Archive for March, 2011

Silence is Golden: Key to an Effective Criminal Defense Strategy in Wichita Kansas

Friday, March 18th, 2011

While people do not plan on being arrested and facing criminal charges, many good people find themselves in this situation.  Any encounter with the legal system can be intimidating but one that can result in a loss of your liberty and permanent damage to your reputation is even more worrisome.  The jails are full of people who made the mistake of assuming that the best thing they could do was cooperate with the police to try and “clear things up”.   When that did not work out, many of those who employed this failed strategy simply accepted the first plea offer presented by their public defender.  It is important to know that an arrest is simply an accusation, which may be based on false or flimsy evidence or motivated by political pressure to make an arrest.  An experienced Wichita criminal defense attorney will carefully investigate the factual evidence that underlies the charges against you, review the District Attorney’s discovery packet which includes key documents and evidence against you and interview potential witnesses.  Based on these efforts, an experienced criminal defense attorney will develop an effective strategy for defending you from the pending charges and seeking a reduction or dismissal of the charges against you.

Many people when arrested limit or damage their potential defense strategy by volunteering a version of events that they believe is helpful.  These spontaneous explanations are almost never helpful to developing an effective defense strategy and may limit the available defenses available to your Wichita criminal defense attorney.  If you find yourself in a police station under interrogation from police officers, it is easy to be confused as you are under extreme stress and often hostile questioning.  Even if you do not intend to share incriminating facts, you may share information that is damaging to your case.  The stress and confusion of the situation may also mean that you make mistakes on details or specific facts that later are used to show the inconsistency of your version of events.  The key is that your attorney’s defense strategy must explain the existing evidence in a consistent way so what you tell the police may make it more difficult to develop an explanation of the facts that establish a reasonable doubt regarding your guilt.  Your attorney will also try to make you sympathetic to the jury, but if you provide inconsistent versions of the facts, this can make you less sympathetic.

The key to keep in mind is that in developing a defense strategy, your criminal defense attorney will develop a version of the truth that is most favorable to you and creates a sympathetic picture of you with the jury.  This is sometimes called the attorney’s “theory of the case.”  There are different ways to interpret the same set of facts, and it is better to let an experienced criminal defense attorney develop this story, than for you to do so during police questioning.  Your Kansas criminal defense attorney will have access to all of the evidence against you when developing your theory of the case.  Because you do not have the benefit of knowing what evidence the prosecutor or police possess, it is easy to provide information that is inconsistent with the evidence or that is damaging given the other evidence against you.

The bottom line is that an experienced criminal defense attorney in Kansas will have the background and experience of handling hundreds perhaps thousands of cases.  This means that your attorney will have the skill and expertise to develop a theory of the case that gives you the best chance of obtaining an acquittal or dismissal of charges.  If you find your self arrested and asked to answer questions, you should politely indicate that you do not wish to discuss the matter until you have an attorney present.

Contact a skilled Wichita, Kansas, DUI lawyer at Cummings & Cummings to determine what legal options are available in your situation and to begin planning your most effective defense. Call 316-264-1548 for a Free initial consultation.

Free Consultations | Evening & Weekend Appointments Available | Visa & MasterCard Accepted

The Wichita, Kansas, law firm of Cummings & Cummings, LLC provides experienced and aggressive legal representation in criminal defense and personal injury cases. We serve the south-central Kansas region including cities such as Augusta, El Dorado, Derby, Mulvane, Newton, Andover, Salina, Kansas City, Cheney, Kingman, Wellington, Winfield, and Eureka.

Wichita Defense Attorney Discusses Court Permits Evidence Obtained in Warrantless Search by TSA Screener

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Many people who must regularly engage in air travel find themselves frustrated and annoyed by the delays and inconvenience associated with the activities of TSA screeners.  A new federal appellate court decision by a Florida court may give those traveling for work or pleasure new reasons to be concerned about the conduct of TSA screeners.  The decision upheld the admission of child pornography found in the suitcase of a traveler that was discovered during a random search of the defendant‘s suitcases.  This fundamental invasion of the traveler’s privacy constitutes a further infringement on the Fourth Amendment protection of a traveler’s unreasonable search and seizures.  This decision conflicts with two prior decisions that excluded evidence obtained in similar searches by TSA agents.  All citizens are protected from unreasonable search and seizures by law enforcement officers by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  However, the judge in this new case found that the TSA screener was not engaged in “general law enforcement objectives.”

The citizen was planning to take a flight when a TSA employee performed a random physical search of the traveler’s suitcase looking for travel hazards that might be used for terrorist activity. The agent allegedly discovered images of child pornography while looking for weapons or explosives.  The TSA agent notified local police of the screener‘s discovery which led to police obtaining a search warrant for the man‘s computer and other electronic devices in his luggage.  The man moved to have the images suppressed claiming that they were discovered in a way that violated his Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and seizure.  The defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence was denied.

The appellate court distinguished the earlier cases indicating that in those cases the TSA screeners were no longer searching for weapons or explosives.  It would seem that given the reasoning of this decision that a court may admit ANY evidence discovered during a TSA search as long as the TSA agent simply purports to be searching for weapons or explosives.  While the Supreme Court may have to resolve the conflicting rulings on this issue, anyone boarding an airplane would be well advised not to put anything in their suitcase that they would prefer the police not find.  If you are subject to a search, an experienced Wichita criminal defense attorney may be able to challenge the legal basis for the search or the scope and manner of the search.  If the court finds that the search violated your Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizures, your Wichita criminal defense attorney may file a motion to have the evidence suppressed and seek to have your charges dismissed.

Contact a skilled Wichita, Kansas, airport criminal defense attorney at Cummings & Cummings to determine what legal options are available in your situation and to begin planning your most effective defense. Call 316-264-1548 for a Free initial consultation.

Free Consultations | Evening & Weekend Appointments Available | Visa & MasterCard Accepted

The Wichita, Kansas, law firm of Cummings & Cummings, LLC provides experienced and aggressive legal representation in criminal defense and personal injury cases. We serve the south-central Kansas region including cities such as Augusta, El Dorado, Derby, Mulvane, Newton, Andover, Salina, Kansas City, Cheney, Kingman, Wellington, Winfield, and Eureka.