When you are facing a criminal case there are many strategies that you and your criminal defense lawyer can use to defend yourself. Some of these strategies include:
Get the criminal evidence against you thrown out of court
The court relies on the presented evidence to decide whether you are guilty or not. To increase your chances of winning the case that you are facing, you should argue in court so that the presented evidence is thrown out. One of the reasons why the court can dismiss the evidence is if your Fifth Amendment rights were violated. It’s also common for the evidence to be dismissed if the presented evidence was mishandled. If you have proof of any of these offenses, you should present it in court.
Defend yourself using the insanity defense
Made popular by the television shows and movies, the insanity defense strategy is difficult but it can work in some cases. Using the defense strategy you confirm that you committed the alleged crime but you didn’t know what you were doing. For you to win your case using this strategy you should have a severe mental disease or defect at the time that the crime was committed. You and your criminal lawyer should present clear and convincing evidence that you have a psychological condition that resulted to you not understanding that your actions were wrong.
Point out the unreliability of the eyewitness testimony in your criminal case
The judge highly considers the testimony made by an eye-witness; therefore, if you are able to poke holes in the testimony you have high chances of winning your case. You should do your research and find out if the eye witness has a history of bending the truth. You should carefully go through what the eyewitness claims to have seen in relation to the truth. Some witnesses are looking to gain something from their testimony. For example, if you had wronged someone, he/she might try to get revenge by making a false testimony. For example, someone might say that he/she saw you battering your wife. You should work a domestic violence lawyer to prove to the court that the witness is trying to gain revenge from the testimony.
With the right defense technique, it’s possible to win a criminal case. The defense lawyer that you use has a great impact on your case. For ideal results ensure that you work with a specialist. For example, if facing assault charges, work with an expert assault charges attorney.
What you need to know about criminal cases
If this is the first time that you are facing criminal charges there are many things that you should know about. These things include:
You aren’t helpless even if you are guilty
Many people who have never faced criminal cases before think that they are helpless once they are arrested. This is far from the truth. There are plenty of things that you can do. You should start by hiring a criminal defense lawyer. The state will provide you with a public defender but he/she won’t be great for you. Most of the public defenders are overworked; therefore, they won’t have time to pay a lot of attention in your case. To increase your chances of winning the case you should hire a private attorney. As rule of thumb ensure that the attorney has experience in other cases related to yours.
Avoid incriminating yourself in the criminal case
It’s common for people to serve a punishment that they shouldn’t have just because of incriminating themselves. Self-incrimination is common when you decide to speak to the law enforcement officers in the bid of trying to talk yourself out. Law enforcement officers are smart and highly trained thus will ask you questions meant to put you on the spot. If you answer the questions wrong or give information that worsens your case, you increase your chances of serving a jail time.
To avoid making your case worse you should always insist on only speaking to the law enforcement officers in the presence of your lawyer. In addition to this, you should never resist arrest. When you do it you give the court the impression that you were in the wrong and that is why you were trying to run.
You aren’t always charged with a felony once you are arrested
In united states, there are two charges that you can face: misdemeanor or felony charges. A misdemeanor is a simple crime and often carries a lighter punishment such as a $1,000 fine or a year or less in jail. Popular misdemeanors are first time DUI cases. A felony is a complex crime and attracts a heavy punishment such as decades in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. If you are charged with a DUI for the first time the case will be treated as a misdemeanor and you should work with your DUI lawyer and come up with an argument that will help you win the case.
