A Criminal Defense Attorneys Prospective on Counseling and Criminal Law
In criminal and domestic violence cases, most people look for a criminal defense lawyer | attorney with a bulldog nature because they want the best result possible and believe this must be fought for. Though this is true in some cases, our experience in criminal defense has taught us that unlike civil law, always starting out aggressively and bulldogging the prosecuting attorney does not always achieve the best results for our clients. In our experience, we have gotten better results by doing something counterintuitive to many lawyers: taking the time to proactively start clients on a path of dealing with the problem that led to the criminal charges to begin with and using this evidence to guide a prosecuting attorney in the right direction. This means investing the time upfront to speak, listen and ask questions with our clients is wise. Keep in mind this approach is not appropriate to every case, but we have been surprised at the number of cases where it is, at minimum, helpful.
Why does this work?
Prosecuting attorneys are a unique breed of lawyers whose decision to become prosecutors is often driven by the urge to uphold the law and seek justice and judgment by prosecuting crime. The Rules of Professional Responsibility that apply to every lawyer go so far as to make a special rule for prosecutors because a prosecutor’s responsibility is not to simply seek convictions, but to avoid convicting innocent people or withholding evidence that would help the other side. With a few bad apples aside, even the most jaded prosecutor fundamentally wants to believe and participate in a just, fair and responsible criminal system.
An old and wise criminal defense lawyer | attorney once said, “If you want your client to be treated differently, you need to give the prosecutor and judge a reason to do so.” When appropriate, helping clients proactively and immediately engage in the steps necessary to address the reasons for a criminal charge puts the client and their criminal defense lawyer in the best position possible with a prosecuting attorney or judge. We are not saying that our bulldog nature may not be necessary to push a prosecutor in the right direction, but getting the best result becomes a whole lot easier when we have a reason to treat our clients differently and clients are proactive in taking the steps necessary to change the behaviors that led to a charge to begin with. Rewarding those who take the steps to avoid repeating a mistake is sensible and fair: even the most jaded prosecutor knows this. Our lawyers also know that proactive behavior makes an enormous difference at sentencing hearings. Our guidance on this point has saved many clients’ jail time, money and probation time. Though this type of lawyering is not the easiest, and it requires clients to be interested in changing their present course of behavior, it does, in our experience, produce results.
Our office works has worked with a broad array of counseling professionals who are client friendly, experienced and respected and our criminal defense lawyers know that criminal cases are rarely as simple as the police reports claim. Our firm has an exceptional combination of courtroom experience, knowledge and temperament. Consultations are free but a poor choice in counsel is not. The first step is an appointment. Call us at 206-708-7852
