Consider These Things before Hiring a Criminal Lawyer

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

When you’re facing criminal charges, it’s imperative that you consult the best criminal defense attorney immediately. If you have an aggressive and skilled lawyer on your side, it would spell the difference between a dismissed or reduced criminal charge and a prison sentence.

Before you hire a criminal lawyer, consider these things:

• *The sooner you hire an attorney, the better results you’ll get. The longer you wait; it’s possible that witnesses will forget exactly what happened and the more chances for the evidence to be contaminated.
• *It’s important to hire a lawyer that specializes in your specific crime.
• *Moreover, it’s critical that you get someone who’s familiar with local court procedures and customs where you were arrested. Local defense attorneys will have a better chance to lessen your sentence, reduce your charges, or negotiate a good deal.
• *Have an open communication with your lawyer starting from initial consultation so that you’ll have a realistic and clear understanding of your possible punishment. So make sure that you’re comfortable with your chosen lawyer before committing to move forward.
• *Don’t hesitate to discuss your case with a criminal defense lawyer even if you’re guilty. It’s highly likely that your lawyer can investigate your case details further and negotiate a favorable deal with the prosecutor.
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Tags: attorney, Criminal, criminal defense attorney, criminal lawyer, lawyer, prosecutor
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Defense for Drug Crime

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Federal drug crime defense is similar to a state drug crime defense. The only differences are in pre-trial motions and sentencing. One important factor to determine the seriousness of your drug case is through the quantity and type of the illegal drugs you possess. A few pounds is definitely more serious compared to a few ounces, a few ounces is graver than a few grams, etc.

Another factor to consider is whether you have prior criminal records. Accordingly, a felony probation record or prison sentence prior to the crime will potentially have greater punishment compared to a minor record of misdemeanors or a clean record.

Your criminal defense lawyer should understand the law of seizures and illegal searches. Because the first shot of defense in any drug case is the evaluation whether police have conducted an illegal search on yourself, your automobile, or your home.

Another line of defense is the accurate evaluation of the prosecution’s evidence. If it’s strong, then immediate steps must be done to build a stronger defense case. As such, your criminal lawyer must be skilled to work a plea bargain calling for dismissal of disqualifying charges or at least find an alternative that will qualify you for Proposition 36 or Diversion programs.

Tags: criminal defense lawyer, criminal lawyer, criminal records, drug crime defense, plea bargain
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Your Employee’s Identity can be stolen

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Identity theft is a white-collar crime, and the fastest one growing across America. It has been affecting people in many ways. In fact, in the past five years, there were 30 million cases already reported – 9.9 million were committed only a year ago.

Even if the statistics are staggering, there is still an attitude of indifference, as if it will only happen to others. So what if it did happen to another person, but that person is your employee? What would be the potential costs or damages to your business?

Maybe these will not be obvious at first. But there are hidden costs involved such as reduced productivity, lost time, deteriorating quality, and lower morale.

So what can you do to help your staff? You could offer a plan to provide:

• Access to credit reports (including the spouse, if any)
• A criminal lawyer or private investigator tasked to restore the true identity of the victim
• Continuous electronic monitoring and notification of another attempt to commit a crime

Stories of innocent people who became victims of identity theft are all around. These thieves can use another’s identity, credit card number, or social security number to commit a crime. As a result, victims can be issued a warrant, arrested, or even put in prison until the true identity of the criminal becomes clear.

Imagine if your valuable employee is the victim. At best, he could be distracted just for a while. At worst, he could be costing your business a lot of money because of lost time and deteriorating performance.

Tags: criminal lawyer, identity theft, private investigator, white-collar crime
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A Task Force on Wrongful Convictions

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Jonathan Lippman, New York’s top jurist, created a task force permanently to examine wrongful convictions, as well as recommend action steps on how to minimize them. As his first major initiative, the state’s Chief Judge has selected lawmakers, scientists, defense lawyers, and prosecutors to be members of the task force.

In his interview, Judge Lippman said “We will take the raw material from New York criminal cases and from around the country too, for that matter. Let’s see what we can do to change the justice system.”

Recent spate of overturned convictions includes high-profile cases of Martin Tankleff, who was convicted of bludgeoning his parents; and Jeffrey Deskovic, who was convicted of raping and murdering his high school classmate. In fact, according to a report of New York Bar Association, there were 53 people exonerated in the state since 1964, half of them were absolved through DNA testing.

The founder of Innocence Project and a criminal lawyer himself, Peter Neufeld, said “This move was unprecedented. Actually, one of the problems with wrongful convictions is that nobody ever collects data on it.”

While a handful of lawmakers and court officials in other states have already set up task forces or commissions with the same objective, some experts say that the version created by Judge Lippman promises to be quite robust compared to the rest.

Tags: criminal lawyer, defense lawyers, Jeffrey Deskovic, Jonathan Lippman, Martin Tankleff, New York, Peter Neufeld, task force, wrongful convictions
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Do you need to hire a Criminal Lawyer?

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

When you are facing a criminal charge, even if it’s just minor, you would surely benefit from a lawyer who has experience in criminal law. These types of lawyers do not provide representation in court. However, consulting them would make you understand the plea bargains that will likely be offered, available defenses, and the consequences of conviction – in other words, the entire nature of the charges filed against you.

If you have a serious charge, you should definitely hire a criminal lawyer to assist you with pre-trial issues. They can negotiate plea bargains that may improve your situation significantly, or even result in dismissal of charges.

Unfortunately, finding a lawyer truly skilled in criminal law is not always easy. Here are some suggestions:

Lawyer Listings – You can find listings or directories in the internet that includes criminal lawyers.

Courtroom Observation – You can sit through public court sessions and note the names of criminal lawyers in that court.

Referrals – You can contact your relatives and friends to recommend criminal lawyers you can hire.

Professional Organizations – Some states and major cities have organizations made up of criminal lawyers. An American directory search online will also be very helpful to find these organizations.

Tags: American directory search, criminal law, criminal lawyer, lawyer listings
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White Collar is a Corporate Business Crime

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Criminal offenses that occur in corporations or businesses include “white collar crimes.” These generally involve dishonesty or some form of fraud committed by an employee within the organization. Moreover, these are typically non-violent in nature such as money laundering, securities fraud, computer fraud, antitrust violations, or insider trading.

To prevent such crimes, businesses may impose safeguards or regularly audit their employees’ conduct. If you have a bank for example, banking transactions performed by the staff should be thoroughly checked to reveal unauthorized or questionable activities. Make sure that your records are preserved. In addition, frequently conduct an internal investigation to respond immediately to allegations or rumors.

So what can you do if your business is charged with this offense? The best way to diminish responsibility or avoid heavy penalty is to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Especially if your corporation is subject to federal or state regulation, you should have appropriate investigatory mechanisms, reporting, and compliance.

A business can be charged under civil or criminal laws. It can face a civil suit when it failed to keep significant records, engaged in fraud, failed to report to the government, or other range of illegal activities. On the other hand, a criminal charge can be filed when the directors or managers themselves were involved or indifferent when it appears that the entire business has committed the crime. We recommend that you search for a corporate business lawyer who can help you face this situation.

Tags: criminal law, criminal lawyer, white collar crimes
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