 |
|
|
|
| |
Being charged with a crime is like
having the proverbial albatross hung around your neck. The pressure
on judges and juries to convict a person accused of a crime is overwhelming.
People who know nothing about you, and some who do will assume "you
did it" and demand that you be severely punished. The men and
women who founded this republic were well acquainted with the willingness
of people to assume the worst about a person. That is why the presumption
of innocence and the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt
are enshrined in our constitution. These constitutional injunctions
serve as constant reminders that we should never assume a person is
guilty, and in all cases give the benefit of the doubt. But the people
you will encounter in "the system," the police, the prosecutors,
the probation officers, even the judges and juries, will know nothing
about you except that you are accused of a crime. They will not know
you to be a hard working employee, responsible businessperson, loving
parent and spouse or struggling young student. They may technically
"presume" you are innocent because they are required to,
but they will practically "assume" that you are guilty. |
| |
|
| |
In the National Association
of Criminal Defense Lawyers we have a saying: A Criminal Defense lawyer
is "Liberty's Last Champion." My goal is to be your Champion.
To fight to give real meaning to the presumption of innocence while
holding the government to its burden of proof and keeping you from
being overwhelmed by the system. Protect your rights during any pre-arrest
investigation. The best defense is usually a positive and aggressive
one. It takes time to build that kind of defense. That's why it's
important to retain counsel as soon as you are accused of a crime.
The sooner you hire a competent criminal defense lawyer, the better
your chances of successfully defending yourself. If you have not been
formally charged with a crime, I will contact the investigating agency
and try to learn the nature of the investigation. If we decide to
cooperate with the investigator and submit to an interrogation, I
will be with you. If you are called before a grand jury I will be
available to consult with you outside the grand jury room. At the
same time we will likely meet with my investigator and initiate our
own defense investigation. Early preservation of witness statements
and physical evidence can often be crucial. |
| |
|
| |
Clients who don't retain counsel when they are
being investigated often waive important rights or submit to interrogation
without a lawyer when it is not advisable to do so. As a result,
their honest attempt at cooperation rarely clears them and only
helps the investigator corroborate his suspicions. On more than
one occasion I have successfully prevented clients from being charged
where I was retained early in the course of the investigation. In
other cases I have been successful in limiting the scope of the
offense charged and the client's ultimate exposure to punishment.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
If you have already been
charged with some type of offense, I will enroll in the appropriate
court and begin fighting on your behalf. I will be with you at all
court appearances. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
I will fight to keep you from being
overwhelmed by the system so you can make intelligent and informed
decisions about your case. Criminal cases are resolved in one of three
ways: dismissal, guilty plea or trial. |
| |
|
| |
In all cases, I will file
appropriate pre-trial motions to discover as much as possible about
the prosecution's case & to sharpen legal and factual issues before
trial. In serious criminal cases, an aggressive defense investigation
is critical. Let's face it. The government's investigation is rarely
conducted in an attempt to get to the bottom of what actually happened.
It is designed to gather evidence to convict a person that someone
has accused of a crime or that the investigator thinks is guilty of
committing a crime. A defense investigation has to go farther than
simply discrediting the prosecution case. We try to get to the bottom
of things, preserve critical witness statements and physical evidence
that corroborates our client's defense. Fight for you in court I will
fight to keep you from being overwhelmed by the system so you can
make intelligent and informed decisions about your case. Criminal
cases are resolved in one of three ways: dismissal, guilty plea or
trial. In appropriate cases we press for outright dismissal of charges.
In cases where dismissal is not an attainable goal, we will go to
trial, or attempt to negotiate an acceptable plea. Fighting an aggressive
defense prepares both the case and the client for trial. It also provides
an ability to positively influence plea negotiations. |
| |
|
| |
The decision to go to
trial or accept a plea always remains with you. In cases that cannot
be resolved by dismissal or by an acceptable plea, we will go to trial.
I will fight for you as vigorously as possible within the bounds of
the law. If we are unsuccessful, I will work to mitigate any sentence
and appeal where appropriate. No lawyer can promise victory, nor should
he. And while I cannot promise victory, I will promise to work hard
and do all that can reasonably and ethically be done in your defense.
That is the only promise I have ever made to any client. But, it is
a promise I can keep, and it is my promise to you. |
| |
|
|
