It is unfortunate that even the well-intentioned prosecutors, sometimes, bring criminal charges against the most innocent suspects. Irrespective of the reasons for charges, the defendants have right to know the options available to their lawyers to prevent a conviction. It is possible to avoid a guilty verdict or plea without going to trial.
Limited and Erroneous Details
A prosecutor usually makes the filing decision based on the police report about the crime. Police reports, on average, contain limited information, at least in preliminary stage. Moreover, police reports often fail to get all facts right, which might be due to misstatements, witnesses’ lies or simply bias or errors by the officers.
A police report might have misinterpretation or misrepresentation of a potentially minor fact or might be totally wrong. On top of that, the alleged victim might peddle lies about injuries or exaggerate the same.
In case of serious charges, the defendant can definitely go to trial with hope for an acquittal. Criminal trials are risky, stressful and expensive and so are the proceedings leading to courtroom. It might explain the reasons why not all cases are taken that far. In fact, good criminal defense lawyers, especially those in Western New York, often try to settle the issue in the seminal stage and reduce the charges.
Intervention before Criminal charges
Pretrial communication is very important and makes a solid ground for hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. But you should not rush through the decision or allow an attorney to coerce you into hiring his or her service. Hiring a lawyer never means you have to work with him throughout the case. If needed, you can part your way with the lawyer hired for your initial representation and then switch to a different option.
When it comes to suitable facts, some lawyers might intervene even before the charges are filed by the prosecution. It might mean contacting the investigating or arresting police officer before the prosecutor makes the filing decision.
If a case is less serious, the defense lawyer might be able to manage things in such a way that the case does not proceed to trial. But the criminal defendants should not rest their hope heavily on this particular option as it might not help.
Choosing a Dismissal
Innocent defendants often have to wait until the charges are filed before getting their lawyers involved in the case. But it never signals inevitably of trial. A client must not keep anything away from his or her lawyer if it comes to the facts of the case as well as anything having relevance to the case. At this point, the lawyer can weigh different options.
The lawyer might prefer to investigate immediately and gather evidence. With details in place, the lawyer might make his or her level best to persuade the prosecutor to drop charges. Many lawyers, with assessment of the situation in mind, might decide against going into the details, least they give away crucial information much before the trial starts.
Talk to a good lawyer whose knowledge, honesty and reliability are beyond question. A lawyer can carry out the afore-mentioned tasks with ease amdelan, which will definitely enhance your chance of acquittal or lesser punishment.
