Codefendants can make defending yourself all the more a challenge, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Codefendants and their lawyers can make your life a living hell. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that once your alleged coconspirator or codefendant is arrested, the situation by then becomes every person for himself, through possible snitching, sometimes lying, and often not having the codefendant nor his or her lawyer seek common ground with the remaining defendant. Your only sufficient solution to such a risk and state of affairs is to avoid getting involved with crime and criminal suspicion in the first place, to watch out when teaming up with others, and to timely obtain a qualified Virginia criminal defense attorney.

Are police allowed to lie that my codefendants are spilling the beans about me?

The Supreme Court generally allows police to lie in the pursuit of a confession.  Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731 (1969); Rodgers v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 227 Va. 605, 616 (1984). Consequently, it is all the harder to know whether the police are lying to you and your codefendants / coarrestees when telling each of you that the other has already confessed. In that vein, police may also cook up what some real and imagined witnesses have said about you and your alleged crime. 

Will my co-defendant report and testify against me?

Many people who face the risk of being sent away to prison for a long time, would even sell their grandparents down the river for the defendant’s own liberty, and some will lie on that path. People will do desperate things to avoid being locked up with no privacy, little control over one’s schedule, bad food, an overnight symphony of farts emitted by cellmates, and not knowing whether their romantic partner has moved on rather than waiting for the defendant. Consequently, do not expect your codefendants — no matter how seemingly loyal to you in the past — to act on anyone’s interests than his own.

Will the attorneys for my codefendants call back my Virginia criminal lawyer?

As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that if a co-defendant’s lawyer never contacts me back, that often is a sign that his client is snitching / ratting / cooperating with the police. I do not know how it violates lawyer conduct rules to simply acknowledge the presence of one’s own co-counsel.

Why do I need the best possible attorney for defending me against my Virginia criminal prosecution?

Police and prosecutors are not going to wait for you nor codefendants to obtain the best possible lawyer for you. Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz pursues your best defense against Virginia criminal and DUI prosecutions. Call 703-383-1100 for your free initial confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court pending prosecution. You will thank yourself for the great and obtainable defenses that Jon will be able to present on your behalf. How do you find the best possible lawyer to defend you? You can start with my free guide here for choosing your Virginia criminal defense lawyer.