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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Posts
    1

    Default How Long Does it Take for the Police to Decide if They're Going to Charge You

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Tn. I am not sure how long it takes to charge someone but last week i was interviewed by a detective but he did not arrest me after stating "if i thought you had done something horrible you'd be in handcuffs now" whether or not this was a lie i don't know. But as a person with mental disability if there a way i can revoke that statement and redo it with a lawyer present? I do not feel as if i were in the right mind to even be able to sign my rights over or talk to him. I was extremely confused and distraught. The worst part is the crime i took place in i have no recollection of how it happened. I had been drinking the night of the incident, i layed down to watch some tv and eat before going to bed. I remember being extremely disoriented and confused all of a sudden and then bam i was in my roomates bed. I don't believe i was drugged, nor was it any kind of anxiety. normally i have bad anxiety but i have been surprisingly happy as of late. Even was i was drinking i never got depressed or anything. In the case of me it is potentially rape because even a finger is considered penetration, she never said no, stop, or screamed. I just remember being in the bed and thinking it was my girlfriend. I would never have any intent to harm anyone, i don't even have a record. I stay to myself and raise my daughter. I am a stay at home dad, nothing has made me happier. I was mortified when i realized it was not my SO. the confusion lasted for hours, i think it had only been about 5 hours until i talked to the detective. I am only 23, i have 2 kids to raise and this will destroy my life. I have no idea if they are going to prosecute or what could happen. I feel as if the statement i made was damning. Even though it was the truth i feel as if i should of had someone speak on behalf of me. I am a pretty flat person as it goes in terms of looks some would call it a "resting bitch face." I am not sure how the court of even that detective can take it. I heard that these cases can go on for a good while before they even try to prosecute. I've lost my SO and she has taken my daughter, i have a son from another relationship. I have not been able to get any help for my mental issues and I am also wondering if my willingness to not just cope with but get medicated and so on will bode well for me. I have always been against medication and have worked through schizophrenic like tendencies, anxiety, depression and such all by myself. I really do not feel as if this was a mental issue but then again i think you get locked up even longer for being crazy. I had no malicious intent, there was no struggle or forcing but i just don't know what to do. All i know is i have a blank in my memory that i have never had before. I don't do drugs or anything, not even smoking pot.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: Potential Charge, Questioned but Not Arrested

    It’s not clear what the woman said you did so I cannot say what the potential offense would be. If the alleged crime was rape then under Tennessee Code § 40-2-101(l) there is no statute of limitation and thus the prosecutor orcould file charges at any time. That said, here the prosecutor knows who the alleged perpetrator was and likely will have all the evidence the state is going to get for this fairly quickly. Tennessee law provides that for any crime the accused must be charged by indictment or presentment of a grand jury unless the defendant waives that right and consents to be tried by an information filed by the prosecutor. Grand jury proceedings take some time, but generally I expect that if you were going to be charged with a crime out of this it would occur within a year or less.

    You cannot retract the statement you gave the police. However, if you can show you were not competent to give consent to talk to the police your attorney can get the statement suppressed if you are charged. That will be very hard to do, however. Lots of people have mental disabilities but yet are still legally competent enough to decide whether to give a statement to police. The mental impairment must be pretty severe to be mentally incompetent.

    All you can do now is wait and see what happens and perhaps talk to a few criminal defense attorneys to find one you might want to hire so you know whom to contact in the event you do get arrested and charged. Don’t discuss the case with any friends or relatives; anything you tell them could be used against you, too.

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