Everyone has their day in court. This means that even if the client is guilty, the criminal defense lawyer must do whatever is necessary so that person will not be convicted of the crime.
How does that work? If you are a public defender, the client will be appointed and you have to meet with them. Before this person is arraigned in court, you will have time to discuss what will be their plea which will then be presented to the judge. Afterwards, ample time will be given so you can conduct an investigation, review police reports and examine the evidence to prepare you for trial.
During the trial, both sides will be able to present witnesses. Some of these are experts and after the prosecution questions this person on the stand, you will have the chance to cross-examine them and vice versa.
Before the trial starts or even during, you can try to settle this matter out of court. You have the right to accept or turn it down but you must first discuss this with your client.
When all the witnesses have spoken and the evidence has been presented, the only thing you have to work on now is your closing argument. You should summarize everything that has happened in front of the jury because the prosecution will do the same so the jury can now go to the jury room and make their decision.
How long will the jury will be deliberating is anyone’s guess. Sometimes a verdict will be announced in less than hour while others will take longer. When the jury has returned, you will know if the jury has reached a guilty or not guilty verdict.
If the verdict is guilty, then you can appeal the decision to the higher court. If the verdict is not guilty, then your client can walk out of the court room as a free person.
The same thing happens when you are working for or have your own criminal defense law firm. The only difference is that clients will go up to you. When they walk in, they will want to interview you first to find out a little about you.
You should be ready to answer questions such as how long have you been a criminal defense attorney, how many cases have you won, do you go to trial often or decide to settle this matter out of court and so on. How you answer will help them decide if they want to hire you or not.
Another difference between those who operate privately is that you can charge a certain fee for your legal services. You can charge a flat fee or on an hourly basis. This depends on you.
If you are handling a lot of cases right now, be honest with the client and tell them you can’t because you will not be able to represent them to the fullest of your ability in that condition.
So how do you a criminal defense attorney do their job? By operating on the assumption that anyone who is arrested is innocent until proven guilty. This is hard especially if you know your client did it but this is your duty as a criminal defense attorney. You failure to do so will mean this person will spend the rest of their time in jail.
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Ever been pulled over on a DUI charge? Yes this happens but you can beat the system with the help of a criminal defense lawyer.
Drinking under the influence charges require fast action on your part so that your license will not be suspended. The first thing you have to do of course is hire a lawyer so you can immediately be released from jail.
In some cases, this does not happen because you are released on your own recognizance. However, some will require you to post bail which your lawyer can arrange.
Once released, it is now time to address this issue. In some states, a DUI charge generates 2 separate cases. The first is filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles while the other is a criminal court case. Often, when faced with this problem, you may have to face these charges within ten days from the date of the arrest.
Just like any other criminal case, this begins with your arraignment. You will be asked to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Chances are, your criminal defense lawyer will tell you to plead not guilty to these charges. This will give him or her time to review the facts of the case so your defense will be established.
There are many strategies available that your lawyer can use to you get out of a DUI and have proven to be successful.
Your lawyer may for example argue lack of probably cause for the initial stop. This means there was no reason at all to stop you and if that is the case, submit a petition to suppress any evidence that the police obtained when you were pulled over.
It is also possible to argue faulty of unreliable BAC results. The BAC stands for blood alcohol test which is used to test if the person’s alcohol level has reached the maximum limit which makes him or her unsafe to drive a vehicle.
The results could be faulty if your lawyer can prove that the test was not properly administered, the equipment used was not properly maintained or you have a medical condition that may have an impact on the reliability of the test.
Another tactic is to attack the credibility of the arresting officer. If your lawyer is able to question the police officer and prove there are inconsistencies in their testimony compared with the police report they filed, you just might have a chance of getting a not guilty verdict.
But if things are not working in your favor and everything was done by the book, then your criminal defense lawyer may advise you to accept a favorable plea agreement. Doing so may get you reduced charges or sentencing concessions with the district attorney.
If you don’t want to negotiate and decide to gamble in court and lose, then you can try to appeal the court’s decision. If you don’t, there will likely be an increase in your insurance cost, limits on employment options and you will now have a permanent record.
Hiring a criminal defense lawyer is the only way to get out of a DUI charge. After all, there are circumstances which you can argue so that you name will not be included in the criminal database system.
Lawyer Related Articles
- A Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Help You Defend Against A Misdemeanor Charge
- A Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Help You Defend Against Murder Charges
- Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer For A DUI Charge
- How Does A Criminal Defense Lawyer Do Their Job
- How to Find A Criminal Defense Lawyer
- Life As A Criminal Defense Lawyer
- Selecting A Criminal Defense Lawyer
- The Criminal Defense Lawyer Association
- What A Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Do For You
- What Is A Criminal Defense Lawyer
- What is Criminology?
- What is the American Society of Criminology?