FAQ

Q: The police did not even read me my rights. Does that mean that the arrest is invalid and the charges will be dismissed?

A: No. There is a commonly held misconception that police are required to read a suspect his Miranda rights and that if they fail to do so, that the arrest is so flawed that the charges will be dismissed. The remedy is not dismissal of the charges, but suppression of the confession. If the police fail to read a suspect his rights, then anything the suspect says cannot be used against him at trial. Likewise, if the police read the suspect his rights and he invokes his right to remain silent or to speak to a lawyer, and the police nevertheless continue to question him, then anything the suspect says as a result of this questioning cannot be used against him at trial.

In some cases, the police would not have a solid case without a suspect's confession. In other cases, the evidence is so strong against the defendant that the case can be successfully prosecuted even if the confession is not admissible at trial as a result of a Miranda violation. Imagine the following scenario. A soon-to-be defendant walks into a bar in the town where he has lived all his life, sees the man that the entire town knows is having an affair with his wife, pulls out a gun and shoots his wife's lover in the back in front of 20 people who all know the defendant. The bartender calls the police, who then stop the defendant on the sidewalk and ask if he just shot the guy who is having an affair with his wife. The defendant answers yes without having been read his Miranda rights. In such a scenario, the confession would be inadmissible, because the police had probable cause to make an arrest and should have read the defendant his rights. However, the prosecution still has a motive and 20 eye-witnesses to the shooting who can testify that the defendant shot the victim and that it was not in self-defense. Barring jury nullification, the Commonwealth could win a conviction even without the confession. 

Q: My offense is minor. Do I really even need a lawyer or can I just handle this on my own?

A: No offense is minor when you are the one charged! Even relatively minor offenses can have serious long-term consequences. For example, a conviction for underage drinking or drug possession will result in a loss of your driver's license, even when the offense had absolutely nothing to do with driving a vehicle. A drug conviction will eliminate your eligibility to receive federally subsidized student loans. Any type of non-traffic offense conviction can seriously jeopardize your chances of being accepted into certain graduate school programs or being hired in certain professions, such as teaching. If you hire an attorney, you may be able to successfully fight the charges, or the attorney may find ways to lessen the consequences of the offense.

Q: I'm guilty. I have no defense. I just want to plead guilty and get this over with. Should I even bother getting a lawyer?

A: Yes.
You should always have an attorney when charged with a misdemeanor or felony and even for some summary offenses. Most judges will be angry or annoyed if you show up to court to face criminal charges without a lawyer. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, you should apply for representation by the public defender's office.
Even if you are in fact guilty and have no defense, a skilled lawyer may be able to present mitigating factors to the judge and/or prosecutor, which leads to a more favorable sentence or plea agreement. For example, your lawyer may convince the judge to give you probation or house arrest instead of jail time or he may convince the prosecutor to drop or reduce some of your charges pursuant to a plea agreement.
There are some cases where a defendant is factually guilty, but the police obtained evidence in a manner which violated the defendant's constitutional rights. If this is the case, the defense attorney can file a motion to have this evidence "suppressed." If a judge rules that the evidence was obtained in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights, the judge will "suppress" the evidence, meaning that the evidence cannot be used against the defendant at trial. In certain cases, such as drug cases, this is usually the end of the prosecution's case and the charges will be withdrawn. Most people do not know whether they have a suppression issue until they talk to a criminal defense attorney.

Q: It's just her/his word against mine.
Can the police even charge me?

A: Yes.

Q: If they do charge me, could I get convicted just based on someone else's word?

A: Yes.

Q: You mean to tell me that someone can just make up a ridiculous story, walk into a police station and have someone charged with a crime?

A: Yes.
There is a common misconception that a person can be charged with a crime only if there is hard, physical evidence, not just mere allegations by a complainant. However, if the police believe the complainant, they can charge a defendant, even in the absence of physical evidence. For some crimes, such as terroristic threats, there will rarely be any physical evidence. If the jury believes the word of the complainant beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury could convict a defendant based solely on the complainant's testimony, which is unsupported by any other evidence.
That being said, it is much easier to defend a case where the only evidence is the complainant's word.A skilled defense lawyer may be able to rip apart the complainant on cross-examination, pointing out inconsistencies in his or her story or bias and motive for the complainant to falsely accuse the defendant. Without the aid of a good attorney, you could find yourself convicted based solely on the word of your accuser, whereas a skilled lawyer can expose your accuser's ridiculous story for what it is.

Q: My girlfriend and I got in a fight and I hit her. We made up and are back together. Can she just drop the charges?

A: No. Your girlfriend is actually not the one who charged you in the first place and therefore, she cannot drop the charges. Usually, the only people who file criminal charges in Pennsylvania are members of law enforcement. The exception involves private criminal complaints, which usually are for relatively minor matters such as passing a bad check at Wal-Mart. The vast majority of criminal charges are filed by the police.
If your girlfriend wants the charges dropped, chances are that the Commonwealth will be willing to reduce the charges or offer you a favorable plea agreement. The Commonwealth will not likely, however, simply drop the charges regardless of what your girlfriend wants. If you are unwilling to accept their offer, the Commonwealth will likely charge ahead with your girlfriend as an uncooperative, hostile witness, which is not the ideal situation for a prosecutor.

Q: The police want to get my side of the story. Should I give a statement?

A: It depends upon the case.
You should never talk to the police without first consulting with a defense attorney.
A cop should always try to get the suspect's side of the story before charging him or her with a crime and the cop who fails to do so should expect to be hammered on cross examination. This is especially true in cases where it is just the complainant's word against the defendant's word. However, it is not always in a defendant's best interests to give a statement to the police. Your attorney can advise you whether it is in your best interests to speak to the police.
If you are factually innocent, the matter might be dropped after you give your side of the story to the police. If your attorney advises you to give a statement, your attorney should be present and you should insist upon recording the interview in some manner, rather than relying upon a written summary of the interview prepared by the police officer.
One danger of giving a statement to the police when you are a criminal suspect is that both you and the police officer will have a tendency to hear what you want to hear. The cop may have already decided that you are guilty and he will focus only on things that confirm his pre-existing opinion, while ignoring facts which point to your innocence. Likewise, the cop might tell a suspect "if you give a confession, I'll put in a good word for you to the DA." The suspect takes that to mean "if I give a confession, I will get a lenient sentence or I will get probation," when the cop never actually said that. All that he said is that he will put in a good word to the DA, but that does not obligate the DA to make you a favorable plea offer and it certainly does not obligate the judge to give you a lenient sentence.

Q: This is the first time I've been in trouble in Pennsylvania or this is the first time I've been in trouble in this county, so will they treat this charge like it's my first offense?

A: No. Your prior record score is based upon all prior non-summary criminal convictions. It does not matter where these offenses occurred, as long as Pennsylvania has a similar law to the one you violated in another jurisdiction. Thus, if you had 3 DUI convictions in other states over the past 10 years, your fourth DUI in Pennsylvania counts as your fourth offense.
Law enforcement has access to all of your prior convictions anywhere in the United States and they will pull the prior conviction record for every criminal defendant to ascertain his prior record.

Q: Are the laws of Pennsylvania different than laws in other states because Pennsylvania is a "Commonwealth-State"?

A: No. The fact that Pennsylvania is known as a Commonwealth has nothing to do with its legal system. It is a commonly held misconception that the laws of Pennsylvania are more restrictive and less favorable to defendants than in other states because Pennsylvania is officially known as a Commonwealth. This misconception appears to be especially prevalent in prisons.

Q: How will I be billed if I hire McClenahen Law Firm?

A: Most criminal defense attorneys charge a "flat fee," as opposed to an hourly rate and this is the method of billing preferred by McClenahen Law Firm. The flat fee could be for the entire case from initial consultation until post-sentence motions, or it could just be for a "stage" of the criminal case, such as the preliminary hearing. A fee agreement for an appeal, if one is needed, will always be separate than the fee for all matters up to and including post-sentence motions. The fee depends upon the 1) seriousness of the offense, 2) the amount of work the lawyer will likely spend on the case, 3) the likelihood that the case will go to trial instead of being resolved pursuant to a plea agreement.
The advantage of a flat fee for the client is that you know how much your case will cost and you can budget accordingly. You will not receive a monthly bill, as you normally would in a family law case or as a business law client. The advantage of a flat fee for the lawyer is that he does not have to keep track of billable hours and send each of his clients a monthly billing statement.
Attorneys are barred by ethical rules from accepting a criminal case on a contingency fee basis. In other words, a criminal defense lawyer cannot charge you only if you win at trial or receive a favorable plea agreement. This is in contrast to personal injury lawyers, who have to work almost exclusively on a contingency fee basis, given the nature of those types of cases.
Your case may have expenses beyond the attorney's fee. These expenses may include investigator's fees, expert witness fees and transcription fees. Normally, the defendant is responsible for these fees, although in rare cases, such as death penalty cases, the Court may grant a defense attorney's petition to have the county pay some or all of the defendant's expenses.
Attorney McClenahen will estimate your expenses at the beginning of representation and ask that you pay these expenses upfront. This money will be placed in an escrow account and used to pay expenses as they arise. If there is money left over at the end of the case, it will be refunded to you. If the escrowed amount does not cover all of the expenses, you will need to pay an additional sum of money to cover these expenses.
The initial consultation with attorney McClenahen is free. If you choose to hire him, you will then be asked to sign a fee agreement and make payment prior to the first court appearance in your case. 

McClenahen Law Firm, LLC
The Allenway Building
315 South Allen Street, Suite 321
State College, PA 16801

Phone: (814) 689-3682
Fax: (814) 689-3686

If you need assistance in Russian or Ukrainian, please call our interpreter Natasha Romanyshina at (717) 659-0272. We speak Russian. Мы Говорим по-Русски.

If you need assistance in Spanish, please call our interpreter and legal assistant Niki Desai at (610) 416-2749. We speak Spanish. Se habla español.