If you’ve been accused of a crime, you’ll want to consider hiring a criminal defence lawyer. When you appear in court, you’ll want the best possible preparation in order to improve your chances of winning your case. Whether the accusation relates to a major crime or a minor violation, you still want to avoid a guilty verdict at all costs.
When hiring a criminal lawyer, you’ll want to make sure you choose the right lawyer for your case. Not all criminal lawyers are the same; each individual brings unique experience and skills to the table. So, be sure to choose one who suits your needs.
To learn more about choosing the right lawyer based on his or her skills and services, here are some common types of criminal defences that lawyers can provide.
Affirmative Criminal Defence
As a defence lawyer, a common strategy is to provide evidence that proves that his or her client is innocent. However, affirmative criminal defence doesn’t look to do things this way. Instead, some of the accusations are accepted. This then makes the defence better received by the jury.
Insanity Plea Defence
Pleading insanity is often seen as the easy way out when it comes to being accused with a crime. To be successful with an insanity plea, you’ll need to have a severe mental disorder or condition. Oftentimes, the plea of insanity is denied.
Coercion and Duress
This is a type of defence where you claim that you were forced to commit the crime by a third party. You’ll need a lot of supportive evidence in order to prove this claim and the accomplice will have to be located, tried, and convicted.
Abandonment and Withdrawal
This is another type of defence that defence lawyers can use to help you win your case. This is when you were part of the planning as an accomplice but you withdrew and abandoned all involvement. So, instead of proving no involvement, your defence attorney will prove only partial involvement. This kind of defence, when successful, can often result in lesser or no charges. This is the best route to take when it is available in any criminal case.
Other Types of Defence
Here are a few other types of defences. These types of defences are used less frequently than the methods mentioned above.
- Intoxication: While intoxication can’t often excuse you from a crime, it can disprove certain accusations of intent.
- Consent: Consent, also known as pleading guilty, can sometimes land you a gentler sentence. It means that you knowingly forfeit and admit to the crime you’re being accused of. This method often takes very little defence.
- Self-Defence: Self-defence is exactly what it sounds like. It means that you claim that you committed the action you did when you were provoked and needed to defend yourself or someone else.
- Statute of Limitations: If the defence states that the prosecutor is bringing charges against the defendant outside of the statute of limitations, the charges may have to be dropped.
