Dealing With Serious Criminal Charges: 6 Ways a Lawyer Can Help You
When faced with a criminal charge, there will inevitably be a vast range of emotions swirling around your head. These tend to result from the fear of the unknown, especially if this is the first criminal situation you have ever been involved in.
In most cases, your first step should be to find a criminal lawyer to represent you in court who can offer sound advice based on the facts presented before them. However, finding a skilled attorney is just the start of what can be a prolonged experience.
We are going to explore six ways in which trained lawyers can help you through this process and, if you’re not guilty, allow you to walk away sans any blemishes that might harm your good standing, or if you are guilty, help to reduce your sentence and ensure you come away rehabilitated after serving your sentence.
Understand Your Rights Throughout The Process
As already touched upon, it is often the fear of the unknown that can turn what is an already highly stressful situation into something utterly nerve-wracking.
According to the lawyers over at this Sydney Criminal Defence & Traffic Lawyers website, it’s normal to feel completely overwhelmed and unable to process what is going on. One of the ways in which a lawyer can assist you through this painful period of your life is to help you better understand your rights and what may happen as a result of your crime.
Receive Personalized Legal Advice And Guidance
Every case is different, and as such, you will require legal counsel who can help you based on your personal needs. Hiring a criminal lawyer who has a wealth of experience in your kind of case will go a long way in coming up with advice tailored to your unique circumstances. This might manifest as advice based on your history, mitigating circumstances, or your good character.
Analyze Evidence For Your Defense
There can be no charge without sound evidence to back up the case, and analyzing the facts as they stand is what attorneys do best.
Not only will they help to find your innocence based on the evidence, but they can craft an entire strategy based on what has been presented by the prosecution and themselves during their own research. In some cases, they can also go the extra mile and see if any evidence can be disregarded due to issues with how it was collected, etc.
Develop A Solid Defense Strategy
Unless your case is completely clear and cut, you will need a lawyer to develop a winning strategy on your behalf. If you are innocent, this will be designed to prove your innocence and ultimately set you free. Conversely, if you are guilty, it will be to try and reduce your sentence and convince the judge to be as lenient as is possible in the situation.
Negotiate Plea Deals For Reduced Charges (If Relevant)
If you’re guilty beyond any doubt and you and your lawyer are convinced the jury will pass a guilty verdict, your aim ought to be reducing the sentence as much as possible. This could involve a plea deal where you admit your guilt and as long as you have a fantastic lawyer by your side, should result in reduced charges and a less severe punishment (although this is not certain, but certainly a possibility)
Help You Understand Potential Consequences
If you have been charged and are unsure what your fate holds, a trained attorney is best positioned to deliver the facts of any potential outcome without bias and in a way that is clearly understandable to you. If you know you’re guilty and will possibly serve a custodial sentence, this information can go a long way in alleviating many of your concerns and help you come to terms with what is happening and about to happen.
When dealing with criminal charges of any nature, having a lawyer by your side can help enormously. They can help to reduce sentences, make clear what’s going on, and present the facts to you in a way that can reduce the stress of the situation, even if only slightly.
