Hiring A Criminal Defense Attorney Queens NY

When you are facing criminal charges, you cannot sit there waiting for the state or federal prosecutor to prosecute you. This is because the sentences meted out on persons convicted of a crime are quite severe. They range from huge fines and penalties to several years in jail. In fact, some crimes come with a life sentence or a death penalty. Whatever the case, you cannot allow a criminal offense to get into your record. That is why it is important for you to hire the best criminal defense attorney Queens NY has to offer. A competent attorney will do everything in their power to ensure you are set free.

Types of Criminal Charges

There are many types of criminal offenses. These include; assault, sexual offenses, fraud, kidnapping, drug trafficking and possession, murder and theft among others. All these crimes come with varying degrees of severity. For instance, you will hear terms like misdemeanor, felony, 1st degree and 2nd degree and so on. Since all these crimes come with a jail sentence, you should invest in a good defense lawyer.

Choosing a Defense Attorney in Queens

When the police or feds arrest you in suspicion of a crime, they must read you your rights. They will inform you about your right to remain silent as well as your right to an attorney. They will also inform you that you are entitled to a state-appointed attorney if you cannot afford one. Once you’re booked into the police station or federal detention facility, you should not say anything to the interrogators until your attorney arrives.

The following are key factors to consider when choosing an attorney:

i) Experience

The ideal attorney should have years of experience in the industry. They must have successfully handled dozens of criminal cases of a similar nature. The most experienced attorneys offer the best legal representation.

ii) Cost

The rates charged by a defense lawyer should be taken into consideration. You do not want to spend too much money on legal services. However, priority consideration should be given to competencies before legal fees can be considered. This is because you do not just want affordable services; you want quality legal representation.

iii) Availability

The ideal attorney should be available to represent you as required. For this reason, you may want to check the caseload of an attorney before hiring them. This will help to prevent any inconveniences in the future.

Court appearances before a trial

There are a number of situations in which several court appearances are expected before the real trial commences. Such appearances are referred to as interim or pre-trial hearings. Interim hearings serve a number of purposes depending on the case, and are usually held after you visit a Tampa personal injury law firm. Some important purposes of the interim hearings are:

• An interim hearing may be requested by the prosecutor to let the court know that they are adequately prepared to take the case to trial.
• Requesting the court for an adjournment. The main reason for this is to give the accused party enough time to get a suitable lawyer or to get enough time to gather and analyze all information presented by the crown counsel.
• The court usually calls for an interim hearing to allow the accused to enter a guilty or not guilty plea
• An interim hearing can be used as a means of asking the court to compel the crown counsel to make all evidence available to the accused.

Arraignment
arraignmentAn arraignment is a special scheduled court appearance in which the accused either pleads guilty or not guilty to the charges. In some cases, as long as the important documentation has been provided, the accused does not need to be present during and arraignment hearing. If an accused person wants to be absent during the arraignment, the following conditions must be met:

• Complete a duly signed consent arraignment form
• File the duly signed consent arraignment form with the judicial case manager
• Agree that the case is ready to go to trial or any other type of hearing

However, the consent arraignment form cannot be used for youth matters.

If an accused person pleads guilty, a trial will not be required because they have in essence agreed that they indeed committed the crime. After entering a guilty plea, what is left is for the judge to sentence the accused. The judge might give the sentence immediately or postpone it to a later date. If the judge opts to postpone the sentencing, the crown and defense counsels get a window in which they can negotiate and try to agree on a fair sentencing. Sometimes, a pre-sentencing report is prepared to help the judge establish what sentence is fair for the accused. However, the judge at this point is not obligated to follow any recommendations and the final sentence solely depends on him/her. A not guilty plea usually leads to a trial.

Preliminary hearing
A not guilty plea sets the trial wheels in motion and the first hearing that happens is a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing is usually for one main purpose – to establish if the prosecution has adequate evidence to warrant a trial. The prosecution will table the evidence and the defense will have a chance to cross examine the witnesses. Should the court be convinced that there is enough evidence; a trial will be given a green light. However, if the court realizes that the evidence leveled against the accused is not sufficient, the charges will be dropped and the accused will be free.

Criminal trial – how it works

If you ever get arrested and / or charged with a crime, you will be served with a document from the courts. Examples of such documents include an appearance notice, summons, promise to appear, and recognizance. Whichever document you get, it will spell out important court specifics including:

• The charge against you
• What kind of offense it is
• The date and time for your first appearance
• Where to make the first appearance

Disclosure
The crown counsels, otherwise called the prosecutors, are required to make all evidence against you available for your interrogation before the trial commences. The legal term used for this process is “disclosure.” Police reports, your criminal record, witness statements and your statements are examples of evidence that the prosecutors might want to use against you but the evidence varies from case to case. On receiving the evidence that is being used against you, go through them carefully and make a decision on whether or not the case is an accurate representation. It is also within your legal right to ask the crown counsel for their stand on the sentencing. If the prosecutor does not oblige, bring it up during your arraignment and the judge should compel the prosecutor to make all these documents available to you. You may want to make a summary of your case including witness statements and any other important pieces of evidence that supports your case.

Innocent until proven guilty
Irrespective of the amount of evidence, always remember that you are innocent until proven guilty so the burden of proof is on the prosecutor. If you are pleading not guilty to the charges against you, make sure you have enough evidence to support your stand. You should always remember that you are not supposed to prove that you are innocent; rather you are supposed to prove that you are not guilty. The best way of achieving this is showing the court that the evidence brought against you cannot be trusted. For instance, if you have an alibi that proves you were somewhere else when the crime was committed, use it to disapprove the evidence.

Why you need a lawyer
It is a good idea to contact a lawyer as soon as you are charged. A criminal defense lawyer can help you assess the evidence presented and help you to come up with the best defense strategy. The lawyer will help you understand the evidence the prosecution has against you and use it to judge how strong a case they have against you. This analysis, coupled with the sentence the prosecution is pushing for will inform the advice the lawyer gives you on how to handle the case. In some cases, negotiation might result in an early out of court settlement but if the case goes into court, your lawyer will forge a defense strategy aimed at acquitting you. However incriminating the evidence brought against you is, do not plead guilty before consulting with a lawyer. Criminal defense lawyers know how to look at evidence and figure out if or not the case is water tight.

What you need to know before hiring a divorce lawyer

No one looks forward to divorce – but unfortunately, it is an eventuality that most people have to face at some point. From the time you start having serious trust issues with your spouse to the time you decide to call it quits, the whole process can take a toll on you. The feelings of anger and betrayal towards one’s spouse are normal during this process and unfortunately, such feelings can easily interfere with rational thinking- and that is why you need to hire a divorce lawyer to help you with the process.

When to contact a divorce lawyer
The best time to contact a divorce lawyer is as soon as you separate with your spouse. Even if the separation will not culminate in a divorce, you still need the lawyer to help you assess the separation and give you some practical and legal advice that will make the process easier. If one or both of you had already decided on divorce, the lawyer can start preparing for the divorce process.

Most divorce lawyers charge their clients by the hour and rarely will you get a free consultation. Personal injury lawyers might offer free consultations because they recoup their expenses once the settlement is made but divorce lawyers typically rely on the hourly rate for their income. You should therefore ask the lawyer to be upfront about the rates and see if you can negotiate for a better rate before the process starts. It’s better to pay a good lawyer’s fees than losing too many assets in the process – after all, do you know how much is it to build a house in manitoba?

Legal advice from friends
advice from friendsMost people ask their friends for legal advice before consulting a lawyer without realizing how risky this really is. It is in fact illegal for non-qualified people to give legal counsel. Unlike non-lawyer professionals posing as divorce coaches, lawyers are usually governed by stringent laws and codes and they face serious ramifications if they violate the code of conduct. In addition to this, lawyers are required by law to insure against liability. This means that if there are any problems as a result of your engagement with the lawyer, you will be compensated by their insurer. You can therefore rest assured in the fact that the lawyer will handle your case professionally.

Mandatory requirements
Court appearance for divorce is not mandatory in order to get a divorce as long as the appropriate documents are signed. The parenting and financial issues can be solved through mediation and only when such avenues have failed will court appearance be needed. However, there are some cases where immediate protection is a priority and this is when court appearance becomes the best way out.

It is mandatory for both you and your spouse to disclose all financial information to the lawyers. This will help the lawyers to facilitate a negotiation that will lead in an amicable division of income, debts, and assets. You should never attempt to conceal any of your assets from the lawyers as that might be used by the other party against you. In fact, family law requires you to disclose all relevant financial information and you can be punished for withholding information.

Lastly, not every lawyer can handle a divorce. Only go for a lawyer that specializes in family law. This will ensure your case gets handled by professionals who really know what they are doing. If the divorce process has caused you serious psychological pressure, do not hesitate to talk to doctor for help.

Why you need a personal injury lawyer

There are multiple scenarios in which an accident and personal injury lawyer will come in handy. To begin with, there is legislative provision for compensation for your personal injuries. However, injury claims are anything but easy and if you do not do it correctly, you might not get the compensation you deserve. A lawyer will help assess your case based on how severe the injury is and then advice on the best way forward.

slippingInjuries have both short-term and long-term implications on your life. If an injury left you incapacitated in a way that it affects your work even after you recover, you may want to file for compensation that factors that as well. This underscores the need of an experienced lawyer. The following are some examples of claims that could necessitate contacting a personal injury lawyer:

Examples of personal injury claims
• Slip and fall claims
• Unknown driver claims
• Fatal claims
• Uninsured or underinsured claims
• ICBC Claims
• Automobile accidents
• Minor / infant claims
• General accidents
• Any other personal injury claims

Personal injury claims are usually time sensitive so it is a good idea to get in touch with your lawyer as soon as possible. The more the case gathers dust, the harder it gets to get the claim approved. If your claim is against a big corporation, chances are they will try to fight back. The only way to ensure a win is to develop a water tight case against them – a feat that can only be achieved by experienced personal injury claim lawyers. By and large, a long term injury is one that lasts for approximately one or more years.

Any injury that causes disability can be termed as a permanent or a lifetime injury. All other injuries from which one recovers in under a year are considered short term. However, even short term injuries can be very severe thereby warranting bigger compensation. There are three main factors that the lawyer will use to assess the severity of the injury. Firstly, they will seek to establish the kind of injury e.g. is it physical or mental? Was the cause of this injury from alcohol abuse or a cocaine addiction?  Secondly, the lawyer will want to establish how long it will take you to recover from the injury. This will also inform the lawyer if the injury has long term effects on your health and well being. Lastly, the attorney will establish the medical expenses to be incurred.

When hiring a lawyer to handle your claim, it is important to remember that not just any lawyer can handle your case. The same way different doctors have different specializations is exactly the same way lawyers have different specializations. Some lawyers specialize in divorce, others in corporate law, others in criminal law, and so on and so forth. Going for a lawyer that specializes in accidents and personal injury claims will help ensure a positive outcome. Money should not scare away from consulting with a lawyer about your injury because most lawyers dealing with personal injury will offer free consultation and only charge a commission once the case has been settled.

Why you should always hire a lawyer for any court appearance

Even though it is not a legal requirement to have a lawyer when making a court appearance, it is the smart thing to do. Let us look at some important reasons why you may want to hire a lawyer as opposed to self- representing.

1. Research
cross-examinationsBefore appearing in court, a lot of research is needed. For instance, you might need to refer to a number of similar cases in the past in which the court ruled in the favor of the accused. Apart from establishing precedence, you might also need to research widely in order to establish to the court that the evidence brought against you is not reliable. If an expert witness is at play, you need to know which questions to ask during the cross-examinations. It is highly unlikely that you can do such deep research on your own. Lawyers often have research teams behind them that help gather all useful information- information that will help build an impregnable defense.

2. Assessing the strength of the case
Lawyers are trained to look at the evidence provided and easily judge how strong a case the prosecution has. They can easily spot a loophole a mile away that any other layman would not even notice at close range. Most innocent people usually feel they have a strong case just because they know they did not do it. Unfortunately, personal conviction will never acquit you in a court of law. A lawyer will look at the evidence presented and give an unbiased opinion on how strong the case is – remember that polemic facial plastic surgery case? This is a very important step in determining the best defense.

3. Lawyers are not emotionally involved
Some accused people are usually so annoyed at the system, especially if they are innocent, that they want to use the court case to get back. While anger might be a good emotion in some areas, it is the worst driving force in court. It can make you say things that could damage your case or it could blind you from some obvious steps that you could easily make to make the case go away. In family lawsuits, one might easily be blinded by affection and empathy and that could also negatively affect the outcome of the case. It is therefore better to hire a good trial lawyer and leave the job to them.

4. Legal prowess
Lawyers have a full understanding of the law and know exactly what is expected of them in court. If you represent yourself, you risk missing some important procedures that the court expects you to adhere to. Full understanding of the law also gives lawyers a unique vantage point. They can look at your case through the lenses of the constitution and know exactly what they need to do to ensure a positive outcome of the case.

Even if you fill confident that you can do a good job representing yourself, you can still engage a lawyer to help you do some of the important legal stuff. Lawyers usually refer to this as “unbundling legal services.” They can help you examine the case and provide a great line of defense.