Why you shouldn’t talk about your criminal case with others

There’s a lot of stress associated with being charged with a criminal offense. You might feel like the police and the prosecution have the facts wrong, and the uncertainty of your future, coupled with the real possibility of incarceration, can leave you anxious about the path ahead.

With so much weighing on you, it can be tempting to talk about your case with others. But doing so could be a crucial mistake in your case, rendering it more difficult to build an effective criminal defense.

Exposure

Sure, talking about your case and the way you’re feeling about it could provide temporary relief, but it can also leave you exposed. For example, if you talk to your family members or friends about the facts of your case, then the prosecution may subpoena those individuals to testify against you. This leaves your family members and friends in a difficult spot where they have to testify truthfully against you or face the possibility of being charged with perjury.

And the testimony of those closest to you can be extremely damaging. The jury is likely to give their testimony a considerable amount of weight, making it hard for you to come back from the harm their testimony has caused to your case. So, do everything you can to avoid talking about your case with your close family members and friends, and be sure to stay off social media since your posts are easy pickings for investigators and prosecutors.

What about explaining everything to the police

At any point in the criminal investigation, you might feel tempted to go to the police to tell your side of the story and explain away the suspicion that’s circling around you. But this can lead to even more suspicion and give prosecutors the evidence they need to charge you and ultimately convict you of the crime in question. This is because of the following:

• The police can and will lie to you to get you to talk, such as by falsely indicating that they have evidence linking you to the crime.
• The police might threaten you or your loved ones to get you to open up to them about the crime.
• The police can misconstrue your words and twist the facts as you’ve laid them out to make you look guilty.
• The police will scrutinize your words to seek inconsistencies that can then be used to destroy your credibility at trial.

So, who can you talk to about your criminal case?

Your best bet is to talk to your attorney. Your conversations with your lawyer are protected by attorney-client privilege, meaning that what you tell them can’t be disclosed to the prosecution and used against you. So, if you feel like you need to talk or otherwise get something off your chest, hold onto it until you can meet with your criminal defense attorney. Otherwise, you’re best off keeping quiet, as the prosecution may be able to get their hands on statements that you make to just about anyone else.

Don’t destroy your own criminal defense

As you work to build your criminal defense, you need to be aware of the mistakes you can make along the way. After all, you don’t want to become your own worst enemy in your criminal case. So, be careful, be thoughtful, and be diligent in navigating a criminal investigation and building your criminal defense. By doing so, you’ll hopefully find a path forward that allows you to beat the prosecution and reclaim your life.