Attorney At Law

Selecting a Criminal Attorney is an important personal judgment you must make. You should feel comfortable with your choice of a criminal attorney. Ask questions and shop around. Get referrals from relatives, friends, real estate agents, and others who have had similar issues to deal with. In the end it is important to select someone you can trust to do the best job possible for you. Realize however, that there are no guarantees, be wary of a lawyer who assures you of a victory.

Besides recommendations from satisfied prior customers, there are practical factors must be considered. The location of the attorney’s office is an important factor. You may want Perry Mason, but if his office is in California and you live in Ohio, it may not be convenient to you or to where the problem is? How quickly can the defense attorney deal with your problem? And what is it going to cost? Your personal preferences regarding a lawyer’s personality, gender, age, etc., may be a factor.

There’s no denying it, legal help isn’t cheap. With the exception of free and reduced fee services (legal aid, military legal assistance, pro bono programs, public defenders), you can expect to pay for your legal help. The cost will vary depending upon the type and complexity of the problem, your geographic location, and the quality of the attorney.

Remember, attornies earn a living just as you do. They have office overhead, a staff to pay, and other fixed costs. When you hire a lawyer you are hiring the use of these resources. You are paying for the attorney’s experience, reputation and ability as well as that of his/her staff.

In most cases you will have to hire a defense attorney yourself. Most jurisdictions base the availability of free defense lawyers (public defenders) on your financial status with only those below set poverty levels eligible for court appointed counsel. Because of the complexity of the legal system a fair trial is almost impossible without proper legal representation. Your right to a fair trial, therefore, includes the right to be represented by an attorney whether or not you can pay.

In criminal cases where you face the possibility of imprisonment, and it’s determined that you qualify for a free attorney, the judge will assign a lawyer to represent you. In such cases the attorney is paid for by public funds. The attornies appointed by the court are licensed. They are as prepared to represent a private citizen accused of a crime as the District Attorney General is prepared to prosecute that crime.

In order to qualify for an attorney at no cost, you must be able to show that you are unable to pay for an attorney because of lack of finances. Some Courts may require that documents be filled out in order to prove your inability to pay. If you are unable to afford an attorney, the court must supply you with a free attorney. This is your right under the law.

If the court appoints a criminal attorney to represent you, and you are able to pay a part of the cost, the court may require you to make payments to the court, depending upon your ability to pay.

In the United States, a crime is considered to have been committed against the state – against society as a whole – rather than just against a particular victim. Victims in the past have been treated as evidence against the accused, usually included only as a witness to the crime committed against them. Since the crime is committed against the state, it is the state’s responsibility to prosecute. Victims are not even recognized as a party to the case. Thus, they have had little or no involvement in the process of bringing offenders to justice.

Victims’ movements have begun to establish a greater presence for the victim in the criminal justice process, and to emphasize the rights of crime victims. The aim of the victims’ movement has been to enhance the rights of victims, not to eliminate or reduce the rights of criminal defendants.

A search warrant is an authorization by a court to the police to search a particular place, at a particular time for specific items. Police may obtain search warrants when there is probable cause to believe that evidence, contraband, etc., may be found in a particular place.

Not all searches require warrants. Police may ask your permission to search you, your belongings, your home, your car, etc. If you give consent, remember that you can be arrested and any evidence found may be seized and used against you.

You have the constitutional right to refuse a search. However, when you re-enter the United States after having been outside the country, Customs officials can completely search you and your belongings without any warrant or even any suspicion.

A criminal defense attorney’s best advice is, “Remain Silent”! A defense criminal attorney will tell you that it’s best never to answer questions for a law enforcement officer, whether your rights have been read to you or not, and whether or not you are under arrest. A defense attorney advises that it may be very unwise to say anything at all to a law enforcement officer.

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