David Benowitz on Trying To Handle Things Yourself

Question: Why is contacting a criminal defense attorney important, even if a person thinks they have done nothing wrong?

David Benowitz: There are so many pitfalls for trying to handle things yourself. The main thing is … you’re too involved. You can’t see the forest for the trees. You can’t see where someone might misinterpret what you say. You also don’t know what other people have been saying. Other people may have been saying things to the FBI or the police that are not true. You have no control over that, you don’t know what has been said. So you need someone who can get in between you and the police.

I’ve talked to police officers, numerous police officers, who have said, “If my child, if my son, was accused of something, I would get them a lawyer immediately and I would tell them to be quiet.” They know how important it is to remain quiet. One of the main goals of law enforcement is to get the person that’s being investigated to admit something. That makes their job a lot easier. So it’s important to have that person who can act as a buffer between the client and law enforcement. I can’t tell you how many cases [I’ve been involved in] where the complexion of the case changes so much if I’m in there early enough to keep the detective or a police officer away from a client, away from trying to interview a client. I’ve had detectives who I’ve dealt with on repeat occasions [and] as soon as I call and say, “I’m calling about this client,” they just start laughing. They thought, “We had him. We thought he was going to give an interview.” I make it clear that is not going to happen. [The investigators] know it’s part of the game. It’s not a game on our side, it’s a game on their side.

I represented a guy who brought a lawyer who had no experience in criminal cases … to an interview with a detective and he was ultimately charged with sexual assault. Then he hired me, after he had been charged, and I just could not believe that the lawyer who had no experience brought him to a detective to be interviewed. When I called the detective, he literally just started laughing. He said, “Yeah I couldn’t believe that they actually showed up.”