What to Do if Your Spouse Is Arrested in Port St. Lucie

In the year 2019, a total of 9,855 people were arrested in St. Lucie County. This breaks down to 27 people a day. If your spouse was among those arrested, would you know what to do or who to call? If this unfortunate situation ever happens to you, don’t be stranded in the dark. It’s essential to learn what steps to take to help ensure your partner’s rights are upheld — and their arrest ends as quickly as possible.

Getting That Phone Call 

If you are the one your spouse calls first from jail after they are arrested, there are a few important things to keep in mind during that phone call. First and foremost, keep your cool and stay calm while you are talking to them. They are likely already full of anxiety and adding to that will not only fail to accomplish anything, it has the possibility of being damaging to you both.

The phone call is being recorded so keep the phone call short, and make sure that neither you nor your spouse  says anything that may be incriminating. Don’t talk about what happened, but instead, just get direct information and be brief. Find out where the jail is that your spouse is located, and what the arresting charge was. They may want to talk or you may want to ask more about the situation, but that can inadvertently provide incriminating details against your spouse. Encourage your spouse to try to commit all details of the arrest to memory, so they can explain it all to a lawyer as soon as the lawyer can visit them.

Finding a Lawyer 

As soon as you have the pertinent information from your spouse, the next step is to hire a criminal defense lawyer. Hiring a lawyer quickly is important so your spouse can recount as many details of the arrest as possible and to prevent incriminating themselves further. There also may be instances of rights violations during the arrest that are important for your spouse to inform the lawyer of.

When your spouse has a court date and if they are given a bond amount, you may be able to get them out of jail by paying the bond. If this is the case, pay attention to what your lawyer tells you, as far as what to do or not do while your spouse is out on bond. Some things could affect their case in a negative way.

Can I Be Forced to Testify? 

In most cases in Florida, one spouse cannot be forced to testify against the other when it comes to confidential information. However, there are caveats to this and a criminal defense lawyer can help you understand the situations in which you may be asked to testify against your spouse. Our skilled Port St. Lucie criminal attorneys at Baginski, Brandt & Brandt may be able to help you when your spouse gets arrested, and you need a reputable criminal defense lawyer to take their case.

Resources:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0090/Sections/0090.504.html

law.cornell.edu/wex/self-incrimination

fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/Documents/PDF/2019/Total_Arrests_by_County_2019.aspx

https://www.bbblegal.com/hate-crimes-in-florida/