Criminal law · Legal information

The Right to Defence Counsel at the Police

Author · Av. Ayşenur Konar, Avukat

Published ·

In short

The right to defence counsel at the police is the person's request for a lawyer's help with the police statement, and that request is not read as an admission of the offence. The right is explained at the start of the statement and of the custody procedure. The request is entered in the minutes. The lawyer who was chosen, or the bar's duty counsel, is read from that line. The day of custody and the prison term are not in this text.

If the explanation was not written, it is not treated as having been given. The person may also choose silence. Silence does not stand in for asking for defence counsel. The two choices should appear separately in the minutes. An outcome is not stated while the document is still outstanding.

The explanation of the right

Before the statement begins, the rights are stated, and that statement is tied to the minutes. If defence counsel was asked for, the statement can be postponed until counsel arrives. The postponement should appear in the minutes. A postponement that does not appear is not recounted in the petition as if it were there. The day of custody is not added to this postponement. The prison term is not written either.

The frame of a statement at the police stands under a statement at the police. What is recalled before the statement stands under before giving a statement. This record is not a copy of those two headings. What is looked at here is whether the line about defence counsel stands in the minutes.

The defence-counsel line in the minutes

The minutes should carry the name of defence counsel, whether they came, and the person's request. If the line is blank, it is not said that counsel was present. If the person had it written that they did not want counsel, that sentence is read too. A claim that it was written under pressure is an account outside the minutes, and it is shown with a document. A claim that is not shown does not become a ruling.

The list of rights in custody stands under rights in custody. A statement taken in custody stands under a statement in custody. This text does not copy a number of days from that list. The day of custody and the prison term are not written. The petition stops at the line in the minutes.

A statement to the public prosecutor is a separate authority

Defence counsel at the public prosecutor's office stands under a statement to the public prosecutor. The police building and the public prosecutor's office are not the same table. Counsel asked for at the police is not treated as having been present of itself at the public prosecutor's office. Each authority keeps its own minutes. If the two sets of minutes are mixed, it is asked which unit wrote them.

A decision or an indictment does not complete a missing line in the police minutes. Service does not stand in for the moment the statement was taken. The document should show the name of the unit and the time. If there is no time, a day of custody is not invented. The prison term is not written into that blank either.

Duty counsel and the lawyer who was chosen

The person may ask for the bar's duty counsel or for a lawyer they chose. Being unable to reach the chosen lawyer does not mean the right was never explained. The failure to reach them is written in the minutes. A reason that was not written is not read as if it were added to the petition later. Duty counsel and the chosen lawyer do not require two separate sets of minutes at the same time. Which of them came is read from the line.

The request does not produce release. The outcome depends on the document in hand and on the later decision. This text does not write that outcome. The day of custody and the prison term are not added to the duty-counsel line either. The application describes the missing line in the minutes.

A general list of rights attached to the edge of the page does not mean they were explained to that person. The explanation should appear in the minutes, opposite this person. If it does not appear, the petition does not treat the list as having been read to that person. The day of custody is not written into this missing line. The prison term and an article number are not added either. The decision is not reached while the name of the unit and the time are still outstanding.

If the person chose both silence and defence counsel, the two lines stand apart. Writing one does not of itself make the other written. If the minutes melted the two into a single sentence, the sentence is read as it stands, and a choice that was not made is not added later. The document shows which choice was made. The application does not stick a choice that was not made onto the minutes.

A signature is not approval of a page that was not read. If a page is missing, the petition does not treat the missing page as a completed statement. The day of custody and the prison term are not written onto this signature line either. An article number is not invented. The decision is not reached while the name of the unit on the minutes is still outstanding.

What is not written in the custody record

The right to defence counsel at the police is read from the lawyer's line in the police minutes, and it is kept apart from a statement to the public prosecutor. The office being in Çankaya does not change the unit where the statement was taken. That is read from the minutes. The day of custody and the prison term are not written. An article number is not invented in the petition.

Conclusion

Defence counsel at the police is the safeguard of the police statement, and the request is not an admission of the offence. The day of custody, the prison term and an article number are not written. An outcome is not stated while the line in the minutes is still outstanding. The frame sits on the criminal law page. The basis is the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law No. 5271.

Legislation

Frequently asked questions

Can a statement be taken before defence counsel arrives?

Whether rights were explained, and whether counsel is mandatory, depends on the particular case and the minutes. The day of custody and the prison term are not written.

Is it the same as defence counsel at the public prosecutor's office?

The safeguard is spoken of in a similar way. The authority is separate. Police minutes do not stand in for the public prosecutor's minutes.

Is asking for defence counsel an admission of the offence?

No. The request is the use of the right of defence. What is read is whether that request was entered in the minutes.

Related reading

This article sits under one practice area. The neighbouring guides carry the detail that does not belong in this text.

Practice areas · Criminal law

Sources

AK

Author

Av. Ayşenur Konar

Lawyer on the Ankara Bar Association roll, founder of Konar Hukuk. This text is general information; a specific file is reviewed separately. Author profile · Editorial policy

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