As a successful Nevada Military lawyer, attorney Craig W. Drummond has been recognized as a military law expert for different organizations and media outlets. One of the few questions he’s often asked is to define military law and explain what it covers. For the benefit of the readers, our Nevada Military defense attorneys will be covering the basics of military law and what it entails.

Military law is defined as the legal structures that govern military personnel. These structures entail service member’s conduct during training or active duty. Military law can be divided into three major factors: criminal justice, protection of service members and their families, and lastly, reemployment after military service. Military law covers a number of related practice areas such as International law, criminal law, and even employment law. These areas tend to cross paths with military law due to the actions of service members. For example, military criminal law would cover service members committing war crimes, while military employment law would cover service members transitioning back into working civilians after their service term is over.

Service members are governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice during their training or active duty. The code provides a detailed list of what service members are allowed to do within the military and violation of the code typically results in a court martial, which is a proceeding dictated by military law. Punishment for the code violation depends on the severity of the service members actions. Depending on the severity of the violation, service members may be given a dishonorable discharge which is the most severe punishment within the military. During a court martial or a dishonorable discharge, most service members will be granted representation from a JAG corps attorney. While service members have the option of hiring a civilian attorney, it would be best to hire a JAG corps certified attorney due to their familiarity with military law. Members of the JAG corps represent service members before court-martials, dishonorable discharges, and other instances.

Nevada Military Lawyer Craig W. Drummond practices military law based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice and is part of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. If you are facing trial by court martial, it’s in your best interest to get represented by a military lawyer with a proven record. You need an attorney who will fight aggressively on your behalf. You need a lawyer who has experience in military law. You need Nevada Military Lawyer Craig W. Drummond. Contact us today to discuss your case.

In today’s blog post, our Henderson criminal defense lawyer will cover the Miranda rights and how to properly invoke your right to silence an attorney.

So, what are Miranda Rights and what do they do?

You’ve probably heard them all before on any crime drama involving police. Once a suspect is caught, the officer says, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney…”

Miranda rights allow the defendant/suspect to stay silent when targeted by police for questioning. Miranda rights require law enforcement officers to inform arrested suspects of their rights:

• Right to stay silent
• Right to consult a criminal defense lawyer
• Right to have a lawyer present during questioning
• Right to free representation of a lawyer if one cannot be afforded

One of the misconceptions our criminal defense lawyers in Henderson come across is the notion that staying silent automatically invokes your right to silence. It’s confusing, but staying silent doesn’t necessarily mean you’re invoking your rights to silence. Because of this misconception, law enforcement officers interrogating unknowing suspects can sometimes point to a suspect’s silence as an evidence of guilt.

In order to invoke your Miranda rights, rule of thumb is that you should explicitly state that your silence is not admittance of guilt, but that you’re invoking your Miranda rights. Miranda rights were created in order to protect suspects; however, some law enforcement officers have found ways around Miranda Rights in order to get suspects to unknowingly harm their case. One technique some officers may use is by questioning suspects after letting them know that they aren’t under arrest and are free to leave. It’s a psychological tactic used in order to lower the suspect’s guard. Since this is typically stated within the interrogation room, suspects are still slightly pressured to stay and answer questions due to feeling intimidated.

Whether you’ve been criminally charged or have been arrested for something else entirely and want to invoke your Miranda rights, remember to explicitly state that you choose to stay silent and invoke your Miranda rights. Don’t make the faulty assumption that staying silent means you’ve invoked your rights.

The best defense when you’re criminally charged is to request for a criminal defense lawyer to help inform you of your rights and protect your interests. If you’ve been charged in Henderson contact us as soon as possible. Our criminal defense attorneys are licensed to practice law in all Nevada State and Federal Courts. With our extensive trial and negotiation experience, we’ll be able to walk you through your case and inform you of what you should and shouldn’t say.