Criminal Defense Attorney

Criminal Defense Attorney


There are many branches of law in the United States. Forinstance, civil law is the law as it pertains to personalrelationships, unions such as marriage, and interpersonalsituations such as personal injury cases. Criminal Law is thebranch of law that seeks to define crimes - what a crime is, whothe victim is, and who the perpetrator is. Criminal law can bedivided into two sections, each section involving specializedlawyers, criminal defense lawyers. The first type of criminallaw is criminal procedure. This subsection of criminal lawdefines how trials are to be conducted. Criminal procedure lawdictates how claims are to be investigated and outlines howevidence must be collected.

Criminal procedure aims to maintain an orderly legal system thatis most effective in the pursuit of justice in light of thetruth. Criminal Defense attorneys who specialize in criminalprocedure are very careful to review how evidence is collected.They will be very specific in regards to their client's rightand privileges under the law. A criminal defense attorney willensure that the ideal of "innocent until proven guilty" ismaintained through the investigation and presentation process.

The second type of criminal law is substantive. Substantivecriminal law focuses on crime and punishment. Criminal DefenseAttorneys involved in the substantive area of criminal law willbe working with individuals accused of a crime. They will beginwork when sought out by a client accused of a crime or appointedby the court, as in cases of financial need. Criminal defenseattorneys will meet with clients and hear the details of eventsfrom their point of view. Everything shared between a client andhis or her criminal defense attorney is confidential. A criminaldefense attorney will not turn a client in if the client admitsguilt, but will continue to help the client achieve success inthe courtroom.

A good criminal defense attorney understands that everything isrelative. The law is not black and white, but leaves a lot ofgray room for interpretation. A criminal defense attorney willgather all of the facts of the case, both from the client andfrom the state or federal investigators. Armed with the facts, acriminal defense attorney will begin to build a case thatpresents the client in the best possible light. IF the client isguilty, the criminal defense attorney will try to present thefacts of the case in such a way as to maintain a doubt of guilt.The jury, as the criminal defense attorney knows, is instructedthat a person on trial must be proven guilty and does not needto be proven innocent. They will begin to comb through possiblewitnesses and will divide witnesses into character witnesses andwitnesses to the actual events in question. A criminal defenseattorney knows that character witnesses to present the personstanding in trial in a good light will go a long way in theminds of jury members.

When a criminal defense attorney is defending a client, theywill also seek to ensure the punishment fits the crime if theirclient is found guilty. A criminal defense attorney will utilizerelativity to demand proportionality of punishment to crime intheir client's best interest. A criminal defense attorney standsby their client until the trial's end, ensuring the outcome isas favorable as possible for their client