"When your life seems at its worst, I'm here to be at my best fighting for you."
Mailing Address: PO Box 212 Bruin, PA 16022
Office: 721 E. Brady Street
Butler, PA 16001
Don't take on the law without help
When it comes to criminal offenses, you can't afford to hire anyone but the best to defend you. Ensure your first call is to J. Lansing Hills, Esq. when you need legal help and give your case the best possible chance.
Aggressive help for any crime
• Assault and battery
• Drug-related crimes
• Felonies and misdemeanors
• Theft and robbery
• Vandalism
• Homicide
• Disorderly conduct
• Sex crimes
I have represented clients in all sorts of criminal predicaments, and have had some real success. As a native Western Pennsylvanian, I am proud to fight for Western Pennsylvanians when they find themselves in the criminal system, which is often both a daunting and frustrating experience. If you find yourself in such a situation, no matter how trivial or hopeless it may seem, DO NOT fool yourself into believing that skilled and uncompromising legal representation is not a necessity. Put in the simplest terms, the lawyer you choose (or settle for, as the case may be) can affect the outcome of your case inalterably. Always remember that you want to reduce the impact of the system in your life as much as possible, and having a tough and unflinching advocate is the only real way to achieve that.
That said, many attorneys will NOT give out free advice to potential clients. However, in my several years of experience, both in private practice and while working for one of the most prestigious Criminal Defense Firms in the area, I have learned that everyone deserves to hear certain invaluable advice. As such, I have the following two pieces of free advice:
1. DO NOT SPEAK TO THE POLICE……..EVER!
The viral video clip is of a speech from a law professor of mine, James Duane, which has been viewed literally millions of times on the internet. The message is simple: DON’T EVER speak to the police under any circumstances; and the reasons behind that message are just as crystal clear.
Officers are trained to elicit damning information from individuals, and to lie, pressure, and coerce to achieve that end. In short, every question posed to a citizen by an officer while in his professional capacity as an officer is DESIGNED to get that person to incriminate themselves. As such, if you were to make any statement to police, “it can, and will, be used against you in court of law.” Sound familiar?
As such, no matter how scary the threat or enticing the promises made, aside from providing identification when asked to do so, simply ask only these three questions to any law enforcement officer attempting to engage you in a conversation:
a. Am I being detained?
b. Am I free to go?
c. Am I being charged with a crime?
If the answer to a. or c. is “yes,” or the answer to b. is “no,” stop speaking IMMEDIATELY, ask to call my offices, and SAY NOTHING ELSE. I will, no matter the hour or the place, find you and begin the process of defending you. Trust me, if you decide to ignore this advice, your case will be forever more difficult. Do not trust that you know what to say, and what not to say. Quite frankly, most people have no idea what can be incriminating, while I am trained to know such things. Moreover, despite how fearful you may be to anger or frustrate officers, or how desirous you may be to simply “cooperate” and go home, if they didn’t already want to put you in the system, odds are, they wouldn’t be speaking to you in the first place. Don’t make their jobs any easier, and remember that, when your life seems to be at its worst, I am here to be at my best to fight for you because that’s what I do
2. DO NOT EVER CONSENT TO A SEARCH BY POLIC
Most people know that police often obtain search warrants to search a home or vehicle. Without a warrant, police need what is referred to as “probable cause” to search ANYTHING. The issue of probable cause is a highly contentious one, which, with skilled and knowledgeable argumentation by counsel, can result in some, or all, evidence against you in a criminal case being “thrown out,” or deemed inadmissible.
However, the ultimate “trump card” for officers, one which removes any requirement that probable cause exist prior to a search, is your simply telling them they can. They will ALWAYS ask to search, and they will spout trite sayings like “only guilty people don’t consent to a search,” or “do you have something to hide?” in an attempt to pressure you to allow them to do so. Again, do not fool yourself into believing that you know what is and is not incriminating evidence. Are you willing to wager thousands of dollars, and potentially years of your life, on your knowledge of the criminal code? If not, simply refuse any search, and call my offices IMMEDIATELY!
Even if the police go ahead and search, and even if they find evidence as a result, the fact that you did not consent to the search allows a chance that the evidence will be thrown out. Remember, I am here to fight for you, because that’s what I do.