Best Lawyer » Criminal Defense Lawyer

Choosing the Right Lawyer

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:22:19 +0000

Choosing the right lawyer could be a hard thing to do because you may know all of those lawyers. If you would like to find the right lawyer, the first thing that you must take into consideration is what kind of lawyer you need.

You require a criminal defense lawyer if you will court for a possession charge. If you will divorce, you need to choose a divorce lawyer. Choosing specialized representation is always a good thing that you do since the person you choose as your attorney would have a vast wealth of knowledge on that certain subject and many experiences in different fields.

If you would like to find a reliable lawyer, you could do looking online. There are some great websites that you could check in order to get the best lawyer in your city or state.

Before choosing the right lawyer, you need to know what you search in a lawyer. You need to choose a lawyer who is an honest and warm person. Also, you need to know some considerations such as: how long she/has been practicing, what school they graduated from, etc. If they feel hesitated, they likely do not have many credentials and you no need to choose the person.

The last thing that you need to do is you must feel comfortable with your choice. You no need to be afraid to ask questions and the most things is keep yourself involved in your case. So, make your choice and solve your problem.

By: Jonas H David

Life As a Criminal Defense Lawyer

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:21:40 +0000

Life as a criminal defense lawyer is not easy when your job is basically to help those who are arrested of a crime. While some of the clients you meet are innocent, many of them are guilty and have had previous run-ins with the law.

Since the law dictates that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and you decided to specialize in this field, you have to defend this person by putting up the best defense there is available.

There are various strategies you can use to get your client off. You can plead insanity or claim that someone else did the crime. If your client has something to offer, you can make a deal with the district attorney in exchange for the client being granted immunity.

But before you decide what cards to play, you have to talk to your client. If this person is in jail, you have to go there and ask what happened. You should already discuss whether to enter a guilty or not guilty plea because your client will be arraigned shortly.

When a trial date has been set, you can get a copy of the documents of the case from the district attorney’s office because by law, both sides are supposed to view everything from the police reports to the evidence.

You will also get a copy of the people the prosecution will be calling to the witness stand as they too will also be aware of that so there will be no surprises during trial.

When it is your turn to cross examine the witness, you should use whatever is available to cast doubt on their testimony because this is the only way that the jury may be convinced that your client is not capable of doing the crime. Using expert witnesses of your own is also helpful since they can dispute the claims of the other camp.

Before the jury will reach its verdict, you will have one last chance to state your client’s innocence when you are given the opportunity for your closing argument. When it is all over, you just have to wait for the decision of the court to take the next course of action.

Your client’s not guilty verdict means your job is done and you can move on and work with another client. A guilty verdict means you have to stay on as counsel for this individual and appeal the jury’s decision to a higher court so you can perhaps get a reversal.

The best way to win an appeal is to determine if there is something in the trial that shouldn’t have happened or was overlooked. These technicalities are better known as constitutional protections. For instance, the client’s confession was taken without the presence of a lawyer so whatever they said is inadmissible in court. The same goes if a search was done without a warrant.

There are many examples which you can use. You may even cite a case with similar circumstances because this serves as precedence to the one you are working on.

The life of a criminal defense lawyer is challenging no matter how many times you have been inside the court room. This is because you get to work with different clients each time since someone who was innocent can no longer be charged with the same offense because of the principle of double jeopardy.

By: Carlos Montenegro

Selecting Your Criminal Defense Lawyer

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:30:38 +0000

When it comes to courtrooms, there is nothing more compelling than the battle of wits between the prosecutor and the criminal defense lawyer. In fact, this duel has become so interesting that plots of books, television shows, and even video games have revolved around these people. Now the characters Atticus Finch (from To Kill a Mocking Bird), Perry Mason (from the novels and TV show by Erle Stanly Gardner) and Phoenix Wright (from the video game) have entered into the people’s consciousness.

Unfortunately, sometimes reality can catch up with people, and the criminal defense lawyers are not just left into the pages of fiction but have to become players in the real world. Once you get accused of a crime, especially one that you truly did not commit, you would want to immediately search for a good defense lawyer who can handle your case. They are the people who would be able to defend you and represent you well in court.

Of course, finding a good criminal defense lawyer is not as easy as it seems on TV, books, or video games. There are many qualifications that you must study in order to find the best lawyer that could fit your needs. Here are some ways for you to be able to select a good lawyer.

The first thing that you should do before selecting a criminal defense lawyer would be to check the background of the attorney. You could look if he really passed the bar for the state where he is practicing his law, the veracity of the achievements that he claims he has attained, his success rate in the cases that he handled, and perhaps even check if he had already handled cases that are highly similar to the one that you are facing now. The best step would be to probably ask questions. You could begin to ask how long he has been practicing law, the cases that he handled, and perhaps even how much he charges for the cases that he takes.

Another thing to look at would be the specialty of the lawyer. Some lawyers are able to specialize in a certain crime or case such as Drunk Driving, petty crimes, or even murder. It would always be a good idea to select a lawyer that is highly successful in the case that you need to be defended in.

An underrated aspect when picking a criminal defense lawyer is to check how comfortable you are with him handling your case. Does the lawyer appear to be someone who is trustworthy and would handle your case well? You could also check if he responds well to your queries, returns your phone calls, and gives you timely updates about your case.

These are just some steps in selecting the best criminal defense attorney for you. Of course, one can only hope that they would be able to live lives that would not have to resort to their services in the future!

By: Myke Castaneda

10 Qualities a Criminal Defense Lawyer Should Posses

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:47:21 +0000

In the legal world one aspect is more serious than others, criminal cases. In these cases the burden on the shoulder of the criminal lawyer is immense as he is the one who will ensure that the accused will get just treatment as per the law.

The lawyer must know the inside out of the laws and comprehend clearly the intricacies of the case. He is the one who will prove the prosecution wrong and highlight the brass tacks of the case before the jury so that if his client is innocent, wrongly accused, or been framed by criminals he will get justice and not be punished for crimes he has not committed.

The ideal way to choose a criminal defense lawyer is to find out his reputation from unconnected sources, check out his rating, see whether you are comfortable with him and feel you can trust him with your innermost secrets. In the case of criminal cases a client must be able to confide in the lawyer completely and know that the lawyer will do his best in the case.

When charged with a crime small or large you need the support of a criminal defense attorney. He will arrange for your release and take appropriate action regarding papers and procedure. He will shoulder the responsibility of advising you on procedures and give recommendations on what is the best action or path to take.

And, in case you are not in a financial position to hire a lawyer the state will appoint one to defend you. In criminal cases the most important thing is to know your rights and options.

A Criminal Defense Lawyer must be one who is:

1. Well qualified in criminal law.

2. Passionate about justice and protecting the rights of the client.

3. Bold and confident while in court and have a presence, intimidate the prosecution.

4. A great actor with emoting skills to gain the favor of the jury and convince them of his client’s innocence or despair.

5. Confident and has handled many similar cases and won many.

6. More than capable of standing up to a judge and will not be intimidated or browbeaten.

7. Capable of understanding police work and finding out clues and facts.

8. Well versed in hidden facets of the law and can spring surprises during hearings when least expected.

9. Fair in his dealings and will always be honest with the client on how the case is faring and what to expect.

10. Friendly with detectives, police, and other lawyers and can ferret out information that will help the case.

In fact the lawyer should be “Perry Mason” in reality and never be willing to accept defeat and not be afraid of threats and so on. If the lawyer is passionate about his work and adventurous enough to seek new strategies and facts then you can be assured that the lawyer will do more than his best for you.

By: Aaron Brooks