If you have been charged with a crime and you hired a Chicago criminal defense attorney than you may be wondering what exactly that attorney will be doing for you. Every criminal defense attorney has their own specific practices and ways of handling a case, however there are 5 universal things that every criminal defense attorney should be doing for your criminal charge.
Investigating the Charges against you
If you have already hired a criminal defense attorney than you have likely already been charged with a crime as well. One of the most important thing that a criminal defense attorney can do is investigate all the charges against you. When a prosecutor charges you with a crime or a police officer arrests you for a crime, they usually charge you in multiple ways. The way in which a prosecutor will charge you is called a complaint. The best criminal defense attorneys will take a look at the charging documents and find any mistakes or flaws in the documents. They will also investigate and refresh their recollection of the laws that the prosecutor is charging you with. Every time a client retains me for a criminal matter, I re-read the statute and the relevant law that he or she is being charged with. Even if I have read a statute 1,000 times, I will still go over the statue while looking at the charges against my clients
Analyze the evidence against you
The Prosecutor is required by law to provide your criminal defense attorney with all the evidence against you. Even if the evidence is not good for the prosecutor, they must provide your attorney with a copy of the evidence. The best criminal defense attorneys will analyze all the evidence, including video, and determine what is the likelihood that the prosecutor can prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. An analysis of the evidence against you will often be done in conjunction with analyzing the laws that you are charged violating. For example, if you are facing a gun charge in Chicago, your criminal defense attorney will look at who was in the car with you, where the gun was located, whether anyone made any statements, whether there any fingerprints on the gun, or if the car was registered to you. To properly analyze the evidence against you, a criminal defense attorney must look at all the reports and videos and the relevant laws.
Defend your rights
Your criminal defense attorney should know exactly what your constitutional rights are and if they have been violated. Some of the rights we all have are; the right to remain silent, or the rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Your Illinois criminal defense attorney should be able to investigate the charges and analyze the evidence to determine if your rights have been violated. If your attorney believes that your rights have been violated, then he should file a motion to get the evidence and the case thrown out.
Negotiate a just resolution
After your attorney reviews all the evidence and the charging documents; the next thing that they should be doing is to negotiate a resolution. The most important thing an attorney can do for you is to give you as many options as possible. Sometimes the evidence may be stacked against you, but it is important to remember that prosecutors usually have a large case load. Most prosecutors prefer to settle cases because a trial can take up a large amount of their time and resources. Your criminal defense lawyer should be talking to the prosecutor to see if they will reduce the charges or amend the charges. Sometimes prosecutors will agree to give a second chance probation or deferred prosecution where the charges will get dismissed after a probationary period. No matter what, before you go to trial, you want to have as many options as possible.
Prepare for trial
The most important aspect in hiring a criminal defense attorney is feeling confident that they can adequately defend you at trial. A criminal defense lawyer should analyze your case and figure out if a bench or jury trial is better. Your attorney needs to prepare all witnesses and be very familiar with all the evidence. The most important part of most trials will usually be your criminal defense attorney’s ability to cross examine the prosecutor’s witnesses. A good cross examination requires both knowledge of the law and knowledge of the facts of your specific case. The best criminal defense attorneys will not back down from a trial and will fight to the end for you!
Make sure that your criminal defense attorney is willing to be prepared and fight for you!
