Received a police summons? How to check it and what to prepare before consulting a lawyer

Start by establishing what document you have received

When you receive a document that claims to be a police summons, the first thing to do is to keep it and read it to find out who issued it, what matter you are being summoned about and when you are asked to attend. Anxiety may lead you to rush into following instructions given over the phone, or to send personal information before checking, so keep confirming where the document came from separate from preparing an explanation of the matter in question.

This article suggests a way to organize information before consulting a lawyer. It does not determine whether the reader's document is genuine or what legal effect it has. Receiving a summons is not, in itself, a conclusion that the person has committed an offense, and you also need to check in what capacity you are being summoned.

Check the details, then contact the agency through channels you find yourself

The Government Public Relations Department (PRD), in its guidance on checking a summons, advises looking at the details of who issued it, the reason for the summons, and the place and time you are required to attend, and then checking with the issuing police station whether there really is such an inquiry officer (the police officer who investigates the case) and whether the summons was actually issued. Seeing a name or seal that looks official should therefore not be relied on as confirmation on its own.

Look up the station's contact details yourself on an official website, instead of relying only on the phone number or link provided by the sender. Once you have reached the agency, ask how to confirm the officer responsible and the appointment, disclosing only as much information as necessary. Do not send passwords or transaction verification codes to anyone who claims to be helping you check the summons.

Record the date you received the document separately from the appointment date

On a single sheet of paper, note the date and time you found or received the document, how it reached you, who delivered it (as far as you know) and the appointment date stated. Keep the envelope or the original message as well. If a date in the document is hard to read, write down that it is unclear and ask the person responsible to confirm it; do not fill in a date by guessing.

For example, if a relative accepted the envelope before the person concerned came back and found the document, note both the date the relative received it and the date the person concerned learned of it, and distinguish which information is backed by evidence and which is only what someone has said. This record helps your adviser understand the sequence of events, but it is not a way of calculating for yourself the date from which a legal time limit starts to run.

Prepare a consultation pack that is easy to follow

The first set is every page of the summons and anything attached to it. The second set is your record of contacts relating to the summons, such as dates and times, the agencies involved and what you were told. The third set is the documents relating to the matter stated in the summons, limited to those that actually exist. Prepare a short index so that the originals can be located.

If there are several sets of files or messages, keep the originals intact and make copies for reading. Do not edit the original content to remove details you think are unhelpful. In your summary notes, separate what you saw yourself, what others told you and what is still unknown. Stating the gaps honestly helps the follow-up questions go straight to the point.

Ask clearly about your status and the appointment date before taking action

Your questions for the lawyer should begin with the capacity stated in the summons, the points that need to be checked against the original, the documents you need to prepare and anything that must be done before the appointment date. If there is little time left, say so as soon as you make contact and send the dates shown in the documents, rather than waiting until your file is complete in every respect before seeking advice.

If something prevents you from attending as scheduled, promptly contact the inquiry officer through a channel you have verified and consult a lawyer about how to proceed. Do not assume that leaving a message or sending a request means you have been given permission to change the appointment date, and do not ignore a summons merely because you still suspect it is fake.

Send information to your lawyer without making your case public

Before sending documents to your adviser, confirm the channel for receiving them and the name of the person responsible, and keep a list of what you sent and when. Avoid posting the summons or other people's information in public groups to get others to help judge who is right or wrong, because people who see only some of the pages may not understand the full context.

B Law Firm lists criminal cases and legal advice among its services. If you would like a consultation, you can start by saying what kind of summons you have received and when the appointment date is, so that the details can then be checked against the actual documents. Preparing information that can be verified helps keep the consultation focused on the issues, but it does not guarantee the outcome of the case.

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References

• Government Public Relations Department: how to check whether a summons is real or fake (in Thai)
• B Law Firm: criminal case and legal adviser services