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
Posts Tagged ‘Prosecution’
Life As a Criminal Defense Lawyer
June 14th, 2010Should I Hire a DUI lawyer?
March 15th, 2010
The main reason anyone would ask that question is because they have been charged with some form of DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving while intoxicated). If this sounds like you or someone you know you need to hire a lawyer as quickly as possible.
There are several reason why you need a qualified DUI lawyer working hard for you. Primarily they will know your legal rights in regard to the specific charge against you. Thus, they will be able to help prevent you from self-incriminating yourself or any other mistakes you are likely to make.
Moreover, if the charge is a serious one, which hopefully it is not, they will know how to defend you in court. You need the experience of a good DUI lawyer because they understand how to talk to judges, juries and the prosecution. And once again they will know the law far more throughly than you will, given their years of legal experience.
Probably the most common argument against hiring a DUI lawyer is that they are expensive. Well this is a valid point any good DUI attorney is going to be expensive, but that is because of the value they provide. For example, how much would you pay to avoid going to jail even for a few months. For many people the cost of the DUI lawyer when compared to the potential fines and/or jail time of not; find that hiring one is a good investment on their part.
There are however some common misconceptions about what a skilled DUI lawyer can and cannot do. Most importantly they are not miracle workers. If you have driven drunk and killed someone there is no way that you are going to get away with only a fine. People often see shows such as Law and Order and think that lawyers can get people out any situation.
The truth is that if you are guilty of killing or seriously injuring some one while DUI you will face jail time. However, even in these cases it makes sense to hire a good DUI lawyer because they may be able to get your sentence reduced somewhat, especially if you plead guilty.
The situation where DUI lawyers work best though is for first time offenders. They can ensure that the fines and/or jail time will be as minimal as possible. Think of them as your get out of jail free card, that you can only use once. The more serious the DUI offense or the more DUI convictions you have the less leeway a DUI lawyer will have with your case.
Thus, if you have been charged with a DUI or DWI you need a lawyer on your case. Just remember that they are not miracle workers. They have to work with the particularities of your case and history. In the end though you will be glad you did. Better yet, don’t drink and drive in the first place and you will never have to ask this question again.
By: Ian E. Wright