subject: The Importance Of Finding A Good Criminal Defense Lawyer [print this page] When facing criminal charges, you must find the best criminal defense lawyer San Jose has to offer. This will ensure that you get off the charges easily, and with a reduced or suspended sentence. If the evidence against you is insufficient, you can even go home a free man or woman. This is the main reason why people often spend thousands of dollars on their attorneys.
The right attorney must have a good reputation with the public, judges, previous clients and his or her peers. This will make it easy for them to convince jurors that the case has no basis. Judges are normally assisted by juries to determine a case. Members of the jury are simply human beings with emotions and understanding. A reputable attorney can convince the jury that you should not be punished for what you did or did not do.
If the evidence against you is too strong to dispute, a good attorney can use a number of defenses. For instance, he or she can claim that you are legally insane, so you were not in your right mind when you committed the criminal act. The attorney can also claim that it was a crime of passion among other defenses. If the jury buys the story, you can be set free or charged with a lesser crime.
In some cases, an attorney may determine that the evidence against you cannot be challenged. In such cases, your legal representative may ask you to consider a plea deal. While you will most likely go to prison for some time, the term will be a reduced one. Providing the prosecution and law enforcement officers valuable information that may help them with their investigations can even get you better deal including witness protection in some cases.
That being said, it is important that you hire an experienced attorney. Lawyers who have successfully handled dozens of similar cases in the past are more likely to get you a better outcome in your case. The good news is that you can search the internet for the best attorneys.
Judgments and court rulings are a matter of public record. Therefore, you can find the best attorney by simply going through court records. You can ask someone close to you to do this for you if you are already in jail.
If you cannot afford to hire the best criminal defense lawyer San Jose has to offer, you can always choose to be represented by a public defender. However, your finances will first be vetted to ensure that you cannot afford to hire an attorney. All said and done, everyone is innocent until the prosecution proves otherwise, so you do not have to worry yourself sick if you have a good lawyer on your side.