Menu
At the criminal law offices of Motta & Motta LLC, our lawyers know how frightening criminal charges and involvement with police officers and the legal system can be. The stress and anxiety of an arrest may cause you, your family members or friends to overlook important factors, such as the right to remain silent and the right to consult with an attorney.
We believe that intervention by a criminal defense attorney early after criminal charges is highly advantageous and beneficial. Early intervention can often lead to a client avoiding being arrested or expedite a resolution of all outstanding charges. At a minimum, early intervention allows our experienced top criminal defense attorneys to assist and guide clients through the judicial process from the very beginning of a client’s case.
During and after arrest, please stay calm. Not everyone who is arrested is guilty of committing a criminal offense. An arrest is not a conviction. Always remember, you are innocent until proven guilty.
The Lawyers of the Motta & Motta Criminal Defense team are dedicated to defending the rights of the accused and firmly believe in the presumption of innocence.
We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you with your criminal legal matter.
Alison and her husband Bob WILL fight for your rights! Extremely smart and they definitely get the job done. Talked to them in person after my life had suddenly been altered. They made me feel confident that I can live my life and I also loved the fact that on the very first phone call, Alison waz asking all sorts of questions. They really do care about you and you’re family and she even sends texts just to see how you’re doing. I can’t recommend them enough!
If you have been charged with, or believe you will be charged with, a criminal offense in the Chicago area, contact our law offices right away. In a criminal case, every second matters. The earlier you contact a criminal defense attorney, the sooner they can get to work building your case.
Fill out the form to receive your free case evaluation and one of our team members will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
If you need to speak with an attorney now, please give us a call at our Chicago or Aurora, IL office to discuss the specifics of your case and what courses of action may be available to you.
161 N. Clark Street
Suite #1600
Chicago, IL 60601
Office Hours:
Open 24/7
1700 N. Farnsworth Ave
Suite 12
Aurora, IL 60506
Office Hours:
M-F 9am-6pm
Copyright ©2023 Motta & Motta LLC. All rights reserved. – Web Design by Ebridge
Those accused of crimes have a number of rights guaranteed by the US Constitution. These rights include: the right to remain silent in order to avoid self-incrimination, the right to competent legal representation, the right to reasonable bail, right to a fair and public trial, right to be informed of the charges against you, the right to be confronted with the witnesses against you and to gather witnesses of your own, and a number of other rights.
Non-Residents can be denied admissibility into the US and an ultimate conviction may result in a Non-Citizen (Criminal Alien) being deported.
Without your consent or extraordinary circumstances, the police cannot arrest you in your home without a warrant. The police can arrest you without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe that you committed an offense in their presence, or when an individual informs an officer that you have just allegedly committed a criminal offense.
You can be arrested for committing a misdemeanor, which is a lesser crime. Some examples of misdemeanor criminal charges are: disorderly conduct, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a valid driver’s license, assault, battery, domestic battery, criminal damage to property, indecent exposure, theft, retail theft, resisting a police officer, stalking, and deceptive practice.
In addition, a citizen, such as a security guard or store owner, may detain you if you have committed, for example, the offense of retail theft, in their presence. In this instance, they must promptly turn you over to the police.
If you are arrested for a felony criminal charge without a warrant, you are entitled to a prompt hearing (preliminary hearing) to determine whether or not the arresting officer had probable cause (the minimum level of required evidence) to arrest you. However, you may not have an opportunity for a preliminary hearing, where your criminal attorney can cross-examine the arresting officer and challenge the State’s evidence. The State is allowed to avoid a preliminary hearing by submitting evidence, in secret, to a grand jury which will return a bill of indictment against you.
After you have been arrested, you will be taken into custody. Your arrest will be recorded in police records, and you will be fingerprinted and also photographed. After you have been taken into custody and processed, you will need to obtain bail money in order to be released.
You may be asked to participate in a line-up. This is a procedure in which several people, including a suspect, are shown to victims and witnesses of a crime to determine whether or not they can identify the person who committed the offense. If the police ask you to participate in a line-up, you have a right to have a criminal lawyer present.
Several hours or days may pass before you appear before a judge who can consider releasing you.
During this period, stay calm and do not discuss the circumstances of your arrest with anyone! Any statements you make, even if you think they are harmless, may be reported to the police and used as evidence against you. Don’t talk to anyone unless you are with your criminal lawyer.
If you have been arrested Aurora, IL, answer all questions about your identification-such as name, address, and birth date-truthfully. While you have the right to refrain from answering
Giving officers a hard time during the arrest process is also not very beneficial because whether your rights are being violated or not, a police officer can do whatever it is they intend to do. It will not be until later, once you’ve contacted a criminal defense attorney or get in front of a Judge, that any violation of your rights will make the slightest bit of difference.
Don’t argue but don’t answer any questions without your criminal defense attorney present; simply explain that you will be more than happy to answer any questions once your attorney is present. This is EXTREMELY impo
You can not say “I really think I should have a criminal lawyer present” or “do I need a criminal lawyer, I think that would be best” you must clearly state in the affirmative: “I want a criminal defense attorney present before I answer any questions”. After that any and all questioning must stop. People often think if they just answer questions and tell their side then everything will be explained and the police will understand that there has been a mistake. This is almost always not the case. Unfortunately police often feel very strongly that they have the right person and that anything you say is a lie or they are just waiting for you to say even the littlest thing to support their theory of the case.
After criminal charges or an arrest you are entitled to telephone a lawyer, friend or family member to notify them of your arrest. You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have him or her present when the police question you. You should remain silent until your lawyer is present, since any statements you make can be used as evidence against you.
If you cannot afford to hire an criminal lawyer, you are entitled to a court-appointed criminal attorney. The Court may appoint a private criminal lawyer, a criminal lawyer from a legal aid society, or a public defender. The police are required to advise you of these rights before questioning you. Ordinarily, the arresting officer provides these warnings during the confusion of the arrest. These rights are critical to your criminal defense attorney later on.
Even if you refused a criminal lawyer at the time of arrest, you retain the right to have a lawyer present at any time after your arrest. You should always seek the assistance of a top Chicago criminal lawyer.
If a family member or friend, who has been charged with criminal charges or arrested, calls you, remind him or her that they have a right to an attorney and to call one right away, and that they are NOT required to respond to police questioning until an attorney is present.
The Motta & Motta LLC Chicago criminal defense team has Over 30 years experience defending criminal cases and protecting our clients!
A Chicago criminal defense attorney from Motta & Motta LLC is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you with your criminal charges or criminal law matter.
Contact our criminal defense firm at the law office of Motta & Motta LLC and our top criminal defense lawyers will answer your questions. You can call or email us for a FREE case opinion.
Constitution of the State of Illinois – Article 1: Bill of Rights
It is important to note the police can get around the right to be silent by telling a person he is not under arrest. If a person is not under arrest, the police are not required to read the Miranda rights. The police can simply ask a person for information. Without hearing those rights, someone might start answering the questions from the police and might even provide some self-incriminating evidence. Once the police have the information they need, THEN they may place the person under arrest. Every person has the right to be accompanied by an attorney before answering questions from the police, although you do NOT have to be advised of that right until after you are officially arrested. If a person is brought in for questioning, and has not been charged, it is still wise for that person to be accompanied by an attorney who will know how to protect his client from saying anything that be used later against him in court.
Determining whether you’re under arrest is not always as easy as you think and you may feel like you are under arrest when you’re in fact not. Police often hope you feel compelled to answer their questions or to go into the police station and speak with an officer, so you should come right out and ask: “Am I under arrest?” if the answer is “not yet” or “you will be if you don’t start answering my questions” just politely explain that if your not under arrest you want to leave or that you will speak with an attorney and come back in when the attorney is available and if you are told that “yes, you are under arrest” then state that you will be more then happy to answer questions but NOT until after your attorney is present- “I want to remain silent and will only answer questions when my attorney is present”.
Also, even if you are under arrest, the police DO NOT HAVE TO READ YOU YOUR RIGHTS until they begin to ask a person self-incriminating questions. So if a person has been arrested but not provided with proper Miranda rights and that person blurts out incriminating statements those statements CAN be used against them in court.
Call (312) 281-9911 and ask a member of our defense team to be present during the questioning.
If you insist on not having criminal defense attorney with you when giving a statement to the police (again extremely un-advisable) DO NOT let the police officer write your statement for you or get you to sign the officer’s version of what you have just said.
The person questioning you knows exactly what they need you to say to best support a conviction and will surely have a purpose behind each and every question, despite how harmless or meaningless it seems when asked and will write the statement so that it touches on every element of the criminal charges that it can.
Moreover the officer may misinterpret what you have said ever so slightly that when you read the statement it seems close enough to what occurred or was said that you nonetheless sign it. This can happen to even the most intelligent person regardless of guilt or innocence. There is absolutely no requirement to put your statement in writing or that you sign someone else’s notes about your conversation; you should NEVER sign anything without an attorney reviewing it before hand.
Tell Police Officers to contact Motta & Motta LLC, and that you will speak with them as soon as an attorney on our criminal defense team is present.
A Chicago criminal defense attorney from Motta & Motta LLC is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you with your criminal charges or criminal law matter.
Contact the law offices of Motta & Motta LLC and an attorney will answer your questions. You can call or email us for a FREE case opinion.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: RIGHTS OF ACCUSED 725 ILCS 5/103-1
Ordinarily, the police must have search warrant before conducting a search. However, after you have been arrested, the police may search your person and the immediate area around you without a warrant. This is known as a “search incident to arrest.” The police may also search, if at the time of arrest, the arresting officer observes contraband.
If the arresting officer finds items that are illegal to possess, such as a gun, drugs or drug paraphernalia, at the time of arrest, the arresting officer will retrieve the item(s) and charge you for unlawful possession of the item(s). The arresting officer may also take your wallet, identification, money and other personal items from you at the time of your arrest, for inventory purposes, and maintain the items in a secure place until your items can be returned to you, or used as evidence against you. It is very important to verify that all of the items the officer removed from you are inventoried on a written list.
Experience and zealous representation are hallmarks of Motta & Motta’s criminal defense team.
A Chicago criminal defense attorney from Motta & Motta LLC is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you with your criminal charges or criminal law matter.
Contact the law offices of Motta & Motta LLC and an attorney will answer your questions. You can call or email us for a FREE case opinion.