Wednesday, July 9, 2014


101 Things
An Author Needs to Know
About the Police and the Law

Can I rely on legal advice from the police?
 
No.
A Fort Lauderdale lawyer told me to never rely on the police for legal advice, and in fact, you can depend on them giving you bad advice.  Now, I don’t know if that lawyer was just trying to advocate for his craft, but generally the police know the law, know how to arrest someone, and are taught techniques on how to deal with people.  But they’re not lawyers.  Ask a cop if you can get bail and he won’t know.  He’ll say something like that’s up to the courts.  Which is true.
Bottom line:  If you’re in some kind of legal jam, don’t hesitate to consult with a lawyer.  It will be money well spent and may keep you out of jail.
Writing prompt:  have your hero get bad advice from a police officer and end up in a lot of trouble.   Maybe even in cuffs in the back of a cruiser.

3 comments:

Tamara said...

Thanks, Jody. I think I'd feel better in the hands of an attorney. For one thing, I think cops can be self-serving sometimes in trying to arrest the bad guys or acquiring evidence.

Jody E. Lebel said...

@ Tamara. Lawyers, we love to hate them but when we're in trouble we want the most aggressive shark we can find.

As far as self-serving for cops...very true. It's understandable. They have to deal with the scum of the earth every day. I wouldn't want to be married to a cop. There's a really high divorce rate in that profession. In fact, I'm told it's higher than that of the 'bad guys'.

Tamara said...

Alcoholism, too, I believe. Both professions -- law enforcement and lawyering -- are either loved or hated, depending on the need and the moment.