Posts Tagged ‘criminals’


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Social Contact” And The Seattle Police: What To Do


Every day people are arrested by the cops for minor drug charges, minor offenses, and because they have outstanding warrants. Most of these people aren’t bad people, they just make bad decisions. And many of these people (trust me on this, I’m a Seattle DUI attorney) could have avoided the problem if they would have only known the proper way to interact with the cops. If you’re here and interested, today is your lucky day, because I’m going to tell you how to deal with the cops.

To help you understand what to do I’m going to give you a typical example of how people get in trouble. It usually starts with someone that is walking around minding their own business. Nothing about them demonstrates criminal activity is going on. But, there is a cop around, and he decides to wander up and start a conversation with you. He asks where you’re going, what you’re doing, and for your I.D.

You comply with the cop and enter into a conversation. You’re nervous, after all, because you have a small amount of marijuana on you that you use recreationally. You don’t want the cop to know, so you go along with his questions. You give him your ID, even though you know you have a warrant for failing to appear for an illegal fishing charge. Cop see warrant, arrests you, finds drugs, and busts you.

In this case the courts have ruled that the cop has not seized you. This is referred to as a “social contact” because in the court’s eyes the encounter is completely voluntary and the cop has not acted in any way to make you think you couldn’t just end the conversation and walk away (except for the fact that he’s a cop!). Seattle criminal attorneys don’t like this rule because it’s one that doesn’t work out in the real world.

To get yourself out of this situation what are you supposed to do? Can you just walk away from the cop without talking to him? Won’t he track you down and arrest you? If you don’t talk to him, will he automatically assume you are guilty? The short answer is yes, you should just walk away. You could also tell the cop you don’t want to talk.

If you follow these rules and hold strong when the cops get angry, you should be able to walk away without any problems. If the office does arrest you, which happens from time to time, a good Seattle criminal attorney should be able to get the evidence suppressed.

Walking away from a cop is not easy. It takes some real grit to do it, particularly because it is highly probable that you will end up being arrested by the cop. The good thing about it, though is that if you don’t walk away, you’re probably going to get arrested anyway, so why not take a chance? When the cops come up, just keep on walking.

Looking to find a great Seattle DUI attorney? Then visit us to find the best advice on finding the right Seattle DUI defense attorney for you.


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Put A Stop To Cyber Identity Theft


Cyber Identity theft has become a major problem in today’s electronic cash and Internet shopping world. It seems that whenever banking and online security advances to keep out the baddies they go and improve the types and variety of their scams. Sometimes however it is not the breaching of electronic security but the complacency and misplaced trust of the individual that allows these criminals to get away with your money.

While the loss of the initial money removed from your bank accounts or credit cards is enough of a shock what is often worse is the proceeding problems that you may face long after the actual crime. Things such as your credit history will have a record of unpaid bills or bad credit associated with the theft that can be far harder to overcome and create ongoing problems and stress.

The best way to combat identity theft is prevention. By being alert regarding transactions made on your credit cards or bank accounts, and taking action quickly you can limit your losses if you notice any fraudulent transactions. If you do notice any questionable transactions on your accounts then there are a few steps to take to limit your losses.

Advise your bank or credit card company’s fraudulent claims department immediately that there are questionable transactions on your account. You may be liable for the cost of fraudulent transactions on your account until the time you notify your bank so vigilance is the key, however many credit cards have a $50 maximum liability.

If necessary close your accounts and open new ones with completely new passwords etc. Request that the accounts be closed via phone initially and then in person to ensure that this action has been taken.

Inform the main credit reference agencies (such as Equifax, Transunion and Experian) and place a fraud alert on your file. This will help to prevent further fraud by the criminals who have your information.

Report the fraud to the police who will issue you with a crime number. This number is required to make any claims against insurance agencies.

Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and report the details of the fraud. This helps the authorities to keep up with any new methods being used by criminals to commit ID theft and thus helps to stamp it out.

Aside from the procedures to follow if you are a victim of identity theft there are a few simple measures to take to help stop it in the first place. Trivial things such as never carrying your PIN number in your wallet or purse with the card are too frequently forgotten giving criminals easy access to your cash should you misplace your wallet. Also, never ever respond to emails requesting you to log into your bank account from a link within the email that appears to be from your bank. This type of account password harvesting is known as Phishing and catches more people that it should by gaining their account details and then clearing the account of all funds before the owner realizes it.

Cyber Identity theft and other types of fraud are all too common and will be a danger to the electronic banking system we have today. That danger is what we pay for convenience and access to our funds or credit. Despite these risks however if you remain vigilant and take some common sense measures to protect yourself from this type of fraud you can limit your losses and sometimes escape relatively unscathed.


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A Criminal Lawyer Will Help You Negotiate Through Difficult Legal Procedures

It is never pleasant being charged with a crime and if you have been charged then you have no option than to hire the best and most affordable criminal lawyer. Only these lawyers will know the working of the legal system and they can help you with negotiating the difficult legal procedures. When picking a good criminal attorney you must be sure that the person you choose is one that has handled similar cases to the one that you have been charged with.

The first thing you should do when choosing your criminal lawyer is to check for referrals from your neighborhood Bar Association. You should look for names of lawyers that specialize in your kind of cases and so for a person that has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol be sure to find a specialist lawyer that handles DUI cases.

The first step that you will need to take before hiring a lawyer to handle your case is to pick someone that specializes in the kind of defense required for your type of case. It pays to pick a lawyer that focuses on a particular kind of crime including for rape, DUI, violent crime etc. At the same time it is not absolutely necessary for the lawyer to only specialize in a particular kind of crime but you should ensure that they are capable enough to handle cases such as yours.

To choose the right criminal defense lawyer requires that you first of all stay well organized and this in turn means finding out a few things including which city will handle your case and when and where were you arrested. In addition, you should state the circumstances in which you were arrested and what the charges against you are and who else is involved in the crime.

It is of course necessary at the very outset that before picking a lawyer to defend you in a crime case that you determine what qualities are required in a lawyer. You can pick a lawyer that works hard and so makes up for lack of experience or you can pick a lawyer with impeccable credentials.

It makes good sense to ask people that you know including your family members as well as friends if they can recommend a good criminal defense attorney. But, be sure to only choose a lawyer that has enough experience and knowledge to handle your case.

It also helps to do some comparison shopping so that you can pick from a number of possible options and which also helps you to look beyond those that spend a lot of money on advertising their services. You must talk with a cross section of attorneys to compare their rates, experience levels and previous history of handling cases similar to the one you are going to have to fight.

One of the most important considerations when it comes to picking the right criminal lawyer is that you must feel comfortable in dealing with a lawyer – even if he or she is not the best qualified or most experienced lawyer. There is no need to like the lawyer; it is sufficient that they are ready to explain your case to you and who also returns your calls and who is ready to spend time in answering your questions and queries.

Having a well experienced criminal lawyer Fort Lauderdale is greatly beneficial to the case. A criminal attorney Fort Lauderdale will use their expertise to fight for your welfare, guaranteeing the best possible outcomes.

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