A criminal defense attorney is a professional who specializes in the defense of individuals and corporations charged with a criminal offense. In a legal setting, people or organizations to have done an unlawful activity and arrested are known as defendants.
The lawyer who defends such people in a court of law is known as a criminal lawyer or defense lawyer/ attorney. It is up to the judge or jury in court to decide whether the defendant is innocent or guilty.
When looking for a criminal defense attorney, choose one who has a good knowledge about the court system and the law. After leaving law school, attorneys will have many years of working experience.
Working as a criminal defense attorney, they can be appointed by a court if the defendant cannot afford an attorney or the defendant can hire them. Good lawyers can be very expensive as they can charge an hourly fee of $300 or more excluding other fees.
As the defendant, you will have to meet with the defense attorney to plan how to decrease the consequences of the unlawful activity you are accused to have done. If you are innocent, then it will be the work of the criminal defense attorney to prove to the judge and jury that you are innocent.
Criminal defense attorneys have the job of giving their clients a reality check. This is especially true if an attorney believes that there will be no consequence at all for the crime committed by a defendant.
A criminal defense attorney also negotiates deals with prosecutors to help decrease any jail time or fees faced by a defendant. This attorney can also help customize the sentence for their client to help them stay out of trouble in the future especially in family or juvenile cases.
A good criminal defense attorney knows the ins and outs of a local court circuit. He or she also knows the tactics that work for each judge. This is important as it helps them know what to do in order to have a judge throw out a certain case or give a reduced sentence for their client.
Such a lawyer also knows who has the power to settle cases out of the courtroom. In addition, they know how to find little-known laws that can help their client and can try as much as possible to use any legal means to prove to the jury and judge that their client is innocent.
Different criminal defense attorneys specialize in different criminal cases. There are those who deal with low profile cases only, cases that are heard in little county courtrooms while there are others who deal with big, high profile criminal cases only.