Not knowing what to expect during a criminal investigation, an arrest, or the months that follow can add unnecessary stress to an already difficult situation. Below, Greg McCollum of the Complete Legal Defense Team addresses three questions people in South Carolina often ask: how to tell if you’re being investigated, what to do if you’re arrested outside of business hours, and when your first court date happens after an arrest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I am being investigated for a crime?
Many times people do not know if they’re being investigated for a crime. Other times there are signs. For example, if you’re the subject of a federal investigation, and those investigations may last a year or more, you would know that because federal agents are suddenly showing up and asking friends and colleagues questions about you or about your businesses.
If that is happening, you’re definitely the subject of a federal investigation, which the FBI will not confirm. State investigations, narcotics investigations, involve surveillance. If you think you’re being followed by undercover agents, possibly you are. Those things are set up now such that surveillance is done, which is something that did not happen in the past.
Additionally, most of the time a warrant officer or a uniformed police officer, if they come to your door to talk to you when you’re not home, they’ll leave you a business card. If a business card is left at your door, that means one of two things: either someone wants to talk to you, but more likely a warrant officer has left his business card because he has a warrant for your arrest.
Arrested at Night or on a Holiday? Here’s What to Do
That’s usually when people get arrested. Most people get arrested at night, certainly after business hours. People get arrested on weekends and holidays. You can call our law firm. We have an answering service. Tell them it’s an emergency, and then they get details from you, and then you call us. If it’s 3:00 in the morning, just call us. The answering service will take the call. We’ll get the message.
Somebody should call you back in the morning, maybe 7:30, something like that. Then we’ll have enough time to talk to you and get going on the case before bond court starts that morning. If we need to have a lawyer there to help you, we can do that too.
When Is Your First Court Date After Arrest?
Once you get out of jail, your first appearance, they call it initial appearance, is about 45 days out, something like that. So, a month and a half, six weeks, that’s when you go to court.
The weird thing about it, though, is that people get really nervous about that, because obviously if you’re going to court, then that’s court, but what you’re going to is not court. It’s just this kind of show up thing, where everybody shows up to really an empty courtroom except for the people in there, and then, of course, that’s all. You get your name called. That’s the only thing that happens.
With nearly 30 years of legal experience and a background as a former prosecutor, Greg McCollum brings a detailed understanding of how South Carolina criminal cases are built and how they can be defended. That perspective can help you understand what a criminal investigation, an arrest, or an upcoming court date may mean for your situation, and what steps may be available to you.
If you have questions about a criminal investigation, an arrest, or your court date in South Carolina, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.