A criminal attorney is an attorney practicing in the civil area of criminal law. Some criminal attorneys are employed by different jurisdictions with separate criminal courts for admission to defending indigent clients; these are generally known as public defenders. Private attorneys are hired only by the person charged with the crime; they are not allowed to defend them.
- A defense attorney will assist the accused with legal advice and conduct all of the legal proceedings during the case but will not decide as to how it will be tried. Criminal cases are complex and difficult. It is important that a competent attorney like at King Law is present for the entire process to make sure that the defendant’s rights are protected and their sentence, if possible, is reduced or dismissed!
- In a criminal case, a competent attorney must provide you with adequate legal representation. The criminal justice system is complicated, the laws are ambiguous and a criminal defense lawyer needs to be able to provide the best possible representation to their client.
- Many people have been convicted of crimes in criminal cases, but this does not necessarily mean that they were guilty. Sometimes people are put behind bars for crimes they did not commit, so the person has not been convicted of a crime. When you are in a criminal court, your trial is not yet over; all the time you are in jail awaiting a trial is called pretrial incarceration.
- Pretrial incarceration is a very important part of the criminal case; it is when the defendant is held in jail until a jury trial is finally scheduled. During pretrial incarceration, the suspect may not be able to talk to the public or even talk with their lawyer. If the defendant has any pending appeals, they must notify the court about those as well. The more time the suspect spends in pretrial incarceration, the more likely they are to lose some of their constitutional protections.
- Once the defendant is released from jail, they are then free to visit with their lawyer, go to court, and do all other things that might occur during the pretrial incarceration. While in pretrial incarceration, the accused cannot leave the jail but can have limited interaction with others, and can only contact their attorney to discuss the case. If they decide to attend the trial, they will be kept there with the rest of the other inmates until a jury is found to be ready to hear the case and a verdict.