If you’ve ever watched a police procedural, you might have a misguided impression of defense attorneys. You are probably familiar with the moment at which the bad guy ‘lawyers up.’ This is always seen not just as an attempt to subvert justice, but as a tacit admission of guilt.
In the real world, though, there’s no such connection between getting a lawyer and being guilty of a crime. In fact, working with an attorney is incredibly important, especially when you are innocent. Doing so might be the best way for you to avoid getting unavoidably harmed by the same processes that are supposed to protect the innocent. If you’re accused of a crime, you need to understand why hiring an attorney is a necessity.
Protect Your Rights
Do you know what rights you have as a defendant? For example, you might know that you can have an attorney, but did you know you have a right to have your attorney present when being questioned? Did you know that there are questions that you don’t have to answer, or information that you may not have to provide to the police? If you don’t know, your lawyer will – and then they can ensure that your rights are protected by letting you know any time they are in danger of being violated.
Defense Attorneys Provide Counterpoints
When you’re accused of a crime, you’ll be in a place where you only hear one side of the story. What you hear from the police or the prosecuting attorney will always be designed to place their opinions in the best light and make things look bad for you. It’s no wonder, then, that so many people who don’t hire attorneys take plea deals that obviously don’t work out in their favor. A good lawyer will give you a more frank assessment of what your situation looks like and what your real options will be moving forward.
Standing Up for the Truth
A trial is not just a procedure where both sides present the objective truth. Instead, it is a time when both the prosecution and defense present their evidence and create a narrative around what they believe happened. The prosecution will always have a lawyer and will have all of the tools of the state on its side; it make sense, then, that you’d need someone to help balance the scales. A good attorney will stand up for your rights by presenting evidence and making a compelling argument that your version of the events is actually true.
Hiring an attorney does not mean you are guilty. Hiring an attorney simply means you understand that the legal system is complicated and that you need help to ensure that you are not unfairly found guilty. Though you may feel like the truth will always win out in the end, the truth is that you need an attorney’s help to ensure that the truth is presented in a compelling way. If you’re ever accused of a crime, the first call you should make should always be to an attorney’s office.