#Legal

3 Criminal Defense Lawyer Myths You Should Be Wary Of

When you are charged with any criminal offense it’s recommended that you hire a criminal defense lawyer to represent you in court. While defense lawyers are popular, most people know little about them. Here are some of the common myths pedaled about them:

Criminal defense lawyers are as good as public defenders

If you are facing criminal charges and don’t have money to hire a lawyer the state gives you a public defender to represent you in court. Most people strapped of cash or don’t want to spend their money often go with the public defenders as they view them as effective as defense lawyers. While public defenders are licensed and went to the same schools as other lawyers, they aren’t right for you.

Most of them are overworked as most handle tens and sometimes thousands of cases at the same time. This means that they don’t care about your case. Your case is just like any other case that they handle. Due to the many cases that they handle, they have little time to dedicate to your case. The same case applies to their availability—they rarely have time for you. The little time that you spend with your lawyer increases your chances of losing your case.

To get personalized attention, hire a private defense lawyer. Although, you will spend your money, the expense you incur is worth it.

The most expensive lawyer is always the best

While high quality products come at an extra fee, the rule doesn’t apply to lawyers—the most expensive lawyer isn’t always the best. When looking for a professional to represent you in court, be cautious of some lawyers that might ask for too much money and offer you shoddy services. Before you make a decision, take your time to study the track record of the professional.

If the lawyer always loses cases, there is no point of hiring him/her. On the other case if the professional is always winning cases you have higher chances of winning your case. Due to the high chances of the professional keeping you out of prison, there is no reason why you shouldn’t pay him the amount that he is asking.

Any defense lawyer can represent you

While most defense lawyers are knowledgeable on criminal cases, not all of them can represent you. To increase the chances of winning the case, go for a professional that specializes in a given area. For example, if you are facing assault charges, hire an assault charges lawyer.

Criminal Defense Lawyer: How To Win A Criminal Case

When you are facing criminal charges it doesn’t mean that you have to serve a jail term. There are plenty of things that you can do to get off the case.

Get a defense lawyer

This is the first thing that you should do. In Maryland and other states, it’s your right to have an attorney to present you in court. If you don’t have money to hire a private criminal defense lawyer you should work with a public lawyer. While the public attorney will represent you, he/she won’t give you the service that you deserve as he/she will most likely be overworked. The best way of going about it is hiring a private lawyer. The professional will help you gather evidence that will help you win the case. Since private lawyers aren’t too busy, the professional will have plenty of time to dedicate to your case; therefore, he/she will have plenty of time to come up with arguments that will help you win the case.

Consider affirmative defenses

An affirmative defense is an argument that helps the court see that you were trying to protect yourself. If you are charged with assault charges, you should work with your assault charges attorney and come up with an argument such as that you were trying to defend yourself that’s why you assaulted the opponent. You should note that making the argument isn’t enough—you have to prove it. You can do this by presenting witnesses that will give the testimony that your opponent attacked you for no reason.

Work with your defense lawyer and find fault lines in the case

It’s rare that you will have a case that your defense lawyer can’t identify fault lines. One of the most fault lines is the actions of the law enforcement officers. For the law enforcement office to arrest you, he/she should have a probable cause. If you are being charged with theft, the police must have had a reason to search you. If you were searched for no reason, the defense lawyer should present the argument that you were being victimized and this can see you walking free.

These are tips on how to win a criminal case. As mentioned, you should arm yourself with an experienced professional for you to increase the chances of winning the case. For ideal results work with a professional that specializes in a given area of criminal law. For example, if charged with a DUI case, work with an experienced DUI lawyer.