Police interactions and plea bargaining
To each his own, but in my own personal experience, every single time I refused to plea bargain, the prosecutor has lost. When you plea bargain, you have virtually no chance to walk without a new entry to your criminal record. Also, once you have a conviction, there is a bias against you in the legal system. I plea bargained once when I was young and intimidated by the system. I would rather play it out and retain my chance to beat any charges. I do understand that the majority of people in this country will take the easy way out and not fight for their rights; most people leave that to people like me. I would only enter a plea bargain these days if all charges were dropped in exchange for court costs.
SexyBits gave us all great advice not to say anything to the police officers. I will never again speak to a police officer who is either trying to bust me or investigating any crime where I am a potential suspect. If they want to question me, I will simply state once that I won't speak with them without an attorney present, and that if I'm not under arrest that I will be on my way.
With all that said, I am very cautious about putting myself in positions where I may encounter police who want to charge me with any crime.
Can I put my hands down yet?
[QUOTE=SexyBits;2793380]OH SNAP!!!! My cover has been blown!
All right you are all under arrest. If you are reading this please step away from your computers and put your hands in the air. Don't make any sudden movements and one of my associates will be entering your house and putting the cuffs on you in a few moments.[/QUOTE]Ha! I for one appreciate your input. I personally know ex-law enforcement that work for the other side now. Helping attorneys as a litigation experts, and not for the prosecutor.