Five Mistakes People Make After Being Charged

By the time someone calls me, they have often already made a decision or two that made their situation harder than it needed to be. None of it is their fault. People act on instinct under stress. But a few of these mistakes come up so often that they are worth naming.

1. Talking your way out of it

The instinct to explain is powerful, and it almost never helps. You have the right to silence, and most people are far better off using it until they have advice. What feels like a harmless explanation at the roadside or the station can become the key piece of evidence against you.

2. Pleading guilty at the first appearance

Plenty of people turn up to their first court date wanting to "just get it over with". But until the disclosure has been reviewed, no one knows whether the charge is sound, whether it can be reduced, or whether a discharge without conviction is realistic. A plea entered too early is hard to undo.

3. Assuming a conviction is inevitable

It often is not. New Zealand law gives courts real options, from diversion to discharge without conviction, and the difference between a conviction and no conviction can shape your job, your travel, and your future. Assuming the worst and not exploring those options is a quiet but serious mistake.

4. Choosing a lawyer on price alone

Criminal matters are not the place to shop purely on cost. The value is in preparation and judgement: knowing which arguments are worth running, and how to put them. That said, you are entitled to know what you are paying for, and a good lawyer will be upfront about fees from the start.

5. Waiting too long to get advice

The earlier you get advice, the more can be done. Decisions made in the first days, about what to say, how to plead, and what evidence to preserve, shape everything that follows. The initial consultation is free, so there is no reason to sit on it.