top of page
Sullivan & Tarnowski P.L.L.P.
Professional Legal and Real Estate Services
612.412.4529
If you have been charged with or are being investigated regarding a criminal offense, please consider these two easy steps (in order of importance).
1) Do not speak. It's simple but most people screw this up. Do not speak with a police officer or investigator until you have a chance to seek advice from a lawyer. Do not try to talk your way out of a situation or add clarity. No police officer or investigator would make a statement if your roles were reversed. Even if you are 110% innocent, any statement you make can be misunderstood or worse, misrepresented. This can and will hurt your defense. Be respectful when you decline, but please do decline.
Example: Officer, I appreciate that you have a job to do. I am not trying to be difficult. I have a friend that is an attorney and if they found out I was making statements before talking with legal counsel they would be disappointed. Thank you for understanding.
2) Talk to a lawyer. It's 2018. It's easy, it's free and it's confidential. You have no excuse to not speak with a lawyer about your situation. You can do this over text, e-mail, phone or in person. Any communications are protected by attorney client privilege, even if you never lawyer up.
Talk to three lawyers. Talk to ten lawyers. Talk to as many lawyers as you like. You lose nothing but the time you invest. Compare them all to each other and absolutely compare prices and payment plan options.
You are not the first person that has been in this situation. If you act now you can figure out a game plan and put yourself in the best possible position to be successful.
bottom of page