When you need to face a judge or jury in court, you can’t do it alone. There’s a lot at stake, and fighting your charges takes education, experience, and more. For anyone with legal troubles, finding a lawyer is a must. However, you can’t just hire any lawyer. You need the right lawyer to represent you. With the right attorney, you have a chance at beating your charges and getting a good outcome.
What can the right attorney do for you?
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Just because the police charge you with a crime doesn’t mean that you will get a guilty verdict. In fact, many people can beat their charges with the right attorney. Before a judge comes up with a conviction and a sentence, you’re innocent. It takes a strong case against you to prove your guilt. A great lawyer knows how to break down the opposing council’s case. Additionally, they know how to appeal to the judge and jury to get a good outcome. With your best interest in mind, your lawyer can make a big difference.
Without an attorney (or a qualified attorney), you take a big risk. You leave everything in the hands of the judge and jury. Whether you’re innocent or not, your chances of a successful outcome are slim. You need a deep understanding of the legal system to be able to fight any charges in court.
There are several specific ways in which a lawyer can help you. For one, they may be able to get a judge to dismiss your case. If that’s not possible, they may be able to minimize your charges. Finally, they may be able to get your penalties lessened. In certain situations, you may walk away with only fines or probation. The right lawyer can make all the difference.
What are the possible defenses?
Depending on your criminal charges, there are a few ways that the right attorney can help you. Here’s a look at some of the common defense strategies. While they all won’t apply to your situation, some of them might. An experienced lawyer can look at your situation and determine the best course of action for the best results.
1. Entrapment
This is a type of criminal defense that requires a very specific scenario. A lawyer can only use this as a defense if the police coerced you into doing something illegal. For example, an undercover police officer could coerce you into buying drugs from him. It’s only an effective tactic if the officer was overbearing in his tactics and if your behavior was not typical for yourself. So if you usually buy narcotics, the entrapment defense would not be effective.
2. Self-defense
When you’re facing criminal charges, self-defense might be an effective defense. The laws regarding self-defense vary on a state-by-state basis. However, most states allow people to defend themselves with a reasonable amount of force.
For this tactic to be effective, there needs to be proof that you or someone else was in danger at the time of the incident. Without proof of this, you have little chance of showing a court that you were defending yourself. You need to be able to show that the victim was a physical threat to you, that you used reasonable force, and that self-defense was necessary. If you fail to prove any of those points, you may be in trouble.
3. Innocence
Of course, you may not be guilty of your charges. Innocence is one of the most basic defenses, but it can be challenging to prove. The prosecutor needs to show that you were, in fact, guilty of the crime. If he doesn’t have enough evidence against you, a judge will proclaim you as innocent. With the right lawyer, you can attack a prosecutor’s case and prove your innocence.
If your lawyer can show that there is reasonable doubt that you committed the crime, you could get an innocent verdict. They may be able to challenge evidence, leaving the prosecutor with very little to hold against you. Likewise, he may be able to challenge probable cause. If an arrest was made based on probable cause but there was none, your lawyer could get a judge to drop the case. This takes the skill of a lawyer who has experience fighting criminal charges.
4. Insanity
Another effective defense could be insanity. Like the other defenses, its effectiveness depends on your situation. If a lawyer can prove that you didn’t know right from wrong when you committed the crime, a court could declare you insane. As a result, you could get psychiatric care instead of prison time. This defense requires a psychiatric evaluation with proof that you are or were legally insane.
Fighting Your Charges
There’s no need to sit back and allow the court to punish you for a crime. Instead, you can hire the right attorney and fight the charges. With experienced legal representation, you may end up walking free.
