The Benefits of Hiring an Attorney for Criminal Defense

If you’ve been accused of a crime and face some potential penalties such as jail time or significant fines, it is in your best interest to hire a qualified and experienced criminal attorney to represent you in your case.

Here are just a few examples of some of the primary benefits associated with hiring an attorney for your criminal defense:

• Knowledge and experience:
  Criminal attorneys have a significant amount of training and experience in the field of criminal law. They understand how to assess your case and thus determine the best defense method available to you, whether that means seeking to beat the accusation or minimize the penalties you face.
• Respect:
  Criminal attorneys will be generally respected by everyone they interact with in the court process, from judges and prosecutors to court staff and clerks. If you attempt to represent yourself in your own case, you cannot guarantee that you will be granted the same level of respect. This means that not only would you have to overcome the hurdle of a lack of experience in criminal law practice, but also the preconceptions people already have of you and your case.
• Reduce sentences:
  If there’s no chance you’ll be found innocent, an attorney can at least work to reduce your sentence through a plea deal, involving you pleading guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a reduction in some of the penalties you face. Most prosecutors aren’t willing to make plea deals with people who defend themselves in criminal matters, so if reducing a potential prison sentence is something you care about, it’s absolutely crucial that you work with an attorney to get it done.
• Handling the various processes:
  An attorney will also understand the various processes that must be completed for your arrest to have been legal in the first place. There are many examples of cases that have been completely thrown out because officers did not follow the proper legal procedures in making an arrest or detaining the defendant. An attorney can also analyze how the prosecution came by certain pieces of evidence. Depending on the processes used to obtain certain evidence, that evidence may or may not be admissible for use in court. Most people who attempt to represent themselves simply do not have the legal experience and knowledge necessary to find these procedural hiccups.
• Reference to past cases:
  Attorneys constantly stay up to date with the latest cases and decisions in their fields of practice. A good criminal attorney will be able to look to other recent cases that have happened in preparing their defense and also in convincing a judge that certain precedent must be considered in your case.

These are just a few examples of some of the biggest benefits of hiring an attorney with experience in criminal law. For more information about the various types of cases we take on, we encourage you to reach out to the experienced legal team at KJ Law P.A. today.

Categorised in: Criminal Defense