subject: The Role Of A Salt Lake City Criminal Lawyer Outside Of The Courtroom [print this page] Most everyone is aware of the role that a Salt Lake City criminal lawyer plays in the courtroom. After all, this is part of their position which is most often portrayed in the media and in case reviews. While the ability to effectively litigate in the courtroom is certainly an important part of a criminal lawyers job, the role they play outside of the courtroom is equally, if not more important. It is this role that a Salt Lake City criminal lawyer plays that I would like to talk to you about today.
In many cases, the role of a Salt Lake City criminal lawyer begins before their client is ever even charged with a criminal offense. This is because, every person who is questioned in connection with a crime is provided with the right to have counsel present during questioning. While this type of questioning does not take place before every arrest, it does take place in the majority of cases. The role of a criminal lawyer during this phase of the process is to prevent their client from divulging any incriminating information to the investigators. A Salt Lake City criminal lawyer will also use this opportunity to provide the police and district attorney with any information that they feel may prevent their client from being charged with a crime. This information may include things such as an alibi or an assertion of self defense.
If criminal charges are in fact filed against their client, the next step for a criminal lawyer is to try and get the charges dismissed by a judge. In most cases, this will only be possible if the lawyer is able to convince a judge that their is not enough evidence to charge their client with a crime. In order to meet this burden many criminal lawyers will attempt to have certain evidence excluding for the case by filing pretrial motions with the court. The basis for these pretrial motions is often to allege that the evidence which was collected against their client was done so in an inappropriate or illegal manner. While it is not likely that the charges will be dismissed during this phase of the process, nearly every experienced criminal lawyer will be inclined to at least try.
Assuming that the judge has declined a Salt Lake City criminal lawyer's request to dismiss the charges against their client, the next step will be to try and reach an agreement with the prosecutor. This type of agreement is typically referred to as a plea bargain or plea deal. The purpose of this agreement is to prevent a trial while still assigning consequences for the crime which the defendant committed. This is typically accomplished by offering the defendant the chance to plead guilty to a lesser crime, and in return to receive a lighter sentence for that crime. While a criminal defense lawyer will be responsible for making this arrangement with the prosecutor, it is important to remember that the defendant must agree to the plea deal in order for it to be legally binding.
It is only if all of the above steps fail to provide a resolution in the case that a criminal lawyer will need to proceed to a courtroom trial. Since criminal trials can be both lengthy and expensive, most criminal lawyers will do everything they can in order to prevent their cases from getting to this point. Additionally, since the uncertainty of a jury verdict can be quite unsettling for the defense, many criminal lawyers may still try to utilize the pretrial tactics we have already discussed during the commission of the trial as well.
