Unfortunately, the proverb “Don’t swear off money or prison” is still relevant today. Even if you are a law-abiding citizen, you may be detained on suspicion of committing a criminal offense.
In this situation, first of all, you need to calm down, and secondly, be sure to call a criminal lawyer. If among your friends there is no specialist of this profile, ask your relatives and friends to urgently find one for you. This is not a situation where you should skimp on legal assistance.
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Detention
First of all, it should be remembered that Russian legislation provides for the presumption of innocence. Even if a criminal case has been brought against you, then until the court finds you guilty, you are not a criminal, but a suspect.
A citizen becomes a suspect during investigative actions. At the same time, according to Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), there is a list of grounds for detaining a person. Bodies conducting an inquiry or investigation have the right to detain a citizen if:
- it was discovered during the commission of a crime or immediately after it;
- witnesses and/or victims identify him as the person who committed the crime;
- obvious traces of a crime (usually blood) were found on the person’s body or clothing;
- if there is other significant evidence during the investigation of a criminal case (this evidence must be recognized by the court as sufficient to detain the suspect).
If you are only suspected of committing a criminal offense, you can be detained for no more than 48 hours. Within 12 hours of arrest, police are required to notify your relatives, and within 24 hours to interrogate you.
Police must voice the accusation immediately upon arrest, otherwise there will be a violation of the procedure. After 2 days, your arrest may continue if the court leaves you with a prison sentence.
During these 48 hours, the police may put pressure on you to admit guilt. The correct strategy in this case would be to refuse to testify without the presence of a lawyer (Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). It only makes sense to give your full name and registered address.
The fact of psychological pressure from the police and violation of your other rights must be required to be recorded in the interrogation protocol. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the person being interrogated can make any changes to the protocol, including indicating that the police threatened him.
Work of a lawyer after the trial court
After a criminal case has been considered in the court of first instance, the assistance of a lawyer may be required when appealing a sentence, filing complaints to the ECHR, as well as when resolving issues related to the execution of a sentence (parole, commuting a sentence to a more lenient type of punishment, installment plan and deferment of punishment, etc.).
If you need the help of a lawyer in criminal, family, or civil law, you can call 8-910-188-73-21 or write by email or telegram.
8-910-188-73-21 all methods of communication
Rights of a criminal suspect
Let's look at the suspect's rights in more detail. He has the right:
- Know what he is accused of. He must be given a copy of one of the three documents on the basis of which the arrest is made. This may be a decision to initiate a criminal case, a detention report, or a decision to apply a preventive measure.
- Make one phone call to your loved ones no later than three hours after the arrest.
- To testify or refuse to testify. Before this, the suspect is warned that any testimony can be used against him during the investigation of the criminal case and in court. A foreign citizen has the right to testify in his native language, and an interpreter is provided to him free of charge.
- Request the help of a free (state-provided) lawyer or hire a specialist for money.
- Issue a notarized power of attorney to a person who will represent his interests in business activities and/or perform any actions with property belonging to the citizen (except for that which may be seized in connection with this criminal case).
- Provide any evidence demonstrating his innocence.
- Submit petitions and challenges to investigators, prosecutors and judges.
- Familiarize yourself with the protocols of all investigative activities in a criminal case and indicate your disagreement with the actions of investigators and interrogators in writing.
- With the permission of the investigator, participate in investigative actions carried out at his request.
- File complaints against the actions or inactions of all officials with whom he interacts, as well as those who make decisions in his criminal case.
If you have a lawyer who will come to you upon request, he will explain your rights in even more detail and also prepare the necessary documents. But until then, knowing your rights will give you confidence during questioning and will also help you avoid making mistakes that will complicate the process of establishing your innocence.
Appeal against the actions of investigative authorities
At any stage of the criminal process, you have the opportunity to appeal against the actions of the investigative authorities as a whole or of an authorized person (investigator, inquiry officer), if there is reason to believe that your legal rights and interests have been violated. A complaint against the actions of investigative authorities can be filed simultaneously with several authorities:
- The immediate supervisor, the head of the investigation department;
- To the prosecutor's office;
- To the court.
In what cases should they be released from custody?
A citizen suspected of a criminal offense cannot be kept in custody indefinitely. There are certain situations when he should be released:
- the requirements of Article 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation were violated (in practice, this means that you were detained without significant evidence that was listed in the paragraph “Detention”);
- there is no longer any reason to believe that it was you who committed the crime (for example, you were detained because of traces of blood on your clothes, but it turned out that this blood was yours, and you cut yourself at home with a kitchen knife);
- there is no reason to take you into custody (this does not mean that all charges against you have been dropped, just that the alleged crime is not that serious and allows the suspect to be released pending trial).
If your case does not fall within the above cases, you may apply for bail and/or bail.
The guarantor undertakes that, upon release from custody, you will appear at the criminal trial scheduled for your case. If the citizen for whom they vouched does not appear at the trial, then his guarantor will not be arrested in his place, but will simply be withdrawn from his account the amount of money that was specified in the surety agreement.
If we are talking about bail, then the detainee must deposit a certain amount into a special court account. If the suspect attends all hearings in his case, the bail will be returned to him after the verdict is pronounced (regardless of what it will be). If the charges are dropped before trial, too.
In some cases, charges against a suspect may be dropped before the trial begins:
- the victim withdrew the accusation - this happens when your ill-wisher is afraid of responsibility for a knowingly false denunciation;
- the injured party and the suspect signed a statement of reconciliation of the parties - for example, if you inflicted a light beating on someone and the victim decided to receive compensation from you without trial;
- the detainee has not reached the age at which he can be held accountable in a criminal case: for minor crimes from 16 years old, for serious crimes - from 14 years old;
- the investigation proved the absence of the event, as well as the corpus delicti;
- The statute of limitations for the crime has expired (from 2 years for minor crimes, up to 15 years for particularly serious crimes).
Knowing these legal nuances, you will be able to be released from custody at least before the trial, and when you are free there are more prospects for avoiding it. If the trial does take place, then you need to study its main features.
Work of a lawyer during a pre-investigation check
The criminal case goes through several stages. The first is a pre-investigation check. Based on its results, a decision is made whether to initiate a criminal case or not. In many ways, the prospects of the business are determined at this stage.
This is where those who go to the operatives “just to talk” make a big mistake, bring them documents or even write a confession. This mistake is not using the help of a lawyer you trust. In practice, there are many cases where the participation of a lawyer in a pre-investigation investigation saved a person from negative consequences and, on the contrary, arrogance (“I have nothing to hide, I will tell everything as it is”) and the desire to save on legal assistance led to a serious deterioration of an initially favorable situation. Understand a simple thing: a good lawyer is your legal security. And sometimes also physical (but more on that later).
A common technique used by law enforcement officials is to first get an explanation without a lawyer, then interrogate the person as a witness (again without a lawyer), and only then, when everything is recorded in the protocols as they need, transfer the witness to the status of a suspect or accused, who is entitled to a lawyer .
Remember: by agreement, a lawyer has the right to participate at any stage of the process, regardless of your legal status (detainee, interrogated, witness, victim, suspect, accused, convicted) and regardless of the desire/unwillingness of the operative, investigator or judge. Therefore, the sooner you have a good lawyer in your case, the better.
General recommendations on how to behave if you are called to the police or detained can be read here.
Time limits for initiating criminal proceedings
Let's consider the algorithm of actions regarding reporting a criminal act and making a decision:
- A citizen must write a statement about the dangerous action carried out in relation to the citizen himself or other persons, property or interests. At the same time, the words are recorded in the protocol, then the citizen must put his signature on it and confirm its veracity.
- Employees of the authorized body explain to the applicant his rights and responsibilities, legal consequences and the risks of criminal penalties for knowingly giving false information.
- The citizen is given a coupon indicating the acceptance of the application indicating the date and time. The position and full name of the responsible employee who will conduct this paperwork is also recorded.
- Upon acceptance of the application, a verification is carried out. Within 3 days, the investigator or responsible person must make a verdict, and this period can be extended to 10 days or up to 30 days when a decision is made by the responsible authority. Basically, the period is extended for economic and tax crimes. The reason for this is that it is necessary to obtain documents from the tax office and other authorities before finding evidence of a dangerous act.
- After this period, a verdict is made: initiation of office work, refusal to begin office work, direction of office work in the appropriate sequence. The case may be redirected to another authority if, for example, a criminal act was committed on the border with another area, or if the case is classified as a private charge (intentional infliction of minor harm, etc.).
- The citizen receives notification of the verdict. If criminal proceedings have been initiated, the applicant is promptly notified of this.
- Beginning of pre-trial investigation.
Let us note that immediately from the day the criminal case is opened, a suspected citizen appears.
Reasons
To open a criminal case, evidence of a crime is required. To do this, the following nuances are taken into account:
- sources of information;
- the circumstances under which the investigator obtained the data;
- level of knowledge about the crime, which makes it possible to identify suspects and all victims.
When assessing the case materials, both the object of the crime and its objective side are taken into account. The scope and nature of the violation of the law is described. The classification of a criminal act is based on the investigator’s assumptions, and therefore may change when new evidence is received.
When opening a case, it is important to eliminate all factors that present obstacles to the investigation. Often for these purposes it is necessary to conduct an examination.
Features of prosecutorial supervision
Prosecutors are required to monitor the procedural activities of law enforcement officers during criminal cases. The powers of specialists are listed in Art. 37 Code of Criminal Procedure. They must monitor the legality and justification of decisions made. This especially applies to the initiation or refusal to open a criminal case. If a decision is made to initiate a criminal trial, a copy of this document must be sent to the prosecutor.
If, after studying the case materials, the prosecutor believes that the decisions taken are illegal or unfounded, then they are canceled by a special resolution. However, there are no exact deadlines for this process.
Actions after arousal
As soon as the case is recognized as open, the following actions are performed by the investigator and other specialists:
- evidence is collected;
- materials received from witnesses and the victim are checked;
- explanations are collected from all participants;
- the signs of a crime are considered;
- Interrogations and confrontations are conducted if necessary;
- various documents are attached to the case materials, for which purpose seizure and inspection protocols are drawn up;
- A protocol for the inspection of the scene of the incident is drawn up.
Evidence obtained by the investigator can be used in court only if it is properly prepared.
What to do if you refuse
Sometimes the investigator refuses to open cases even if there is an official statement and good reason. Such a decision can be appealed to higher authorities. When drawing up a complaint, it is permissible to point out unlawful actions of officials, which include paperwork or refusal to use different methods to study the circumstances of the incident.
To increase the likelihood of initiating a criminal case, you need to collect as much evidence as possible.
