subject: Preparing Your Defense Strategy With A Virginia Criminal Lawyer [print this page] If you have been charged with a criminal act in Virginia then you will need to work with your Virginia criminal lawyer to build a defense strategy which they will present in court when your case comes to trial. It is vital therefore that you seek to hire a criminal lawyer as soon as possible so they can advise you and begin building your defense straight away.
A Virginia criminal lawyer will do more than simply put together a defense case for court. They will be able to advise you on your rights, outline their role in your case and advise you on the potential outcome of your case. Once you have furnished them with all the facts of your case they can begin to consider the best course of defense for you for the best possible outcome.
Planning your defense strategy is one of the most important aspects of their role as your criminal lawyer. An experienced lawyer will know when to raise certain points in court to the judge and jury and will know what aspects of your case will have significant impact. It the timing of these points within the defense argument that is crucial when it comes to putting your defense plan into action.
The most common defense strategy is to counter the accusations made by the prosecution. It is the role of the prosecution to prove beyond all doubt that you are guilty of the crimes for which you have been charged so your defense will look to provide evidence and to argue against the prosecutions case. Other defense strategies known as affirmative defense strategies will seek to confirm the facts in the case but then to have the conduct excused on specific grounds.
Examples of affirmative defense strategies which your Virginia criminal lawyer could use include:
Entrapment where the defendant has been deceived and instigated into committing a crime.
Alibis are proof that the defendant was not where the prosecution claim they were at the time of the offense and therefore could not have committed the crime in question.
Duress is the threat of harm if a particular task is not performed thus leading the defendant to commit the crime for fear of violence. Proving duress however requires significant evidence to be produced.
Insanity can be used as a defense plea but evidence and expert witnesses must be used to prove insanity existed at the time of the offense.
Self defense can be used as a defense if the defendant acted to avoid harm to themselves or others from another party who was making threats. However, for this to be successful the level of self defense must be commensurate with the level of the threat to harm them in the first place.
by: Joanna Mitchell
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