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Overview of Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer

 

A criminal defense lawyer, also called a criminal lawyer, is a specialized lawyer who represents and defends an individual or an organization, facing criminal charges in any of these courts - state, federal, appellate. The range of criminal cases, which is handled by a criminal defense lawyer, goes from domestic violence, sex crimes, violent crimes, illegal drug cases, embezzlement and fraud, theft, to driving under the influence. Basically, the overall scope of a criminal defense lawyer's practice covers the following activities: bail bond hearings, plea bargains, trial, revocation hearings for parole or probation, appeals and post-conviction remedies.

 

When a specific criminal case is on hand, the criminal defense attorney Greenville normally follows these procedures: examine and investigate on the case and look for a way to get to interview witnesses; go over and research on case law, statutes, criminal codes, procedural law - any of which has had a similar case situation to the current case being investigated; work out a defense case strategy for his/her client; try to negotiate with the prosecution for a plea bargain status to get a lesser charge; work on a draft and argumentative motions for dismissal of the case and motion to suppress on the file charges; legally support the defendant at trial; make a draft and file for argue appeals.

 

Most criminal defense lawyers begin their career as public defenders or referred to as prosecutors, whose job is appointed by the court to represent defendants who cannot afford a lawyer. When they gain extensive experience defending a range of cases, they move later on into private practice, but some work for non-profit agencies and others continue their job as public defenders. Generally, the work of criminal defense lawyers from http://chaseharbin.com/criminal-defense-attorney-in-greenville-sc/ often requires long, irregular hours, meeting frequently with clients at the courthouse, prisons, and other venues, that's why there is much travel required in this kind of work.

 

To be a criminal defense lawyer, one must first graduate from a law degree and then pass the bar examination in the state where he/she intends to practice. Other lawyers would pursue a board certification from the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification (NBLSC) to add up to their qualification profile. But above all these academic qualifications, a criminal defense lawyer must develop these skills in the course of his/her practice: oral and written skills for defending and arguing a client's case before the judge and jury; investigative and research skills to build and establish a strong defense for his/her client's case; analytical thinking skills to analyse well and in-depth a case law, to go over a complex litigation, and to develop an intelligent strategy in all the cases; a skillful, in-depth understanding of state, federal and local laws, court procedures, evidentiary laws and approaches of local judges in order to plot a course of action following the criminal justice system competently; and good interpersonal and communication skills to establish a strong client-attorney relationship.

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