A criminal attorney in Monroe NC can explain the communications that you may have with a parole officer. In many cases, probation or parole is a condition of being released on bond or after finishing a sentence.
Fifth Amendment
Like any other criminal matter, a defendant may assert his or her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. The conditions of release may require truthful answers to questions that parole officers may ask. However, a criminal attorney in Monroe NC may explain that asserting this right may be raised when a truthful answer would incriminate the defendant in other criminal activity. If he or she does not assert this right, the privilege is waived.
The parole officer is not mandated to inform the parolee that he or she has the right to refuse to answer a question based on the fifth amendment. However, in some cases, refusing to answer may incriminate the defendant anyway.
Legal Assistance
If there has not yet been a probation revocation proceeding, a criminal attorney in Monroe NC may be able to negotiate an understanding with the parole officer. This may take the form of specifying the exact questions that the defendant is willing to answer and what protections he or she will receive in exchange for these answers.
False exculpatory statements will not be protected and can result in revocation of probation or parole. If the proceedings have arisen, the attorney may attempt to prevent the revocation of release. He or she may closely scrutinize the incriminating comments that the defendant made and try to minimize their effect. He or she may also argue that release should not be revoked due to the defendant’s other positive aspects of probation, such as cooperating in other ways or a history of passed drug tests.
If you would like more information on communicating with a parole officer, contact the Khan Law Offices at 704-774-6426.
