Criminal Law

About Criminal Law

If you are under criminal investigation, you should invoke your constitutional right to remain silent and not give a statement to the police until you have spoken with your attorney. If the police are questioning you as a suspect, they are looking for evidence to use against you. Law enforcement officers are allowed to lie to a suspect and may try to mislead you into giving an incriminating statement. The police are trained in overcoming a person's natural resistance to speaking with them. The police may have some element of the crime that they need to prove and often times the strongest evidence against a defendant is their own statement. This is especially true in proving knowledge or intent. Sometimes simply admitting you were present will allow the police to arrest you where they would not otherwise have been able to establish your identity. It is not uncommon for a defendant to think he is helping himself by talking to the police, but in truth, he is simply giving the police evidence that the police could not have obtained in any other way. It is also possible for law enforcement officers to misinterpret your statement or to only remember the incriminating portions of your statement. Often times the police will completely fail to mention in their reports anything you said that was mitigating or exculpatory. If you are being questioned by the police as a criminal suspect, do not give the police a statement until after you have consulted with our firm.

Sometimes a defendant is guilty of some minor misconduct and is grossly overcharged by the police. Once the police make an arrest, they turn their investigation over to the State Attorney's Office. The State Attorney's Office reviews the "filing package" and decides whether to file felony charges, misdemeanor charges or even drop the case altogether. This is your first opportunity to attack the criminal charges against you. This also may be the time when the State Attorney's Office is most reasonable. Once felony charges are filed against you, your only recourse may be to take the case to trial. Please contact our firm as soon as possible after your arrest. It is important that you hire an attorney "sooner" rather than "later" so that we can contact the State Attorney's Office and let the prosecutors know your side of the story. Do not miss this important opportunity to possibly have the charges against you dropped or reduced.

Plea negotiations are very important in a criminal case. This is especially true since probably 90% of all criminal cases are resolved through some sort of plea negotiation. Our firm has the knowledge and experience to help you obtain the best settlement possible. Because of our experience as prosecutors and our experience specializing in criminal defense for the past 12 years, we are very familiar with the judges and prosecutors. We know what can and can not be accomplished and how to obtain the best result possible.

It is also important to have an attorney who knows how to try a criminal case and is not "afraid" to go to trial. We have been told by clients who have switched attorneys and hired our firm that they felt that their prior attorney wanted to avoid going to trial at any cost and tried to persuade them to enter into a plea agreement that they really did not want to enter into. Some cases simply should be tried. Not all attorneys have the experience or ability needed in order to feel comfortable in front of a jury. We have tried hundreds of cases and are not "afraid" to go to trial. We have the experience and skill to successfully represent you at a trial.

Even if you do not want to go to trial, it is important that you have an attorney who the prosecutors know is skilled and willing to go to trial. Our reputation will assist us in obtaining the best settlement in your case. It is our job to give you the best options possible. Whether to go to trial or to enter into a plea agreement is always your choice.

Call us to set an appointment to discuss the details of your case and let us put our experience and skill to work for you.