The first thing that a criminal defence lawyer will do after listening the story from the criminal defendant is to collaborate with then to work out a strategy to find the avenues that will help them to acquit their client. However, this is not an easy task. This is because the defence lawyer needs to tell the story in such a way that it indicates less legal culpability and may also prove the defendant innocent.
In order to create the best strategy, the defence lawyer needs to:
- Contact the witnesses.
- Weight their credibility.
- Figure out the reputation of the community and the police.
- Other provable facts.
This will help the criminal defence lawyer to design the theory of the case. They will also consider whether or not the police informed their client about his or her rights when they were arrested. These rights include:
- Right to remain silent.
- The right to have an attorney present when they are questioned.
Once the theory of the case is formulated, the criminal defence lawyer will conduct mock-interviews. This is done to coach the defendant about the legal process and also to make them commit the theory to their memory. They may also write down events, bring the defendant to the crime scenes and tell various pieces of information to make the defendant knowledgeable.
The steps followed:
In order to create the defence strategy, the criminal defence lawyer will follow specific steps. They will ensure that to access a fair trial is protected and ensured. They lawyer will examine:
- The circumstances
- The surrounding
- The strength of the evidence
- The current law
- Any previous legal precedent.
All these will ensure that the best possible case for an acquittal is built. Evidence collection and investigation is another important aspect that will leverage the case and put you in a favourable position. This also enables the lawyer to find out other hidden and mitigating factors.
Preparing for the trial work is an important step followed by the criminal defence lawyer in which there are two phases concerned.
- Discovery, expert investigative, and legal motion techniques are followed. This constitutes the pre-trial phase.
- As for the phase during the trial, the lawyer will question, cross-examine, legally challenge, and present all possible alternate theories of the crime.
All these preparations ensure fairness of the proceedings that will raise a reasonable doubt about your guilt. If that does not happen and the outcome is not favourable, the lawyer will appeal to fight more aggressively on your behalf.
The common strategies followed:
These are the few common strategies followed by a criminal defence lawyer to fight a case. All these strategies may not be followed for one specific case. It will depend on the type, strength and availability of evidence of the case.
- Wrong person: This is one of the most common defence strategies followed by a criminal lawyer. This is done only when the perpetrator is not known previously to the witness or the victim and there is no direct physical evidence that may link the person to the crime.
- Self-defence: This is based on the prosecutorial burden that is based on the founding principles justice system – innocent until proven guilty.
- Evidence: The criminal defence lawyer may also sometimes base their strategy on illegally obtained evidence, especially if the case involves search and seizure. Most of the times these are deemed to be unreasonable and not required.
- Witness: This is another promising defence strategy where the witness is made to appear inconsistent, caught lying and is not reliable.
Finally, the simplest of all defense strategies is when the case is weak and evidence is circumstantial .it is better to contact the best criminal defense lawyer.
