A criminal defense lawyer is going to be the best resource at your disposal if you should ever be charged with a serious crime. A criminal defense lawyer can help you negotiate plea bargains and find assistance that may be able to strengthen your defense.
Plea Bargains
In many cases, the plea bargain is designed to wrap the case up quickly by having you plead guilty to the charges against you, or a lesser charge, in exchange for a lighter sentence. Your lawyer's job will be to make sure that the plea bargain benefits you as much as possible, usually by lowering the amount of time that you will have to spend in prison. For example, your lawyer may be able to negotiate a deal that splits a potential one year prison sentence for drug charges into a few months in prison and time in a substance abuse program.
Another way that a criminal defense attorney can help you with plea bargains is by making sure that you know about any potential pitfalls that you may face in the future if you accept the deal. Sure, a lesser sentence may sound ideal, but if you plead guilty to certain charges you may find it very difficult to find work in the future or be able to rent an apartment. In that situation, your attorney may also be able to negotiate a lesser charge for you to plead guilty to that will not affect your future opportunities.
Find Assistance
A criminal defense attorney will also be familiar with a wide range of individuals that will be able to help you strengthen your case. For example, your lawyer can hire investigators that can interview a witness to see if they can discover any discrepancies in his or her account that can cause his or her testimony to hold less weight or be thrown out entirely. This can include investigations into the background of the witnesses as well in order to see if they have falsely accused someone in the past or committed perjury, which can weaken a prosecutor's case substantially.
In addition, your attorney can hire expert witnesses that can help refute some of the evidence that may be presented to you in court. If the expert witness can provide reasons why the prosecutor's evidence or witness accounts could be false, then that will greatly strengthen your case and make it harder for the jury to convict you.
Speak to a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible if you are facing criminal charges of any kind. A lawyer can help you find expert assistance that will make your case harder to lose, while also helping you negotiate plea bargains if you feel like the case is going against you.
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