What Can You Do To Avoid Getting A Harsh Judgment When Facing Criminal Charges?
If law enforcement officers arrest you for engaging in criminal activity, your top priority is likely to be avoiding prosecution. Thus, you may contact a legal advisor to figure out what to do. They will evaluate the circumstances of your case to ascertain what defenses they can use to fight your charges. Your attorney will also advise you to take the following measures to avoid a severe judgment:
Contract the Services of an Attorney
The most important step in fighting your charges is enlisting an attorney's services. Doing so will enable you to get counsel throughout the process, e.g., what to say to investigators when they interrogate you. Accordingly, it will prevent you from sharing incriminating information the authorities might use against you. Engaging an attorney immediately after your arrest will also enable them to build a strong defense before you appear in court. For instance, if you're facing drug possession charges, your attorney may get experts to testify for you. These specialists can demonstrate that the substance found in your possession during the arrest was not illegal. In any case, your attorney will determine the most effective defense for your specific charge.
Watch What You Say to Investigators
There is a common misconception that law enforcers are likely to be sympathetic to those they arrest if provided with all the information they ask for. However, imprudently providing information can give the prosecuting attorney an upper hand in your case. This can result in the judge handing down a harsh judgment. For this reason, you should refrain from discussing your case with the officers by requesting the police to wait until your attorney is present before they question or speak with you.
Be Honest With Your Legal Advisor
Your lawyer will require you to tell them everything that's even remotely related to the case so that they may know how to defend you. Some details may seem embarrassing to disclose, and you might be tempted to omit them in order to protect your image. However, this can prove to be a costly mistake that compromises your efforts to beat the charges. Therefore, it is critical that you are honest with your lawyer whenever you discuss your case with them. This way, they have all the information needed to determine the most effective way to dispute the charges brought against you.
If you have been uncertain about what you can do to fight your criminal charges, the above three strategies should shed some light on the matter. Still, the most significant is hiring a criminal defense attorney to represent and defend you.
For more info, contact a local criminal defense attorney.
