subject: 3 Rights Your Criminal Attorney Must Advise You About at Trial [print this page] If you are heading towards a trial day, and not resolving your ending criminal matter, then there are three rights that rotect you that your criminal attorney must advise you about. They are the right to trial by jury, right to have the state rove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and right to have a seedy trial.
Right To Trial By Jury
In every criminal case where you face the ossibility of incarceration, whether jail or rison, you are entitled to a Jury Trial. In Florida and a few other States, the Jury is made u of six members. In the rest of the States, a jury is comrised of 12 members.
The Right to a Jury Trial is in the 6th Amendment of the Constitution. If you waive your right to a jury trial, you will let the Judge decide not only your unishment, but also your guilt or innocence. A Criminal Attorney will rarely advise this, as studies suggest that twice as many eole are convicted at non-jury (Judge) trials than at jury trials.
Right to Have the State rove its Case Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
The Right to Have the State rove its case beyond a reasonable doubt has been the law of the land for over 200 years, and is the highest burden of roof in the criminal justice system. Your criminal attorney will advise you that the State must rove its case beyond and to the exlcusion of all reasonable doubt. Jury instructions read that if the jury has a reasonable doubt as to your guilt or innocence, then they must aquit.
Right to a Seedy Trial
Your criminal Attorney should advise you of a fundamental, constitutional right to a seedy trial. While there is no secific time eriod of what constitutes a "seedy trial" under Federal Law, many States have enumerated more bright line tests of the rule as an additional safeguard against unreasonable delay before trial. For examle, Florida requires that a erson be brought to trial within 90 days of his arrest for a misdemeanor, or 180 days for a felony. A erson can of course waive his right to a seedy trial when aroriate. For examle, a criminal attorney may be attemting to negotiate a deal with the State Attorney, or continuing on with the discovery rocess. In such a case it would be advisable to waive the right to a seedy trial.
3 Rights Your Criminal Attorney Must Advise You About at Trial
