CRIMINAL LAW

A criminal defense attorney is a legal advisor who assists the accused in criminal proceedings, either as a defense attorney of choice or as a public defender. In the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), this attorney is referred to as a defense attorney and, according to Section 137, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), can be retained by the accused at any stage of the proceedings.

The public prosecutor's office and the criminal investigation department have the final say in the investigation process. Therefore, the public prosecutor's office is referred to as the "master of the investigation process."

Both like to describe themselves as “objective.”

Unfortunately, I often experience the opposite. Investigators prematurely treat incriminating circumstances as established and dismiss exculpatory statements as "protective claims."

In addition, the information is generally only recorded in a meaningful way.

However, the meaning attributed by the investigator is often not what the accused said or wanted to say.

Given this, I generally advise against making a statement. The most important thing here is " just keep your mouth shut," even if you're just having a friendly chat with police officers over a cigarette, during a break in the interrogation, or while driving!

The right to remain silent is the right of the accused to remain silent throughout the entire criminal proceedings, i.e. to refuse to testify and not to make any statements about the charges against him.

The principle that no one is obligated to incriminate themselves is not explicitly regulated in the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, it is expressed in several places and underlies the law. The principle is so fundamental that it is also protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. Legal experts call this principle the nemo tenetur principle; it stands for the Latin phrase nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare – "No one is obliged to accuse himself."

The accused not only has the freedom not to incriminate himself vis-à-vis the state, he does not even have to actively participate in the investigation of the facts.

Therefore, the following should always be observed:

• An accused person does not have to appear for a police interrogation.

• The right to remain silent also applies if the apartment is searched.

• If a suspect fails to appear for questioning or remains silent on the charges, this does not mean that he or she is guilty.

If charges have already been filed, I will defend you at trial in courts nationwide, without reservations regarding the nature of the accusation. I act exclusively in the best interests of my clients.

During the main hearing, it is particularly important to have a criminal defense attorney at your side who is familiar with the rules of criminal procedure, who will listen to your case, and who will remind the other parties involved that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a legally binding court of law.