What Is the Best Defense in a Criminal Case?

Being involved in a criminal case can feel overwhelming, especially when you may not immediately know what your defense is. Hiring an experienced criminal defense lawyer can be the difference between success and failure for your case. More than experience, you want someone who knows how to build your case into the most effective version it can be, an attorney who knows what is the best defense in a criminal case.

Everybody’s legal situation is different. Depending on the charges you may be facing, your defense could be airtight or marginal. Just because someone else succeeded in winning their case while facing similar charges to you, it does not automatically mean that applying a similar strategy to your case will result in the same verdict. Hiring a Charlotte, NC, criminal defense law firm that knows your options is paramount to obtaining the verdict you want.

The Most Effective Defense for Your Case

No matter what criminal charges you may be facing, there are always possibilities. Building your defense is arguably the most important thing you and your lawyer can do. Here are some of the more common defenses in criminal cases that have proven to be effective and even successful in court:

• Mistaken Identity: You can declare that somebody else committed the crime you are being charged with. This can result in the jury taking a closer look at the police investigation and possibly finding holes in it. You would be the innocent victim who is being framed for someone else’s crime, but the police never bothered to investigate other leads. You wouldn’t need to testify, as you had nothing to do with the crime and wouldn’t know anything about it anyway.
• Good Faith Defense: If the charges against you involve fraudulent intent, your lawyer may present evidence that demonstrates how you acted in good faith, believing your actions to be the right thing to do. You acted sincerely and had no idea you were even committing a crime, let alone intended to do so. This defense is most effective if you can provide evidence of past efforts you have made for the well-being of your alleged victims.
• Lack of Intent: Some crimes require evidence of intent in order for an offender to be punished to the full extent of the law. If there is no evidence of an intent to commit a crime, your criminal defense lawyer can use that to argue that you never had any intention of committing a crime. For example, you did not flee from law enforcement because you had no reason to believe they wanted to arrest you for anything.
• Strong Alibi: A sympathetic jury may move to acquit if your alibi is strong enough and you have enough evidence to support it. It’s not a guarantee, but it can certainly help. An alibi is evidence that the defendant was elsewhere at the time of the crime and thus could not have been in two places at once to commit it.

An alibi is most effective when supported by witness testimony or physical evidence. Typically, your criminal defense lawyer will rely on a strong alibi if it can be backed up by a non-biased source, such as a surveillance camera or a time-clock punch-in.

FAQs

Q: What Is the Most Effective Defense in a Criminal Trial?

A: There is no surefire way to determine the most effective defense in a criminal trial, as every criminal trial is different and carries different circumstances with it. A defense that may be airtight and strong for one case may not necessarily work for another with similar details. It all comes down to the advice of your criminal defense lawyer, the details of your specific case, and any evidence that will support your version of events when it comes time for the trial.

Q: What Is the Strongest Type of Defense to a Criminal Charge?

A: Typically, the strongest type of defense you can have in a criminal charge is anything that summons the possibility of reasonable doubt. The prosecution’s goal in your case is to prove that you committed the crime in question beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s the most important part. The evidence must be unquestionable. If the evidence is not, you have reasonable doubt. Your criminal defense lawyer can do a lot with even the slightest hint of reasonable doubt, and the jury must acquit if any of it exists.

Q: What Is the Most Common Criminal Defense?

A: One of the most common defenses is to question the credibility and motive of the prosecution’s witnesses, which can create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. This can be done by:

• Showing any bias the witness may have against the defendant.
• Suggesting the prosecution may have bribed any witnesses with immunity from pending criminal charges.
• Use basic logic to poke holes in the witnesses’ testimony.
• Demonstrate errors in police procedure that may have occurred while gathering evidence.

Q: What Is the Hardest Crime to Defend?

A: Every crime can be difficult to defend, especially if there is a great deal of evidence against the defendant. A criminal defense lawyer’s primary job is to represent the client that has hired them and provide that client with an effective, well-researched defense, regardless of the crime they are being charged with. Your lawyer will reserve any judgments, handle your case with dignity, and do what they can to help you succeed.

Reach Out to an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

Being charged with a criminal offense can feel terrifying. You may feel like your world is spiraling out of control, and you are alone in this ordeal. You do not have to be alone. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you build your defense and show you your options. The team at The Law Office of Kevin L. Barnett can help you determine the most effective course of action for your case. Contact us to speak to a team member and see what we can do for you.