Hi, I'm Matthew Konecky. I'm going to give you the top five things you must do after you get arrested.
Number five, keep your mouth shut. You might be inclined to spout about your experiences on social media or if your case is big enough you might want to talk to the press. Anything you say can and will be used against you. I would advise you to keep your mouth shut.
Number four, update the clerk, your bondsman, or both of any new addresses you have. You may have had to leave your home as a part of your arrest or you may have an old address. The point is that if the clerk doesn't have your right address, they're going to send you a court date to your old address meaning you may never get when your new court date is, and if that's the case you could end up with a warrant.
Number three, get help if you need it. If your case is substance abuse related and you have an opportunity to get help, whether it's substance abuse help or anger management, anything that you do for your case will be beneficial in the long run.
Number two, prepare both financially and prepare for your court case. Now I know what you're thinking - why should I prepare for my court case? It's a simple thing like getting the police reports ahead of time because ultimately you'll need to get a lawyer and having a police report ahead of time you can know exactly what the police are saying happened in this whether it's true or not.
Also, prepare financially because your best bet is number one - hiring an attorney. And this is the number one thing that you need to do so in hiring an attorney you want to make sure you hire someone who's experienced in the area of law that you're dealing with. So in criminal defense, you want to look for a criminal defense attorney in your area who has experience with the judges in the circuit or the county that you're in. You can look to Google for reviews, Avvo for reviews...and what's important about these reviews is to go through them because in there you'll see certain traits that you may be looking for. Good communication with a client will tell you that that lawyer will be speaking to you frequently about your case. Preparedness in court is something that is important to have on your side. So don't look for, "Hey, he's got a five-star review! Look at the reviews!", to tell you what kind of traits this particular lawyer has. Now, if you have any other questions about how to hire a lawyer, how to update your bondsman, or get help, then download our book "My Loved One Has Been Arrested: What's Next?". You can also contact us or call (561) 671-5995 - we are standing by ready to help 24/7.