Solvay, NY Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

You can turn yourself in to the police directly, or you can surrender to the court which issued the arrest warrant, or you can retain an attorney to assist you in the process. You can call the court or police department yourself and find out what the charges are and whether bail has been set. If there is a bond, and it is more than you can afford, you can call a bondsperson and make arrangements for him or her to appear when you do to bond you out as soon as possible. If this sounds too difficult, you should retain a criminal defense attorney in your area. He or she will easily be able to obtain the information on your charges and bail amount. Also, if bail is set in an amount too high for you to post, he or she can try to have it lowered at your first appearance and/or arrange for you or your family to meet with a bondsperson if you don't know any. Another reason to retain a lawyer for the surrender process is to reduce the opportunity for you to be asked questions and potentially incriminate yourself. A lawyer will act as an intermediary between you and the police, thereby preserving your constitutional right against self-incrimination.

As far as potential jail time, that will depend upon a number of different factors, including what you are actually charged with, what your criminal history is like, as well as any mitigating factors that your attorney might be able to present to the DA's office on your behalf. It's unclear how you stole the $200.00, so that will influence what you are actually charged with as well. For instance, if you simply stole $200.00 out of her desk when she wasn't looking, then you may find that you are charged with Petit Larceny, which is a misdemeanor crime and carries up to a year in jail or three years probation. Alternatively, if you forcibly stole the property from her you may find yourself charged with Robbery, which is a felony and potentially carries significantly more jail time than a misdemeanor - as far as how much jail time, that depends on specific Robbery charge that you are charged with, which will depend on the specific facts of your case (i.e. if you used a weapon in the commission of the crime, caused an injury, etc.)    With all that being said, as far as surrendering yourself to the police department, you should definitely retain an attorney to represent you during any interrogation procedure that may occur with the police, or at a bare minimum speak with an attorney before surrendering yourself so that you understand your rights when dealing with the police department (such as your right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions).    Additionally, as far as your case, your attorney should be able to negotiate with the District Attorney's Office and, again depending on the specific facts and circumstances of your case, may be able to negotiate you a plea agreement which involves no jail time. 

No. When you are in handcuffs you are in effect under arrest. If the cop didn't give you a Miranda warning unless, after that, you made some incriminating statements (and you have to prove no Miranda warning) you can get those statements rendered inadmissible, but if you didn't say anything inculpatory it is "no harm, no foul".