Why you should be careful who you discuss your criminal case with

If you’ve been charged with a criminal offense, you’ll probably just want someone to talk to about it. It’s an incredibly stressful and worrying time and it’s natural to reach out to friends and family for reassurance and to tell your side of the story. The problem is – this can backfire. Once you share that information, you lose all control over where it goes and who it goes to. This can have a detrimental effect on your case and credibility. Don’t post about it on social media You might be tempted to write a post on social media explaining exactly what has happened. This can feel like the best way to share the story with the people you know and to try and stop the rumors from circulating. When you do this, however, you make that information public. This means that you don’t know who can read it – including the police and prosecutors in your case. While you may not say anything that you think is incriminating, it can be used against you and it will be used by the prosecutor to try and pick holes in your account. It might affect your attorney-client privilege Subject to certain exceptions, the information you discuss between you and your attorney is private between the two of you. This means that it cannot be shared with other third parties, including the prosecution. If, however, you tell someone the information you’ve told your attorney or you post it on social media, you risk the position where you can be questioned about this information. This is because it’s become public and therefore you can lose this protection. To ease some of the worries and concerns you have when you’ve been charged with a criminal offense, the best thing you can do is to get legal assistance as soon as possible. The post Why you should be careful who you discuss your criminal case with first appeared on Oakley & Oakley, LLC.