Dealing with criminal cases can be an overwhelming experience for anyone. There are several legal consequences that you risk facing once you’re convicted of a crime. A competent criminal defense lawyer such as The Clark Law Office can come in handy for legal advice and representation. However, many people tend to be unaware of the right time to hire a criminal defense lawyer and end up doing so when more damage has been done. If you’re wondering about the best time to contact a criminal defense attorney that can defend your rights before a jury, keep reading ahead.
When You’ve Been Arrested & Under Investigation
An assault or fraud charge is an example of a criminal charge you may face. These are crimes that may carry serious penalties that can lead to hefty fines or jail time. Hiring a legal representative for such a charge can help protect your rights. A competent criminal defense lawyer can walk you through all the possible penalties you risk facing.
For example, you would require a criminal defense attorney’s assistance when you’re being arrested and investigated for a criminal case. It’s common for the police to tell you that you would not need legal counsel for the preliminary investigation process. However, you should never take their advice and have a legal representative by your side because, under investigations, the police will always be against you. They may even trick you into providing answers that might even be used as evidence against you in a court of law. A criminal defense attorney would ensure all your constitutional rights are well represented and that you aren’t exploited into giving out any information that can jeopardize your case. These lawyers are trained to understand how the legal system works, and their presence during your investigation can help reduce your charges or possibly eliminate them.
During the Criminal Trial Process
Most criminal case trials tend to have specific regulations that require the presence of a witness or person with expertise in a particular field relating to your case to prove the charges against you. Therefore, if you’d like to cast some doubt over what the witness has to say in court, an experienced criminal defense lawyer would not hesitate to do so by bringing in their expertise to help build your defense. This is a strong defense strategy your legal representative can make to protect your rights and aim to get the best outcome possible from the trial. Your defense attorney has the experience dealing with such trials and knows all the means that the prosecution would use to have you convicted. They, in turn, can come up with effective countermeasures to help suppress these strategies and lessen the weight of the charges against you.
Filing a Motions to Suppress Any Evidence
When you need to file a motion to suppress any evidence against you, a criminal defense lawyer can be helpful. There are times when you believe that the police had no probable cause to arrest you of the charge because the evidence was obtained through force or intimidation. Your legal counsel would help you suppress all legal evidence against you in such scenarios. However, you should note that these motions to suppress evidence collected in any criminal charges are very technical because they involve the arresting officer’s cross-examination. Such a case shouldn’t be handled without any legal counsel because they have the knowledge and experience to do it for you.
Filing a Motion to Strike an Initial Conviction
Whenever you’re convicted of a second or third criminal offense, the penalties tend to be severe compared to the first one. However, you can decide to admit to your second offense once charged. Doing so would not allow you to question their validity based on the existing technicalities. In such a scenario, you can file a motion to strike a prior conviction. Such a request aims to suppress any previous convictions made against you, allowing you to obtain a less severe penalty for the current offense. This procedure is also very technical and requires the expertise of a criminal defense lawyer.
Preparing Your Testimony
If you, as the accused, are the only witness that can contradict the authorities’ testimony of what happened, you would need to take the witness stand. Working with a criminal defense lawyer can help you convince the jury of your defense and ensure your testimony is considered viable enough.
Keep all information provided to know the right time to hire a criminal defense lawyer for any charges placed against you. Hiring such an attorney means getting someone reliable enough to legally fight for your right, and the earlier you find that someone, the less the risks of going through the entire legal process alone.