What One Real Phone Call Reveals About All the Wrong Things to Do in a Criminal Case
Every once in a while, a story pops up that perfectly outlines, step by step, what not to do in a criminal law situation. So perfectly, we have to write about it.
This one started with a phone call.
The Setup: A Call for “Advice”
A friend—we’ll call him Bert—gets a call from Ernie late on a Saturday afternoon. Bert has a law degree. Ernie owns a commercial real estate appraisal firm and likes to think he has one. They’ve known each other for a couple decades but aren’t particularly close.
The call:
Ernie: Hey, I need some legal advice... well, maybe a referral to a good criminal attorney... although I don’t know, just wanted to run this by you.
Bert: [holds phone away from mouth to do deep sigh] Why? What’s up?
Ernie lays it out: a family dispute has turned serious. Accusations. An investigation. A detective who won’t stop calling. Half a dozen people already interviewed.
Bert: Okay, so you haven’t talked to the detective yet.
Ernie: No, should I?
Bert: Absolutely not. Not without a lawyer.
Ernie: Um, yeah, okay.
Bert knows Ernie. Control freak. Can’t let anything go. So he asks—
Bert: What did you do?
Ernie [defensively]: I didn’t talk to him...
Bert: But?
Ernie: Well, we sent him a letter... you know, just to fill him in on the family dynamics and what’s really going on.
Bert: Did you at least have a lawyer read the thing first?
Ernie: No, but [he names a real estate attorney he frequently works with] told us what to include, so I’m sure it’s fine.
Bert: Yeah, it’s not—that was stupid, but it’s done so let’s move on. Get a criminal defense lawyer, now.
What People Think Will Help, Often Doesn’t
Ernie: Wait, it can’t be that bad, we just told the truth, what’s really going on.
Bert: And the detective can take bits and pieces of that and weave it into his narrative while discarding the rest and—
Ernie: Oh come on, they can’t do that, it wouldn’t be fair.
Bert: Fair has nothing to do with this, he’s building a case, he will use anything that supports the case, stop giving him ammo.
Ernie [dejected]: Oh.
What Ernie doesn’t get—and what most people don’t get—is that once a criminal investigation starts, your words are no longer just information. They’re evidence. Bits and pieces will be taken, shaped, and turned into part of the state’s case.
Truth isn’t a defense when it’s selectively quoted. And fairness isn’t part of the investigation.
The Spiral
Bert: What else have you done?
Ernie proceeds to unload a list of everything you should never do without counsel:
- Texted the complainant
- “Interviewed” a potential witness himself
- Spoken with multiple family members who are about to be interviewed
- Explained the “full story” to a friend who also works for him
Bert: Stop.
Ernie: Okay.
Bert: No, I mean stop talking to everyone. Anyone. Ever. Me too. Get a lawyer. Now. And shut up.
Ernie [defensively]: I just told people what’s going on, that’s all… oh, and, yeah, it’s all hearsay right, not like they can testify and—
Bert: Stop. Talking. To. People. Hearsay’s for court, it’s fine in an investigation and it will get used.
Ernie: That doesn’t—
Bert: And Ernie—
Ernie: Yes?
Bert: It’d be fine in court, too—statements against interest is an exception to hearsay.
Ernie: Oh.
Bert: That’s why you hire a lawyer. Now.
Ernie: Got it… let me ask you, do you think it’d be a good idea to hire a private detective to start—
Bert: No! Do not do another thing—hire an attorney.
Ernie: Okay, can you help? Know anybody good?
Bert: You don’t need good, you need great and I’ll see what I can do. Stop talking. Now.
How These Cases Get Harder—Fast
Bert did what good lawyers do—he found someone excellent, gave them a full rundown, and got Ernie the help he needed. But not before the case got harder.
Every conversation Ernie had—every text, every “clarification”—added work for the defense. Every sentence was a new thread to untangle.
Ernie hired Bert’s friend. Since then he has called Bert several times “to fill him in.”
Bert’s response: “Nope, not interested.”
Bert’s friend has his work cut out for him.
If You’re Under Investigation, Stop. Right Now.
If there’s one takeaway here, it’s this:
Don’t be Ernie.
Don’t write letters. Don’t talk to the police. Don’t “clarify” anything to friends or family. Don’t try to shape the narrative. Don’t explain. Don’t text. Don’t share.
Get a lawyer. And say nothing until you do.
At Knauss Law, we’ve seen how fast cases get complicated when people think they can manage them. By the time you reach out to us, we want to be working on your defense—not cleaning up what was already given to the state.
You don’t need to manage the problem. You need someone to fight it. Call Knauss Law.
If You’re In It—Get Help
If you’re under investigation, don’t be Ernie.
Don’t try to manage it. Don’t try to fix it. Don’t talk to the police. Don’t talk to friends. Don’t write things down. Don’t crowdsource strategy. Don’t assume the system works like it does in your head.
Call a lawyer. A real one. A criminal defense attorney who knows the system and knows how to protect you.
At Knauss Law, we deal with what comes after the call. Our job is to defend you, not clean up what panic created. Let us do it right. From the start.
425-300-5566