7 ways to avoid criminal charges and when to seek legal advice
One
of the most feared litigation processes is a
criminal prosecution.
Due to the nature of results that such a case is likely to attract, many people
dread being taken to court for criminal charges. If you are under criminal
investigation, it is a stressful process which deserves to be handled with care
to avoid such issues escalating to a trial. So, if you or someone close to you
is under criminal investigation, due diligence should be conducted to ensure
the case is handled in a manner that benefits the defendant.
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One
of the common believes by many people is that if they did nothing wrong, they
have nothing to worry about. However, this is a belief that should be
discouraged since it is common in legal processes for innocent people to go to
jail. Once you are under criminal investigation, it does not matter whether you
committed the crime or did not. The priority should be to absolve yourself from
such investigations by providing evidence to the contrary. The first step to
take when you realise that there is a criminal investigation against you is to
seek the services of a criminal defence attorney.
Once
you learn that you are under criminal investigation, you should desist from
making a statement with the investigators. Instead, you should hire a lawyer
who will present you before answering any question. A criminal defence lawyer
is familiar with the legal process and should guide you on what to say and what
not to. A lawyer will help you to deal with the police by telling the limits of
your engagement with the investigators. A good lawyer should be in a position to
tell whether there is a risk of being charged formally in court. When under
criminal investigation, your lawyer should fight hard to ensure that you are
not charged for a criminal offence in a court of law.
Having
a criminal record can create a long life impact on your reputation even after
you have probably served your sentence. If sentenced for a criminal offence,
you are most likely to spend many years behind bars and will definitely miss
time with your family and friends. You will also suffer other consequences such
as the inability to secure future employment. Under criminal investigations,
you should try your very best to ensure that those investigations do not lead
to criminal charges being pressed against you in court. Criminal charges have
the possibility of changing the course of your life completely.
It
is also important to know that the timing of seeking legal advice can bring a
major difference in determining the outcome of a criminal investigation. Legal
advice should be sought at the earliest possible moment. Immediately you learn
that you are under criminal investigation, you should move with speed to hire a
defence lawyer before saying anything to the investigators. With the assistance
of a criminal defence lawyer, there are seven ways to avoid criminal charges.
In
a criminal case, it is the role of the prosecution to prove that the defendant
committed a crime. The evidence produced by the prosecution must be beyond a
reasonable doubt for a defendant to be convicted. Therefore, these cases
require an extremely high standard of proof if the prosecution is to succeed.
Since it is not the role of the defendants to prove their innocence, but that
of the prosecution prove the liability, there are ways that a defendant can
avoid criminal charges. It is important to note that a defendant remains
innocent until the prosecution has proved that they are guilty. By avoiding
charges, you are preventing a situation where you will be arrested and taken to
court for trial.
Standard
of proof
Before
a suspect has been formally charged in a court of law with a criminal offence,
they are given the right by the United States Constitution to benefit from
being proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. A suspect can provide evidence to the
investigating team, evidence which will convince the investigators that it will
be impossible for them to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is
liable for the crime. This is a form of "a trial before a formal
trial" and can be utilised to prevent a case where you will go through the
expensive litigation process, or your reputation will be lost. For instance, a
suspect can provide alibi witnesses or evidence that will show the prosecution
that they will have difficulties dispensing the proof of burden.
Self-defence
In
case you are going through criminal investigation in a case where someone was
assaulted, you can avoid being charged in court by proving to the investigators
that you did so in self-defense — everyone his right to defend themselves as
long as unreasonable force is not applied.
Civil
compromise
It
is also possible for a suspect in a criminal offence, mostly a financial crime,
to provide evidence that shows that even though an offence was committed, the
defendant did not create any harm to the victim. This is a leeway that can
allow you to show the prosecution a litigation process is no longer necessary
since no one suffered damages.
Interest
of justice
A
suspect going through criminal investigation should through his or her attorney
convince the prosecution that although an offence occurred, it was justified
and action on you by the prosecution do not serve the interests of justice.
Insanity
defence
This
is a rarely successful technique, but sometimes defendants can prove to the
prosecution that they were not in a position to differentiate right from wrong.
In such a case mental illness and can be adduced as evidence for an insanity
defence. In some jurisdictions, one can benefit from the insanity defence by
showing that they were under the influence of substance abuse when the crime
occurred.
Legal
responsibility defence
By
applying legal responsibility defence mechanism, you are simply showing the
prosecution that you did not have the intention of committing a crime. Although
this mechanism has its limitations, there are cases where one can reasonably
convince the prosecution that although a crime happened, they should not be
held legally responsible.
Entrapment
defence
Although
it is illegal to commit a crime, defendants can prove to the prosecution that
they were predisposed to commit the crime. For instance, if someone was acting
on behalf of the government, the chances are that criminal investigation will
not escalate to a criminal trial.
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