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Criminal Defenses

by Richard J. Banta | Sep 19, 2019 | Uncategorized

 Criminal Defense Lawyer

Being accused of a criminal offense is a life altering thing, even if you have a criminal history. When you are accused of a criminal offense, guilty or innocent, naturally you would want or need to defend yourself. This is where a criminal defense attorney may come in. A criminal defense attorney assists in building a criminal defense for you in an attempt to avoid the worse case scenario. Criminal defense attorneys use the law and the facts of your specific case to strategically challenge prosecutors trying to charge and sentence you in a criminal case. The opposing counsel in these cases, is the prosecutor. They bring the case in front of a judge and/or jury and show them how you should be charged with a criminal offense they are accusing you of.

Criminal defenses may be scarce, depending on the charge and the evidence against you. However, it is still good to know what criminal defenses are usually used in criminal cases. Not all defenses prove the prosecution wrong, but all defenses, if used properly, can ultimately help the outcome of your case.

Some criminal defenses are:

Insanity defense. Contrary to popular belief, this defense is not used as often as it may be shown on television. To use the insanity defense  your criminal attorney must prove that due to some mental disorder, you were either unaware of your actions or unaware that they were wrong. Using the insanity defense is tricky because this is also admittance to the crime. You should not use this defense without your attorneys approval.

Coercion and Duress defense. This defense is also an admittance to the crime in that someone forced you to commit it byway of a threat of some sort. It is unlikely that this defense would work if you were in the commission of another crime while being coerced to commit the other.

Renunciation, or abandonment and withdrawal. This defense is used when you planned to commit a crime then changed your mind, it can only be successful if no crime was committed at all on your behalf.

There are several other defenses that may be available to you if you are accused of a criminal offense, such as: self defense, intoxication, statute of limitations, or consent. Not every defense can be used in your favor, it all depends on the crime in question. If you or someone you know has been accused of any criminal offense, speak with a Decatur criminal law lawyer as soon as possible to see what defense options may be available to you.

 

 

Thanks to Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into criminal defense and defense strategies.