What is a criminal defense attorney
A criminal defense attorney deals with criminal cases. They are responsible for giving advice and even legally representing people that may be involved in or are accused of certain criminal acts. These acts can range from misdemeanors to major felonies.
Criminal lawyers deal with a variety of responsibilities that may include trying first-chair cases to drafting pleadings and dealing with trials and motion hearings.
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Duties and Responsibilities of Criminal Defense Attorney
Criminal Defense Attorneys are responsible for a number of heavy duties. However, their main objective is to ensure that their clients receive unbiased representation in the court of law. They are responsible for giving their client a fair chance in the court of law.
The major duties of a Criminal Defense Attorney include the following
- Criminal Defense Attorneys are responsible for building the cases for their clients who may be facing criminal charges.
- They are responsible for carrying out investigations and finding strong points or interviewing the witnesses in order to develop case strategies.
- They are responsible for researching the specific charges that their client might be facing along with the criminal codes and laws that are relevant to the case.
- They are responsible for carrying out the representation of their clients at the trails in the court of law.
- They are responsible for appeal documents.
- Negotiations with the prosecuting attorneys and getting the charges reduced by settlements is also a part of the responsibilities of a criminal defense attorney.
What do Criminal Defense Attorneys do?
Criminal Defense attorneys have the sole duty of upholding the law and legal practices. They may deal with a vast majority of cases that involve a lot of research and time. Their tasks can be quite hard especially since they have to deal with many aspects of law and uphold fair representation.
Some of the criminal cases that criminal defense attorneys deal with are misdemeanors like theft, drug possession, vandalism and so on. They may also deal with more severe felonies like fraud, homicide, kidnapping and manslaughter. The criminal defense attorneys may have different goals depending on each case. In some cases they might try to prove the innocence of their clients and in other cases where the charges are serious and can not be dismissed, they aim for fair sentencing.
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What to expect while working with a Criminal Lawyer?
A criminal lawyer does not guarantee that you are likely to get rid of all charges. What a criminal lawyer can do for you is to try and prove you’re innocent, in cases where you are falsely charged. However, in cases where you plead guilty, they cannot simply take away the charges for you. The most they can do is to try and get your sentence reduced.
Attorneys have a deep knowledge of law, so they can best advise you over how to settle things, if possible, out of court. They can try to get your punishments reduced to something like fines or community service rather than jail times.
Either way, having a lawyer by your side can prove to be more into your favor when it comes to criminal law. They can truly increase the chances of winning your case or atleast getting your sentence reduced.
