CRIMINAL LAW

You have received a summons from the police or public prosecutor’s office and are to appear for questioning?

This means that there is an initial suspicion against you, i.e. that preliminary proceedings are being conducted against you. An initial suspicion already exists if the commission of a criminal act does not appear to be ruled out from the outset, Sections 152 (2), 160 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

As a defendant in criminal proceedings, you have the right to remain silent. If you make use of this right, you may not be held responsible for this.

You are therefore not obliged to comply with such a summons. Even if you are not aware of any guilt, you should never appear (without legal counsel) for questioning by the police.

Therefore, contact us as soon as you find a summons in your mailbox. We will inform the police and/or the public prosecutor’s office that you will not appear at the hearing. From this point on, all communication with the investigating authorities will be handled by our office.

Furthermore, we will immediately request access to the file, as only when the file is available can it be determined what the public prosecutor’s office is actually accusing you of and on what evidence and circumstantial evidence this accusation is based.

Together with you, we will discuss the accusation, develop a defense strategy and, in particular, discuss whether it makes sense to make a statement to the public prosecutor’s office during the preliminary proceedings. A statement at this stage of the proceedings can often lead to the case being dropped or at least enable the public prosecutor’s office to describe the facts of the case from your point of view.

The most important tips in a nutshell:

• Keep quiet
• Keep silent
• Do not obey the police summons
• Do not fill out a hearing form and do not sign anything
• Contact us