
To defend criminal charges, defendant usually does every possible thing to save himself from the impending judgement that can hold him guilty.
For convicting him, however, the prosecutor has to prove beyond any doubt that the defendant is guilty.
Common defenses to defend criminal charges
Defendants commonly used some defenses to claim that in no way they were responsible for the crime.
A defendant is assumed innocent till the time his guilt is proved.
Hence he can remain silent and not present any witness to later argue the prosecution for being failed to prove him guilty.
However, during practice, many defense attorneys use their own witnesses to counteract prosecutor’s evidences.
Doubt can’t make you guilty
Reasonable doubt is not a reason enough to convict someone.
The prosecutor has to prove to the judge or jury that the defendant’s crime was well beyond it.
Defense lawyers can contest that mere thinking of a crime cannot hold someone guilty. The defendant can use an alibi to prove his innocence.
There are different strategies to defend in a criminal charge. But a non-professional cannot defend a criminal charge by himself. An experienced criminal only can help you to get rid of the criminal charges. A criminal lawyer can follow different strategies and he will try to win the cases for his client.
The main job of a criminal attorney is to select the best strategy to defend criminal charges after having a deep review of case facts and circumstances.
There are some key factors which will help a lawyer to select the best strategies. From them I am giving below 9 key factors:
- Defendant’s explanation of what happened and why.
- Witness testimony.
- Witness and defendant credibility and reputation.
- Provable facts and physical evidence.
- Police investigation reports errors and credibility.
- Expert or third party reports and testimony.
- Penal code charge and the required crime elements to prove.
- Criminal prosecutor strategy and prior history.
- Judicial precedent and the judge’s case history.
It is very important to a criminal lawyer that each case is unique by nature and he has to make unique strategies and theory to get success.
Now let’s have a look at the best legal defenses for a criminal charge:
Most of the criminal defenses break down by these twos:
- I Did Not Do It:
The basic defense for a criminal charge is to prove that the defendant did not do it.
There are some important points according to the American Legal System. Those are giving below:
- The defendant will remain innocent until proven guilty.
- The prosecutor must prove that there is no reasonable doubt of your guilt. If the prosecutor failed to prove that, you should be found innocent. Most of the experienced criminal lawyer try to raise some reasonable doubt to the prosecutor’s allegation on behalf of his client (defendant).
- It is very important to prove that the defendant was not present in the time of the crime. It could be he is not in the crime scene or in that time he was with somebody else or he was somewhere else. It is called as Alibi. If a defendant has an Alibi, then it will be easy to disprove his guilt.
- I Did It, But Should Not Be Held Responsible:
The defendant may admit that he did the crime, but claim for one reason or another. For that reason, he should not be held responsible.
There are some examples of this types of defense. Those are giving below:
- Self-defense is a common defense when the defendant is charged with the form of physical violence like- assault, battery etc. The defendant has to prove that he was the victim and tried to protect himself from that and the incident happens to protect himself from harm. Self-defense is an ancient procedure which exists in the most country’s legal system or in their penal code or in criminal procedure code. Every person has his right to protect himself from any physical injury. This could be tricky if the defendant can prove that, the self-defense was necessary.
- If any defendant’s lawyer can prove that his client was mentally ill in the period of the crime, then it could be a strong defense. The court may ask a testimony from a psychiatrist to have the proof of the defendant mental illness.
- If the defendant can prove that he was under the influence of drugs and could not have the mental condition to commit the crime. In other words, he does not have the sense what he was doing. Only a few states of America accept that defense. It could lower your conviction only.
If you have any quarries regarding how to defend any criminal charges, then please do contact with our learned and experienced Criminal Lawyer.
Self-defense
Even if proven guilty, a defendant can be acquitted if he can show that the act was done in self-defense and the aggression was totally called for.
To save himself he can claim insanity which rendered him unable to understand his acts.
Certain states accept the claim that he was under influence of alcohol or drugs.
Ask for help
Certainly a veteran and skilled defense attorney can help to defend criminal charges with the related laws and legal procedures, making defendant job “to prove himself innocent” easy.