Though you may not be a lawyer, educating yourself about the legal process creates opportunities for you to experience more favorable legal outcomes. Criminal defense law is no exception. When defending clients, an Orlando Criminal Defense Lawyer will be armed with strategies to protect their clients.
It’s always a great idea to confer with a qualified legal professional because they can help you to gain a more comprehensive understanding of legal matters. Here are four core areas defense arguments tend to use.
Innocence
All defenses start with the presumption of innocence. The presumption is that any defendant on trial in the USA is innocent until proven guilty. Since innocence is presumed, a criminal defense attorney’s job is to ensure that innocence is proven. Criminal defense lawyers do this by employing strategies that cannot be breached by the arguments of the prosecution.
Maintaining innocence is also about keeping reasonable doubt intact because guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. So in an ideal scenario where reasonable doubt exists, innocence is assumed. While reasonable doubt isn’t protected in the Constitution, it encourages that the burden of proof is on the prosecution rather than the defendant.
Some of the methods of proving innocence include the following:
- Alibis
- DNA testing
- Testimony from experts
- Testimony from eye-witnesses
- Surveillance footage
- Technology
In today’s world of CCTV, traceable devices, and retinal scans, many elements can go into mounting a successful defense to prove clients innocent.
Self Defense
A person’s right to protect themselves is held in the highest regard within the framework of the law in the USA. Thus, self-defense is one of the more popular defenses. It’s a high-stakes defense strategy that considers life-or-death circumstances to protect the client from conviction.
Self-defense strategies are about demonstrating an unshakable justification on account of the defendant. This strategy is employed by presenting valid reasons for the defendant’s actions. The defense attorney’s strategy is that, “My client did it, but they were left with no other choice.”
This defense strategy is often employed in cases of murder or manslaughter. Defendants must be shown to have acted to protect themselves or others to prevent imminent physical harm. Different states take different stances on self-defense. For example, some states have “stand your ground” laws, and others have “duty to retreat” rules.
Insanity
Insanity is the least used defense strategy because it is difficult to prove. Lawyers will maintain that their clients committed the act, but aren’t guilty due to mental illness. They argue that the complications of their client’s condition led to whatever happened and that homicidal intentions were not a motivating factor.
Insanity carries humanitarian overtones because it involves a disabled persons’ rights.
Often seen as a legal Hail Mary, insanity pleas are usually entered by defendants with some of the more complex and dire accusations charged to them. There are many cases where crimes of a particularly heinous nature are defended this way. Additionally, insanity pleas are known to be used by defendants suspected of involvement in organized crime.
When this defense is successful, defendants get no prison time and are instead committed to state psychological facilities. There they’ll live and undergo treatment designed to help them manage their specific mental illness. After some time in mental facilities, these former defendants can be discharged and allowed to rejoin society.
Some notorious cases of insanity pleas in court include:
- “Crazy” Joe Gallo
- Lorena Bobbit
- Jefferey Dahmer
- John Wayne Gacy
- Charles Manson
- Vincent “Chin” Gigante
Constitutional
The Constitution protects people in specific ways. Innocent or guilty, if a client’s rights were violated to obtain charges, then the charges are inadmissible. Defense attorneys effectively protect clients using this defense by pointing out clear constitutional violations of their client’s rights.
When it comes to the legal process, everyone who’d be involved in bringing a person to justice (the investigating and arresting officers, the judges who oversee legal proceedings, and the lawyers prosecuting the defendant) has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution. When those oaths are broken, the system is broken.
Some examples of constitutional rights violations are:
- Not being read Miranda Rights upon arrest
- Illegal search and seizure
- Chain of custody on evidence
- Coerced confessions
- Denying the right to counsel
The logic implies that an attack on the Constitutional rights of a person is an attack on the Constitution itself.
Many people who successfully file for an appeal are found to have been wrongfully convicted, and people who have their convictions overturned by other circumstances owe their freedom to good lawyers who’ve fought hard to protect their client’s rights. Constitutional defense strategies are some of the strongest and most proven strategies available for defendants.
Honorable Mentions
Keep in mind that lawyers use many other defenses outside of trial that result in pleas and settlements. Pleas and settlements are how the majority of criminal charges are dropped or reduced to lesser offenses. Pleas and settlements are essentially agreements that defend clients against stiffer penalties for criminal convictions.
Educating yourself further on exactly which strategies work best to keep defendants from reaching the trial phase is a worthy undertaking. However, it is best to consult with a defense attorney when you are facing a criminal conviction.
If you have any questions regarding a criminal charge in Michigan, Contact Attorney Shawn Haff today at 616-438-6719.