Lisa Pelosi: The most important part of it is when someone is stopped, to always be polite to the police officers, even though sometimes that could be a difficult thing to do, but you should be polite and respectful. Remember that you have every right to not give them consent to search your car. I would advise people, not to sign any paperwork. To only tell the officers, that they if they have a warrant, that they should go about their duty and do what they need to do. Do not give consent to look at anything, even if you have nothing in the car or house or on you, you should never give consent. If they have a warrant, then let them execute the warrant.
It is Inadvisable to Say Anything Other than “I Want an Attorney” to a Police Officer
Never say anything to them other than I want an attorney. I think that’s probably the best advice that anyone can have. Often times, the officers play games with individuals, who they are eventually to arrest and say to them, “Just sign this and let me look in your car and then you can be on your way” Often that’s not the case, so my best advice to people is to exercise your rights and don’t sign anything and don’t give consent. Tell the officer or the detectives that if they have a warrant, then they have the right to look where they are permitted to look, and in that case, you should cooperate. Don’t sign anything and just say you want your attorney.
Diversionary Programs Available to First Time Drug Offenders in New York
Interviewer: Are there any programs available for first time offenders? Are there programs that are specific to drug cases, that would help someone out.
Lisa Pelosi: There are definitely programs that are connected to treatment. If you’re a first time offender and you’ve made a mistake or you’ve become addicted and it’s gotten the best of you and you end up being arrested. We can work to get you in to a treatment court where you plead guilty to a felony but you are not sentenced and you go in-patient or sometimes it’s out patient and you do everything you’re supposed to do to meet all the requirements of the program. Families get involved and it’s all to help the addict, help themselves and the reward for all the hard work for the individual who’s a first time offender.
Successfully Completing a Diversionary Program Can Potentially Get a Drug Case Dismissed
At that point, when they are finished with treatment, we can get their cases dismissed for them. The courts are really trying to help addicts now. It’s a much more pragmatic way to look at these cases, and also the Individual goes to treatment, and then he or she goes to court every, maybe every 6 weeks and the judge gets an update from the program, to see how the individual’s doing. They will do drug tests and they’ll make sure people are not rearrested and make sure people are living a law abiding life.
The Addicts are Enrolled in a Rehabilitation Program to Help them Get on With Their Lives
So long as everything is going well, these individuals are getting help, they are still living their lives. At the end of the program, hopefully their lives are much better, because they are not using drugs, and if I do my job correctly, which I always hope I do, while we get the case dismissed against the individual, so they can go on with their life, as if the arrest never happened.
