A criminal advocate is what most people call a criminal defense attorney. They’re lawyers who handle criminal law cases. Your criminal defense attorney focuses on protecting your legal rights throughout your case and making sure that your rights laid out in the U.S. Constitution continue to be upheld just as they were meant to protect you.
You can hire a criminal defense attorney if you’re facing charges alone or as part of a group of defendants. These lawyers help guide you through every step of your criminal case and through the entire justice system. Criminal defense attorneys also work to get your sentence lowered and can request alternative sentencing options when those options are available to you.
You should take criminal charges very seriously. Most convictions can cause serious criminal fines and jail time. You need to be careful when handling criminal matters and follow every procedural requirement. A criminal defense lawyer helps you do just that by informing you about your rights under the law, researching defenses you can raise against your charges, and representing you in criminal court.
You can search for the right criminal defense attorney for your case by performing an online search for lawyers who practice criminal law in your area. Within your search results, you’ll most likely see ads for law firms, attorney referral service providers, state and local bar associations, and legal assistance and pro bono services. Click on the link for the results that work best for your situation.
If you need financial assistance to hire an attorney, try contacting one of the legal assistance or pro bono service providers in your search results. If you only need contact information for a criminal defense attorney who practices in your area, you might want to visit the website for your state or local bar association instead. At LegalMatch, we help you search for and hire a criminal defense attorney. Registration is free.
One last point to remember about legal representation is that defendants in a criminal case have a constitutional right to an attorney. If you can’t afford to pay for legal representation, the state will assign and pay for an attorney on your behalf. In most cases, an attorney from the local public defender’s office will be appointed to represent you.
Where Should I Look to Find a Criminal Defense Lawyer?
You have a few ways to find a criminal defense lawyer for your case. You can visit state and local bar association websites or look through search engine results. But you should also check with your personal network. Ask family members, friends, and colleagues if they know any criminal defense lawyers or have hired one before.
You can also reach out to any lawyer you’re currently working with or have worked with in the past to see if they have recommendations. Even if that attorney practices in a different area of law, they likely know criminal defense lawyers and can point you in the right direction.
When you start looking for a criminal defense lawyer, you’ll want to consider a few factors. First, consider how much money you can set aside to pay for legal representation. You’ll also need to see if you need financial assistance or if the state should pay for your lawyer.
Consider what type of criminal lawyer your case needs. Someone who works on white-collar crimes works differently than someone who focuses on drunk driving violations. You’ll want to find a lawyer who’s located conveniently in your jurisdiction and someone you’d feel comfortable working with throughout your case.
Experience matters. But the right amount comes down to your situation. An attorney with two years of criminal defense experience can help with someone accused of not paying a parking ticket just fine. Someone charged with first-degree murder likely needs a lawyer with much more experience.
Finally, consider if you have particular preferences about a lawyer’s background. You might care about where they went to law school, what firm they work for now, if they’ve won any awards, or if they’ve published any legal work since graduating.
What Should I Ask a Criminal Defense Attorney I’m Thinking of Hiring?
Most attorneys will schedule a consultation session before they agree to take on your case. This meeting can be very helpful for you as a prospective client, especially if you come well-prepared. It gives you a chance to personally check out the attorney before you officially hire them.
The best way to get ready for a consultation meeting with a criminal defense attorney is to draft a written list of any questions or worries you have about your case. You’ll also want to ask about the legal services that the attorney provides and learn about their background and experience.
Here are some key questions that you might want to ask a possible criminal defense attorney before you hire them.
Is the consultation session free and if not, what do they charge for it? How do they structure their fee arrangements? Do they bill by the hour or charge a flat fee? Have they ever handled similar cases? How long have they been practicing criminal defense law? How frequently does the attorney update their clients? Is there a particular way they like to communicate with clients? Can you reach them the same way when you need to? Will the attorney-client privilege cover details about the case that are disclosed in the meeting?
You should also remember that each case has its own particular circumstances. The list above shouldn’t be treated as a strict set of requirements. Think of it more as a flexible guideline to help you come up with questions that are right for your particular situation.
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What are the Benefits of Hiring a Criminal Defense Attorney?
You have a few compelling reasons to choose your own criminal defense attorney rather than being assigned one. When you get to choose your lawyer, you’ll find someone you actually feel comfortable working with and someone you can trust with your case.
When you can’t choose your own attorney and you get assigned one through a service or the public defender’s office, you might not feel as confident about working with them. Not feeling confident might hurt your case down the road.
Another reason to choose your own criminal defense attorney is that you can narrow down just what type of lawyer you want for your particular situation. You can look at their experience level, how much you’re willing to pay, their track record with similar cases, and other factors that matter to you. You can be extremely selective in your hiring process and take your time to find the right fit.
Say you might want to hire an attorney who works at a small law firm that specifically handles criminal defense cases instead of hiring one who works at a medium-sized firm that takes on different types of cases like family law, trust and estates, and other legal matters.
Lawyers at a smaller criminal defense firm probably will have time to work on just a handful of cases at a time. The lawyers at these firms practice criminal law all of the time, so you can expect more focused attention on your particular case throughout the process.
What Does a Defense Attorney Do in a Criminal Case?
Here’s how the criminal justice process usually unfolds when someone gets accused of a crime. A person or group commits a crime and law enforcement gets called in to investigate what happened. The police will gather evidence during their investigation and they might arrest someone if they have enough reason to believe that person committed the crime.
After the police finish their investigation, they submit all of the evidence and information about the suspect to your local district attorney or state prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor will then decide if there’s enough evidence to formally charge the suspect and, if so, they’ll file a case against them in criminal court.
The suspect will attend an arraignment hearing where they’ll enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty to the charges. Their plea kicks off the pretrial process, which is when the prosecutor and criminal defense attorney each build their cases. If the defendant doesn’t enter into a plea deal agreement, they’ll head to trial. You can have a trial with a judge and jury or just with a judge in what’s called a bench trial.
When the trial ends, the judge or jury will decide the outcome of the case. If they find the defendant guilty, then that person will need to attend a sentencing hearing where the court will hand down a punishment. Finally, the defendant can appeal and try to reverse the ruling from the trial court.
A criminal case gets initiated by a government representative. In most criminal cases, this representative is your district attorney or state prosecutor. Prosecutors have the authority to recommend specific criminal penalties to the court and they also have the power to drop charges or dismiss a case completely.
Prosecutors don’t give the same legal services as a criminal defense attorney. They represent the government and make sure that laws get enforced correctly. They also act as a voice for crime victims. But victims usually don’t receive monetary compensation in criminal court, except for restitution in some cases. If a victim wants to go after financial damages against a defendant, they’ll need to file a separate claim in civil court.
Criminal defense attorneys represent defendants. Defendants are people or groups who have been accused of committing a crime. Along with many other responsibilities, a skilled criminal lawyer will review the facts of a defendant’s case and make sure that the police followed correct procedures to gather evidence. They’ll hire expert witnesses to testify on behalf of the defendant and offer strong representation in court.
When Should I Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney?
If you’re currently dealing with criminal charges, you need to contact a local criminal lawyer right away. An experienced criminal lawyer will see if there are any defenses you can use and will help you create a legal strategy that has a real chance to lower or drop the charges altogether. Your lawyer will also explain your legal rights as a criminal defendant and make sure those rights stay protected throughout the entire process. LegalMatch can help you get connected with the right attorney for your case.
Plus, your lawyer will give you representation either in court or while negotiating a plea deal with the prosecution. Your lawyer will also answer any questions you have as your case moves forward. They’ll give you legal advice on situations that might come up during your case and you might need to make big decisions that could affect your personal life down the road.
