The easiest way of getting rid of criminal charges is coming up with effective defense strategies. The section below would educate you with some of the most common and useful criminal defense strategies. These are approaches that will be able to bail you out of most criminal charges. Read on to know more.
Wrong Person
Lawyers help people to get rid of criminal charges by claiming that the law enforcement officer has taken the wrong person into custody. However, this strategy will work only if the witnesses or the victim didn’t know the suspected perpetrator before the crime took place. Additionally, for this strategy to work there should also be no physical evidence that links the suspect and the crime.
Illegally Gathered Evidence: If it’s a case that involves search operations, the defense lawyer might use this strategy. For that, he will have to prove that the law enforcement department carried out the search operations illegally. The US Constitution protects every American against unreasonable seizures and searches. A police officer will first need to get a warrant from the court by presenting probable causes for searching legally.
Indeed, the last few years have seen the court act leniently when issuing warrants. However, still there are enough safeguards that keep citizens of the country protected against illegal searches and seizures.
Let us assume that a person is charged for illegally procuring and selling drugs. The police searched the suspect’s home and found bags filled with illegal drugs in his bedroom. If the defense lawyer can prove that the search was carried out illegally, the evidence seized during the search will become inadmissible.
Self-defense: The law requires the prosecutor to prove that the defendant is at the fault of committing the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. If he cannot do so, the court will consider the defendant to be innocent. This practically means that the defendant doesn’t need to come up with any defense after being charged with an offense. The prosecution will have to do all the hard work to prove the charges true.
However, there are certain defenses called “affirmative defenses” that the defendant needs to prove. One of the most common affirmative defenses is self-defense. If you make a self-defense claim, you will have to come up with enough evidence to prove your claims true. Meeting all requirements of self-defense claims might help you to prove yourself not guilty.
Unreliable Witness/Informant
The defense lawyer can prove the charges brought against the defendant wrong by showing evidence supporting the claim that an informant or witness is unreliable. For that, the attorney will have to make the informant/witness look inconsistent or catch the person telling a lie.
Final Words
All the defense strategies discussed above are extremely useful when executed correctly. However, it’s difficult for a layman to use these tricks fruitfully. Only a qualified Galveston criminal defense lawyer will be able to use these tactics to help his clients to get rid of criminal charges. So, whenever any criminal charges are brought against you, you should contact an experienced attorney.
