What You Don’t Know (About Your Legal Rights) Can Hurt You

Unfortunately, most people don’t understand their legal rights. Not knowing your rights can cause you to make decisions that may come back to haunt you.

• Do you know you have an absolute right under the United States Constitution to refuse a police request to search you, your home, your car, your luggage, or other possessions unless the police have a search warrant? Remember the police are not looking to do you a favor. The purpose of the search is to obtain evidence that can be used against you.
• Do you know you have an absolute right under the United States Constitution to refuse to answer police questions? It is unwise to submit to police questioning without first consulting with a criminal attorney since anything you say can and will be used against you.
• Do you know that anything you say to an individual, who later turns out to be an undercover police officer or a confidential informant, can be used against you even though that individual lied about his true identity? The United States Supreme Court has sanctioned this kind of official deception.
• Do you know that intercourse or oral sex with a child under the age of sixteen is rape even if the child consents? The law says that a child under the age of sixteen cannot legally consent to intercourse or oral sex. It is no defense that you thought the child was older, even if you had good reason to believe that.
• Do you know that statements made to your lawyer in the presence of third parties are not protected by the attorney/client privilege? Therefore, any confidential communications to your lawyer must not be made in the presence of third parties or they will be unprotected.
• Do you know that the attorney/client privilege does not extend to the fees you pay your attorney? Thus, you and/or your attorney can, under some circumstances, be forced to divulge fee information.
• Do you know that if you pay your attorney cash in excess of $10,000, the attorney is required to file a report with the government? Furthermore, if the attorney fails to file the required report, he/she can be criminally prosecuted.
• Do you know that even though a grand jury can compel your appearance, it may not have the right to compel your testimony? Therefore, upon being served with a grand jury subpoena, you should immediately seek the advice of a criminal attorney to learn your rights.

Questions about your situation? We can help. Our experienced attorneys — the father-daughter defense team of Stanton D. Levenson and Amy B. Levenson Jones — collaborate on every case they take and each utilizes different strengths in defending you against serious consequences.

Contact Stanton D. Levenson, P.A. Law Offices, today by calling 412-552-3231 or by sending us a message online.  From our offices in Pittsburgh, we represent clients throughout western Pennsylvania and the entire nation.