Is a DUI a Felony?

A Criminal Defense Attorney is a lawyer who, as the name suggest, specializes in defending those charged with one or more criminal offenses. Criminal Defense Lawyer is just another term for the same thing. In the United States criminal defense lawyers employed by governmental bodies like State governments, counties, and the Federal government are usually referred to as court-appointed attorneys or public defenders.

If you are looking for a good criminal defense lawyer, read on…

In the United States of America, criminal defense lawyers are involved from the earliest stages of a suspect’s contact with the police or other authority (such as FBI, DEA, etc). They will be involved with issues surrounding the arrest, any criminal investigation that may take places, and criminal charges of the past or present. It is important that anyone suspected of a crime or arrested has access to the best criminal defense attorney he or she can afford. There is a reason why some lawyers charge a lot of money and others do not: the best are usually the ones who charge the most.

Before engaging a lawyer it is important that you find out how successful they are in the field in which you are charged. The best criminal attorneys specialize in one crime or branch of the law (such as DUI, homicide, fraud, racketeering, etc) and know that one subject very well. Lawyers who are in general practice without any such specialization tend not to have as deep a knowledge of the statutes and case law as they should have and so are best avoided. Public defenders are poorly paid in comparison to what lawyers can earn in private practice and are usually newly qualified and straight out of legal college.

One way to find a good lawyer is online. The best criminal lawyers advertise and by clicking on their links you can see what their experience is and what their specializations are. The best advice I can give is this: get the best lawyer you can afford and check out as many as you can before you formally engage one.

NOTE: when someone is arrested, it simply means that there is reasonable suspicion that they committed a crime. An arrest does not signify that a criminal charge has been formally stated by the court. At this stage you need the advice of a competent criminal defense attorney.

Criminal defense lawyers will actively pursue their client’s interests through all stages of a criminal prosecution, from initial investigation through to conviction and appeal. Get a lawyer involved at the earliest opportunity – even before you are charged. In many cases, criminal defense lawyers are able to stop charges from being filed in the first place. This happens when someone knows they are being investigated or questioned. It is often desirable to engage a criminal defense lawyer to perform an independent investigation so that when evidence is presented to the court or should a prosecutor try to negate a charge or an investigation that is in the process of being filed, the charges are prevented from being filed by the prosecutor.

Throughout the USA, criminal defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence until the time comes that prosecutors can prove the essential elements of a crime beyond any reasonable doubt. Serious crimes such as felonies are tried to juries of twelve men and women and the jury must provide an unanimous verdict to either convict or acquit the defendant. When teh jury cannot agree, this is called a “hung jury” and may result in a retrial.

In most countries of the world, including the United States, guilt or innocence is decided through what is called the “adversarial system”. This simply means that two parties (prosecution and defense) will offer their version of events and argue their case before the court. This might be one or more judges or a judge and jury. The case will (in theory, at least) be decided in favor of the party who offers the most compelling argument based on the law as it is applied to the facts of the case.

It is worth noting that in the USA, a jury is unable to find a defendant “innocent”: instead the term used is “not guilty”, no matter how good their Criminal Defense Lawyer is!

The prosecutor (who in the USA will most often be the district attorney), is the lawyer who brings formal charges against a legal entity, be it a person or persons or a corporate body, such as a company. It is up to the prosecutor to explain to the court the nature of the crime they say was committed and to put forward in detail the evidence against the accused.

A defense attorney is there to counsel the accused on the legal process, tell him (or her) what the likely outcomes are and suggest strategies that can be followed. These strategies might include whetehr to demand a trial by jury, plea-bargaining, whether to testify and which witnesses to call. It is the accused and not their lawyer, who must make the final decisions. The defense attorney is there to represent the interests of the client and use their legal and oratory training and knowledge to raise issues of procedure and evidence, and to make the prosecution prove its case of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

In the United States it is an accused person’s right to have a government-paid defense attorney if he or she is in danger of losing his or her liberty and/ or life. Anyone who cannot afford a private attorney can have one provided one by the state. Due to the random nature of court-appointed attorneys, we caution you not to take this route unless you absolutely have to. On the other hand, many of our top criminal defense attorneys started out this way and it’s possible that you’ll get lucky.

Many cases are settled without having to go to trial. One way is for the accused to confess his or her guilt, which will result in a shorter process. In the USA plea bargaining allows the accused to plead guilty, nolo contendere or not guilty, and perhaps accept a non-custodial term or other reduced punishment, in exchange for the cooperation of the accused against other people or if the prosecution case is weak. This way a reduced sentence becomes a reward for sparing the state the expense of a formal trial, which is often criticized as an incentive for innocent people from oppressed minorities to plead guilty in order to avoid a long sentence if (inevitably in their eyes) they are found guilty.

The United States legal system holds that a “disinterested party” shall be responsible for finding for an accused guilt or otherwise. This can be a judge, a panel of judges, or a jury of unbiased citizens. This will vary according to the laws of each specific jurisdiction. Sometimes a unanimous decision is required, whilst in other jurisdictions it can be decided by a majority vote. This depends on the state, level of court, and even agreements between the prosecuting and defending parties.

Whatever fate befalls you, it is important that you engage the very best Criminal Defense Attorney you can find and afford. Although frugality may be wise when buying an automobile or when shopping at the market, it should not be considered an option when hiring a criminal defense lawyer.