Unlike civil lawsuits, being arrested, accused and convicted of a criminal activity comes with a very heavy sentence. The most common criminal charges include drug possession and trafficking, homicide, rape, attempted murder, fraud, robbery, aggravated assault among others. These crimes are commonly known as felonies. In case you are facing any of these charges, you need to think about hiring an attorney as soon as you possibly can because getting a competent lawyer increases your chances of getting favorable judgment. Below are some reasons attorneys are a must in these cases.
Good evidence collection
A lawyer will always know where to start when they are presented with a criminal case. This means that if you are not guilty of the charges, they will look for all the exonerating evidence they can find. Criminal lawyers are also well connected with experts such as detectives. They can hire a private investigator to follow up on the circumstances surrounding your case and get some answers. The detective will look for all the exonerating evidence they can find in case you are entering an innocent plea.
The lawyer will also push to subpoena all the evidence that has been collected by the prosecution to see if they can find clues that may have been overlooked the first time that the case was examined. In case they find new evidence, they will push to get it included. This will increase your chances at a fair trial.
Negotiations
Most of the times, criminal charges aren’t dropped because the lawyer has proved beyond doubt that someone is innocent. A point is reached where you have to make the best deal and get the most favorable punishment. If the charges you are facing are of this nature, a competent lawyer will help you make the right deals. For instance, instead of doing time on drug possession charges, he could arrange a deal with where you will offer all the information you know about the traffickers and get no jail time.
