Misdemeanor and Major Felony Criminal Defense in Portland
We accept misdemeanor and major felony criminal defense cases, including defense for those accused of sex offenses in the greater Portland, Oregon vicinity, including the counties of Multnomah, Clackamas, Columbia, Washington County and Clark County, Washington state.
YOUR 5TH AMENDEMENT RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT
If you suspect you are being investigated for a crime or are accused of a crime, it is best to make no statements for the following reasons:
- The police often try to obtain admissions of guilt when they have weak evidence. Police officers can lie. For instance, they may say they have a video even though they don’t, just to obtain a confession. Confessions are admissible and will be you used against an accused person in court.
- Even if someone does not admit guilt directly, sometimes admissions regarding the circumstances, help the prosecutors seal a conviction.
- Police officers may miscommunicate what an accused person says when writing their police report.
YOUR 6TH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO COUNSEL
Before you waive your right to remain silent, you have a 6th amendment right to consult with counsel before making a statement. There are times where one may wish to speak with the police because one wants to help the police or because one wants to explain why one should not be charged with a crime when one is a suspect. Before answering questions by law enforcement, you have the right to consult with an attorney and this is exactly what you should do.
Every person accused of a crime has the right to a jury trial and we love trying cases when the state’s evidence is weak. Even if you are guilty sometimes there may be a basis for a motion to suppress. If a motion to suppress is won, this means that the State of Oregon cannot put the suppressed evidence before the jury and the State of Oregon may dismiss the charges due to a lack of admissible evidence. For those who wish to plead guilty and assuming there is sufficient evidence a jury could find one guilty, we can negotiate a plea deal.
At Clark Law & Associates, LLC, we also handle Oregon civil police misconduct cases. If you are innocent and a victim of an arrest without probable cause or excessive use of force, it is important that your Portland criminal defense attorney preserve your state law civil claims against the police within 180 days.
If you call for a consultation, we will give you the amount we need for a retainer to bill hourly against based upon the amount of time we estimate the case will take. Sometimes, we offer flat fee agreements.
Call Clark Law and Associates, LLC at (503) 238-1010 to determine if we are a good fit to work together.