Roles and Responsibilities of a Criminal Defense Attorney
Who is a criminal lawyer?
A criminal defense lawyer has fingers in every pie related to criminal case proceedings. The lawyer defends and represents a person charged with a criminal offense.
Criminal Case Assignment
A defendant is entitled to contact a criminal defense attorney. The court has absolute power to assign a criminal case to an attorney. Many criminal defense attorneys work as public defenders and receive payment from the public defender’s office. Other criminal attorneys are hired by private law firms. Some criminal defense attorneys work independently and they operate their own legal office. For highly sensitive cases, such as those involving accusations of crimes against minors, consulting a Los Angeles defense lawyer for crimes against minors is essential for ensuring the defendant receives a fair and competent representation
If it comes to fees, public defenders earn less than private attorneys. In addition, the former often have to deal with more caseloads owing to the referral process and payment is made by anyone but defendants.
Interrogating the Defendant
When a defendant meets a criminal defense lawyer, the professional should squeeze as much information about the case as possible on their first meeting. The lawyer usually asks some pertinent questions to assess the potential strengths and weaknesses of the criminal case. The process usually involves a comprehensive and careful questioning of the defendant.
Case Investigation
An Orlando criminal defense lawyer investigates the case to figure out the possible course of action for acquitting the defendant of the charge. It often involves questioning the investigating officers about the legal procedures that they applied in conjunction with the criminal case.
The defense lawyer may talk to witnesses to collect information about the case. The lawyer uses all these details to create a strong defense in favor of the defendant. An expert witness’ testimony along with the evidence supporting it plays a crucial role in establishing the defendant’s innocence or proving it beyond doubt that the person was not as much involved in the crime as alleged by the claimant.
A criminal defense lawyer is entitled to review the prosecution’s case before its submission in front of the jury. It allows the attorney to find any loopholes in the case against the defending party and collect evidence that may disprove the prosecutor’s case, which may involve hiring an expert or independent lawyer to test evidence related to the case.
Evidence Analysis
A criminal lawyer needs to study both the theories and facts of the case in order to analyze the evidence against the defendant. The lawyer may get the collected evidence tested independently. In addition, the professional may examine the evidence to figure out any legal theories that work against his/her client’s conviction.
Keeping in Touch with the Client
A good criminal defense attorney always stays in touch with his/her client in order to receive new inputs that may help to build up the case stronger, explain to the client any new development related to the case and keep the client informed about if any progress has been made.
The lawyer should make sure that whatever transpired by his or her client during the course of the conversation will be kept confidential. Moreover, the lawyer should also make sure to communicate with the client about the information of the case so that the client never fails to get a clear picture of the possible consequences or progress made so far.