal circumstances. Unless the officer is testifying under oath, he or she is given great leeway by our criminal justice system to deceive you. They can fabricate testimony of alleged witnesses, invent supposed results of scientific tests, and resort to other tricks in order to elicit information or admissions (confessions) from you. |
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| (3) If the police do “X, Y and Z”, that’s entrapment, and I’ll win my case on that basis. |
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| USUALLY FALSE. The entrapment defense still exists in Nevada, but it has been restricted to the point of near irrelevance. For example, a 30-yr-old police officer can pretend to be a 13-yr-old child in an internet chat room, solicit you for sex, and if you respond inappropriately, you can still be charged and convicted of a child sex offense. An undercover officer can buy from you what he thinks is cocaine, but that is in fact, baby powder cut with lysine, and you can still be charged with a drug-trafficking offense. |
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| (4) If I ask him straight out, a cop has to tell me he’s a cop. He can’t lie and say he’s not a cop. |
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| FALSE. A police officer can lie to you and generally will lie to you about whether or not he is a police officer. If it were as easy as asking if the undercover is a cop, few undercover operations would ever succeed. This will not protect you from prosecution for a crime. |
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| (5) If I didn’t do anything wrong, there’s no harm in talking to the cops. |
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| FALSE. Even as a practicing attorney, who is trained and familiar with what the police need to prove to make a case, I would not talk to the police without first consulting with an attorney. The line between “person of interest”, “material witness”, “subject” or “target” are fuzzy at best, and the police have incredible discretion to identify you as one or more of the above. The police expect you to show all your cards, without showing any of theirs, and if it is more convenient to their investigation to tell you that you’re a material witness---rather than a suspect---they will do it. |
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| (6) If I’m not a US citizen, but I’m a permanent resident, I don’t need to consult with an immigration lawyer before entering into a plea agreement. |
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| FALSE. You should consult with an immigration attorney before entering into a plea agreement, otherwise you run the risk of being removed from the United States. The immigration consequences of a criminal plea can be frustrating and complicated, but here are a few ground rules: |
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| · Any conviction for domestic violence (DV) can be sufficient for Homeland Security to initiate removal proceedings (i.e. deportation) versus a noncitizen regardless of how long he or she has been in the United States and regardless of whether he or she has a minor child that is a US citizen. |
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| · A felony conviction can result in Homeland Security labeling you a “aggravated felon”, which could subject you to being removed from the United States while still in penal custody (i.e. while still in prison). |
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| · Certain misdemeanors involving “moral turpitude” (i.e. representative of bad character on the part of the offender or that reflect poorly on the honesty, integrity and morals of the offender) will cause noncitizens problems with their immigration status. |
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| It is imperative that you inform your attorney of your immigration status early in the representation. The attorney cannot give you good advice if you withhold that sort of information and the attorney is unlikely to find out from someone else until it’s too late to help you. |
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