Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
Clear Your Record With Defense Attorney Fred Mark Dry
Interviewer: What does that mean, to expunge something?
Fred Dry: Expunge means to erase the record.
Interviewer: What would be the difference between an expungement and getting something sealed?
Fred Dry: Expungement essentially destroys all the records. Sealing just makes it more difficult to get to the records. Under certain conditions the records can be opened. A seal can be taken away.
The process of expungement essentially eliminates any trace of past criminal activity. Thus, without a past criminal record, you might find that it is easier to get a job, a housing or apartment lease, or a loan. Contact Chicago defense attorney Fred Mark Dry today. You can also visit our Northfield office or the downtown office (by appointment only) on the corner of Lake and Lasalle.
The Police do not want you to know that you are Being Investigated
Interviewer: How would I know if I was under criminal investigation and been charged or will be charged for a crime?
Fred Dry: You may or may not know. Sometimes police knock on your door. Sometimes they call you up. Other times they don’t want to talk to you. They don’t even want you to know you’re being investigated. They want to be able to conduct their inquiries without you having an opportunity to know or take proper defensive measures.
I have had clients who were contacted by the police and then called me. I call up the investigating officer and I say, “My client is not prepared to make any statements right now. If you do indict him or you have anything you think I need to know, call me,” and they do call me, and they permit me to arrange for my client to surrender rather than to have the police show up at his job or his home. We make arrangements, for my client and I to meet at the Sheriff’s Department, where the surrender occurs without embarrassment or publicity.
Interviewer: If a detective calls me or a police officer calls me and asks me to meet with him, am I obligated to answer the questions even if I have to go meet with him?
Fred Dry: You don’t have to meet with him if he does not have a warrant. When the police are calling you, it’s quite obvious that you need a lawyer, at least to respond to their inquiries.
Police Often Engage in Deceptive Statements in order to get a Suspect to Incriminate Himself
Interviewer: Are police officers, are they allowed to lie to someone?
Fred Dry: They engage in deceptive statements. I don’t know that I would call them outright lies. The fact is you’re not required to talk to the police and you shouldn’t talk to the police, because whatever you say they’re going to understand in the way that’s most incriminating.