Minnesota Criminal Defense Attorneys and Lawyers

Right to Remain Silent

One of the most important rights is the right to remain silent. You cannot be forced to divulge information to the police. This criminal right stems from the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. If you attempted to remain silent in the face of police questioning, and were coerced or forced into speaking, your rights have been violated.

Right to Know

Minnesota officers must inform you that if you chose to speak, "anything you do say may be used against you in a criminal proceeding." If you were told that you had the right to remain silent, but were not informed of the consequences of choosing to speak, your rights may have been violated.

Right to an Attorney

Another absolute right of a person under arrest for a crime is the right to have an attorney present during questioning and the right to have an attorney during any court proceedings. If you requested an attorney during questioning, and the police denied you that request, your rights may have been violated.

Once you request the assistance of an attorney, the police are prohibited from questioning you later without your lawyer. In other words, you have the right to have a criminal attorney present during the first, and any subsequent, talks with the police.

You are entitled to a public defender if you can not afford your own attorney per the Minnesota guidelines. If you fall within this category, you will be assigned a public defender to represent you.

In many situations, criminal suspects in Minnesota may have false confidence that they can handle the matter on their own, without the assistance of an attorney. A criminal suspect who decides to answer police questions without a defense attorney present still has the right to ask for a criminal defense attorney at any later point. Once a suspect asks for an attorney, all questioning must stop until your attorney arrives.

Right to Humane Treatment

Unfortunately, police brutality and unfair treatment continue to occur. A criminal suspect is entitled to humane treatment, no matter how heinous the alleged crime. If you were not treated humanely, for instance if you were deprived of food and water or if you were beaten either during police questioning or while in a holding cell, your rights have been violated.

Right to Move

Government officials cannot hold you for an extended period of time without charging you with a criminal offense. For instance, if you are placed in a holding cell under suspicion of murder, the government must officially charge you with that crime within a specified period of time. If you have been held without being charged for longer than the legal amount of time, your rights may have been violated.

Right to Presumption of Innocence

Criminal suspects being held in jail awaiting trial may not be treated as guilty individuals before they have actually been convicted, no matter how strong the evidence is against them. The cornerstone of the U.S. and Minnesota criminal justice system is the belief that all people are innocent until proven guilty. If you were punished or treated unfairly while awaiting trial, your rights may have been violated.

Right to Speedy Trial

You are also entitled to what is called a "speedy trial." Once you are charged the government cannot purposefully drag its feet and wait to commence a trial against you. If it does, your rights may have been violated.

Right to be Free of Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that prisoners must be free from "cruel and unusual punishment." Any punishment that can be considered inhumane treatment or which violates the basic concept of a person’s dignity may be found to be cruel and unusual. For example, your rights may have been violated if you were given dirty water to drink while incarcerated, or if the condition of your cell was unsanitary.