Maryland Criminal Investigations
Facing a criminal charge in Maryland? Here is what you should know about how your charge will likely be investigated by authorities. For more information or to seek legal representation, call and schedule a consultation with a MD criminal lawyer today.
How to Tell When Being Investigated
If the police are talking to your friends and family, there is something they believe that you may have done and they may ask your friends and family about it. Police can seek electronic surveillance as well. They can tap phones. They can place trackers on vehicles if they have a warrant. All of those are signs that you are being investigated.
Agencies Involved in Criminal Investigations
The State Attorney’s Office will be involved in the criminal investigation and obviously the police will be involved as well. Police could be local law enforcement or the state police. It could even be federal police, although those cases would not be heard in Maryland state courts if they were federal investigations.
What Maryland Law Enforcement Can Access
Police with a warrant can access online search histories. They can access phone records. The ability for police to access search histories and phone records without a warrant is a complicated legal question which depends on the individual facts and circumstances of any case. This is a situation where it would really behoove an individual who is under investigation to speak to a legal professional.
Who Authorities Speak to
The authorities would potentially speak to your employer, potential victims of the crime, and to potential witnesses of the crime, which can include your family, friends, and anyone who was around when the incident was alleged to have occurred. They may even talk to you as the potential defendant in the case.
Crimes That Tend to be Investigated in Maryland
Certain drug crimes tend to be investigated before an arrest is made. Specifically, larger-scale drug crimes, possession with intent to distribute, manufacture. Those cases sometimes call for a degree of investigation before charges are made. Hit-and-run cases sometimes call for a degree of investigation prior to actually charging the individual. These crimes are the most common cases where an individual is investigated prior to having criminal charges brought.
Investigations After an Arrest
It depends greatly on the nature of the charges. Some cases are pretty cut-and-dried once the arrest is made. Those are cases such as simple drug possession, assault, or DUI. More complicated cases like fraud, running a prostitution ring or running a drug ring could potentially continue to be investigated even after the individual is charged.
How a Maryland Criminal Lawyer Helps
A lawyer can advise you of all of your rights. He can make sure you do not unknowingly waive any of your rights. He can be present during the course of an interview and advise you whether or not it makes sense for you to answer questions. A lawyer can be extremely useful at any phase of a criminal investigation or prosecution.