When you’re facing an arrest, understandably, you want to have the charges lessened or dropped. This can be used against you, however, and police may use that to cause you to act out of desperation. If they’re trying to make a bargain of some kind, never take their words at face value.
Exercise Caution
Cops are not legally obligated to tell the truth. The nature of their job incentivizes them to make an arrest, not find the guilty party on the first try. In other words, they can offer a deal to drop charges if you give them information, only to later use it against you. It’s a form of self-incrimination they can indirectly encourage.
Local Government
Technically speaking, police officers aren’t the ones who make or drop charges. The district attorney, attorney general, or local government office are responsible for this. If police want to arrest you for a specific charge but say they won’t unless you cooperate, after which you do, you may have given them reason to genuinely pursue charges and have something to back it up. And even if the police did have the authority to make or drop charges, a higher office like a district attorney or the attorney general could override that if they felt it necessary. The same is true of the prosecution; even if the arresting officer would agree to the charges being dropped the prosecuting party must agree for it to happen.
Potential Scenarios
Now you may be wondering when and how charges are dropped. Sometimes the victim will ask the charges to be dropped but the prosecution is not obligated to honor that request. If it can be proven that the defendant’s rights are violated at any time, such as an unlawful search and seizure or failure to adhere to the strict criminal procedures during the arrest or pretrial activities, the prosecution can be convinced to drop the case. You will need a skilled criminal attorney in Philadelphia on your side if you are hoping to have this happen. If you are willing to cooperate with the arresting officer the prosecution can consider this, and they may work out a deal with your attorney to lessen or completely drop charges, but this is never a guarantee and it shouldn’t be an incentive to cooperate with the police.
Hire a Defense Attorney
The only way you can hope to have your charges dropped is by hiring a competent defense attorney. At Brennan Law Offices we will work to ensure that you are charged as fairly as possible. If you’ve been charged with a crime contact our office today. We’re on your side from beginning to end.