If you've been charged with a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Facing criminal charges can be stressful and frightening, and rightfully so. Your future is on the line, so it's best to seek help from a trusted lawyer.
Reasons to Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney
Hiring a criminal defense attorney to represent your legal rights and protect your future is your best move for several reasons.
Experience
A criminal defense lawyer has experience representing cases like yours, and that type of experience is invaluable to your case. Simply walking into a courtroom can be intimidating, especially when you face criminal charges. You need someone to appear with you who knows the rules and procedures of local criminal courts.
An experienced criminal defense attorney will also have built relationships with judges, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and other important parties. There is no substitute for real-life experience in court, of which you likely have little to none.
Understanding the Judicial System
Criminal defense lawyers have an educated and experienced understanding of the law and the system that upholds it. The legal system is complex and not very defendant-friendly. Each step can be confusing for people who do not work within criminal justice.
Working within the judicial system may give a criminal defense attorney resources and leverage that average citizens outside the system do not have.
Access to Helpful Resources
Criminal defense lawyers can access resources to help you build a strong defense. Some of the resources include:
- Legal Research Tools: Federal Jury Practice and Instructions, West's Federal Rules, West's Federal Practice Digest, Bell's Search and Seizure Compendium, and Wright's Federal Practice and Procedure.
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL): Large library of legal publications.
- Legal Publications: Trial guides, legal encyclopedias, and resource manuals.
- Legal Software: Abacus, Clion, TimeMatters, and ProLaw.
A criminal defense attorney can also access resources like private investigators, forensic specialists, and expert witnesses to assist with your defense.
Save Time and Money
Criminal defense lawyers can save you money by trying to negotiate long-term savings on fines, fees, and bail. An attorney will negotiate plea deals with the prosecutor. They may also help you keep your job and professional license.
Representing yourself in a criminal case can be risky, exhaustively time-consuming, and expensive, especially when you do not know what you're doing. One error can be extraordinarily costly for your future, and this is a risk you never want to take.
Now isn't the time to put your future or even your freedom at stake. We're talking about your time, money, and life. Criminal charges are serious matters, so you need professional defense representation.
Charges a Criminal Defense Attorney Handles
Criminal defense attorneys represent clients in criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. Some of these crimes include:
- Theft and Robbery: Shoplifting, car theft, fraud, burglary, and grand larceny
- Driving Under the Influence: Driving under the influence (DUI) alcohol, marijuana, opiates, and other mind-altering substances
- Drug Crimes: Possession and trafficking of controlled substances
- Domestic Violence: Stalking, physical and emotional abuse, and kidnapping
- Violent Crimes: Assault and battery
- Sex Crimes: Rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse
- White Collar Crimes: Mortgage fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, tax evasion, insurance fraud, bribery, etc.
- Computer Crimes: Phishing, cyberstalking, identity theft, extortion, security hacking, email scams, etc.
Criminal defense lawyers also often defend juveniles in criminal cases such as truancy, graffiti, vandalism, alcohol infractions, arson, etc.
What Will a Criminal Defense Attorney Do for You?
A criminal defense attorney will work diligently to seek the best outcome for your criminal case. There are several aspects to what they do to legally represent you.
Provide Legal Advice
Hiring a criminal defense attorney takes all the guesswork out of what you should say or do regarding your criminal case. Their legal advice helps ensure you avoid any harmful mistakes.
Protect Your Rights
A criminal defense attorney's primary duty is to courageously advocate for their clients and protect their constitutional and legal rights. It is their job to provide you with authentic and high-quality legal representation.
Police Interrogation
Police interrogations can be stressful and exhausting, especially considering the police may use tricky and deceitful tactics to get you to confess to a crime or say something incriminating. Having a lawyer present protects you from intimidating interrogations with the police.
Preserve Evidence
Did you know that video surveillance camera footage is often lost within a few days? Hiring a criminal defense attorney is your best chance of locating and preserving any evidence to help with your criminal case.
Makes Bail Applications
Criminal defense attorneys file bail applications or attend bail hearings to release their clients from custody before trial. If you have been granted bail, your lawyer will advise you on how to post your bail bond, the conditions attached to your release, and restrictions on where you're allowed to go or requirements to regularly check in with authorities.
File Motions
A criminal defense attorney files motions with the court to influence decisions to help your case, such as whether or not certain evidence can be admitted in your trial. Sometimes, the right motion can result in a dismissal of your charges.
Create Your Defense Strategy
Your criminal defense lawyer will create and prepare your defense strategy. Common criminal defense strategies include:
- Mistaken identity
- Alibi
- False confession
- Self-defense
- Entrapment
- Illegally obtained evidence
- Police misconduct
- Insanity
Having a criminal defense attorney prepare your defense strategy is vital in achieving the best possible outcome.
Negotiate Plea Bargains
In many criminal cases, criminal defense attorneys can negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutor. Plea bargaining means pleading to a lesser charge in exchange for considerably smaller fees and a lighter sentence. This can be highly beneficial and avoid the uncertainty of trial.
Represent You in Court
If your criminal case proceeds to trial, having a skilled and experienced lawyer represent you is valuable to your case's outcome. A criminal defense attorney will make compelling arguments, call witnesses, cross-examine witnesses, and present evidence on your behalf.
When to Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney?
Hiring a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible is crucial if you face criminal charges. Few life events are as serious as facing criminal charges, and you shouldn't delay seeking professional legal help. Call a criminal defense attorney now.