Although America is a free country, it has laws that all U.S. citizens and residents should obey. Lawbreaking has consequences, and those consequences are not clear to everyone. Fortunately, there are criminal defense attorneys, to whom the consequences of lawbreaking are clear, and who can help uphold your rights in court.

Criminal defense attorneys are licensed attorneys who assist individuals charged with and accused of committing a crime or crimes. They assist their clients throughout the criminal justice process, not just during trial. The role of the criminal defense lawyer is to ensure that his or her client’s rights are upheld under the law. It is important to remember that under the Constitution, all people have the right to a trial by the jury of their peers; whether the lawyer personally thinks his or her clients are guilty or innocent matters is irrelevant – another popular myth reinforced by TV and film.

When you have been accused of a crime, you have the right to a defense. A criminal defense attorney helps you uphold that right, and ensures that your voice is heard.

What do criminal defense attorneys do before trial?

During the pretrial part of the criminal justice process (or the period of time before a trial starts), criminal defense attorneys often advise their clients to prevent law enforcement agents from interrogating them and using those statements to the clients’ disadvantage. For instance, they advise their clients on how to not make any incriminating statements about themselves. They attempt to persuade the court or authorities to drop some or all of the charges against their clients due to a lack of evidence, incorrect procedure, or constitutional violations. For example, in some instances the law requires law enforcement agents to have warrants before searching and/or arresting individuals. However, if agents did not have a warrant in a particular instance that required a warrant or executed the warrant incorrectly, criminal defense attorneys could illustrate to the court that the search, seizure, and/or arrest were unlawful. As a result, some cases do not go to trial.

Criminal defendants often are kept in city or county jails during the pretrial period. However, they can be released on bail, or monetary assurance that they will appear in court at the right time on the right day, and criminal defense attorneys sometimes can get their clients’ bail amount lowered or obtain a recognizance bond which requires no monetary surety.

When a client admits to his or her lawyer that he or she did commit the crime, the attorney may advise the client to agree to a plea bargain, or an agreement among the criminal defense attorneys, their clients, and authorities that the criminal charges or penalties will be lowered or lessened if the criminal defendants agree to certain conditions such as probation.

What do criminal defense attorneys do during trial?

During trial, criminal defense attorneys thoroughly examine their clients’ cases and devise strategies to combat the prosecution in the courtroom. They may continue to talk to their clients about the advantages and disadvantages of entering a guilty plea, especially in instances involving plea bargains. In addition, criminal defense attorneys will:

• Help pick the jury members
• Submit evidence on behalf of the client
• Refute evidence submitted by the prosecutor
• Examine and cross-examine witnesses
• Continue to work with the prosecutor on a plea bargain, if that is in the client’s best interest

When the trial is over

Criminal defense attorneys do not cut ties with their clients when the trial is over. When the trial does not end satisfactorily for their clients, criminal defense attorneys often initiate the appeals process –which is a long, laborious, and complicated process in and of itself, and one we have often undertaken on behalf of clients who hire us after their original trial concludes.

But when the trial goes right and justice is upheld for our clients, we stick around, too. Many of our clients have come back to us for other legal concerns, and we’ve maintained some incredible relationships with the people we’ve helped. After all, we’re part of the Sevier County community: we live here, we work here and we help people who need us most.

If you are in trouble with the law, the Sevierville criminal defense attorneys at the Delius & McKenzie for help. You can rely on us to fight for you and your rights when you are facing serious charges. For more information about what we can do for you, call us at (865) 428-8780 or fill out our contact form. We proudly serve Sevierville, Seymour, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge.