Additionally, there are protocols and timelines that must be followed per court procedure. If you try to represent yourself and miss a deadline or fail to file a document such as a witness list, the prosecutor will use this against you in court and try to prevent key evidence from being submitted or a witness from being able to speak. Important tools such as a subpoena must be issued a certain number of days before trial begins, etc. These are the nuances that make it difficult to represent yourself in court and why working with a lawyer is so important.
What you should know about the process.
Your prosecution begins with the arrest itself. Police officers cannot arrest you without probable cause. This means that they need to have a reasonable amount of suspicion to believe that a crime was committed and you committed that crime prior to arresting you. If they did not have the requisite amount of suspicion, the officers did not act lawfully when making the arrest and the case may be eligible for dismissal. The same is true for search and seizure. If the arrest took place because of something they found in your possession, but the search was done illegally, the evidence may be inadmissible in court, making the prosecution’s case weaker. As a criminal attorney, Ms. Vigil can review your arrest report and identify any holes or weaknesses that exist.
After you are out on bail, a hearing will be held to determine whether or not the case should proceed to trial. Depending on the type of charges that were brought against you, this could be a probable cause hearing to determine if the case will move toward an indictment. Your lawyer will have the opportunity voice a defense and reasons why the charges should be dismissed while the prosecutor will have an opportunity to prove that there is probable cause to proceed with the prosecution. The judge will make the ultimate decision.
The discovery process begins once a court date is set. This is extremely important because you have the right to request copies of the police report, any and all evidence the prosecutor intends on using against you, and the prosecutor’s witness list. Review each item carefully with your criminal attorney to determine any possible defenses you may have and any weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case that may be beneficial for you. This is also the time where you need to provide your lawyer with anything that supports your innocence or provides that reasonable doubt. Witnesses should also be identified and interviewed.
At trial, a good criminal attorney will present your case in the best possible light and mount a strong defense that is supported by evidence and conduct cross examination that weakens the prosecution’s theory. The goal is to create enough reasonable doubt that the jury will avoid convicting you. Ms. Vigil is an excellent attorney and will do just that – build a strong defense and fight for your rights.
