A criminal lawyer can help with a range of charges that you may find yourself facing and make a real difference in how you are ultimately sentenced for the alleged crimes. While you have the right to use a public defender or get a lawyer through a legal aid program to keep costs low, these attorneys may not get the outcome you desire. Here are some of the types of cases that call for the services of a criminal defense lawyer.

Self Defense Cases

In some cases, people who are charged with assault, battery, and even murder are not to blame because they were simply defending themselves, protecting their property, or helping a loved one who was under threat. Self-defense can be a valid explanation for your actions. To prove your claims to a judge and jury, you'll need evidence and other people to back you up. A good criminal lawyer will seek out witnesses who can give statements that corroborate yours, check to see if there is security video that captures the incident, and looks for physical evidence that supports your claims. Using these pieces of evidence, the lawyer can paint a picture of what happened and help the jury understand your side of things. You shouldn't be punished for defending yourself or another from true harm.

Drug-Related Charges

In cases related to possession or selling of drugs, there can be loopholes that allow you some legal action. Even if you were caught with drugs and don't see a way out of your charges, an experienced lawyer with knowledge of the law can review the case to find violations of your rights or issues with the evidence found. In the event that evidence is found through illegal searches, transferred through many hands without proper records, or was obtained in an area outside of the limits of the search warrant, then you will be able to count on protection from your 4th amendment rights. These rights protect you from unlawful search and seizure. You may not realize it until someone with legal experience looks over your case, but there can be an easy way for a lawyer to get evidence dropped or charges were thrown out.

Cases With Multiple Defendants

Cases that have multiple defendants can get messy, especially if the defendants are all represented by lawyers with varying qualifications. According to Prison Legal News, defendants who were given a public defender or another type of assigned lawyer were more likely to be sentenced to incarceration than those who hired a private criminal lawyer.

If you've been charged with robbery, assault, or another kind of crime and you are one of many defendants, a good lawyer can make a difference in your trial and sentencing outcome. By asking the right questions of your co-defendants and the officers involved, the lawyer can help isolate your actions from the others and reduce your sentence. While you may have to serve time for being an accomplice to a crime, a criminal lawyer can work to ensure you serve as little time as possible.

Officer Related Crimes

When the crime you're charged with includes aggression against an officer or depends wholly on the eyewitness statement of a police officer, it can be hard to get a defense mounted that convinces the jury of the truth. After all, people are trained to respect and believe police officers, and generally do not suspect that an officer of the law might be exaggerating or lying. A good lawyer can help you get to the truth, no matter how difficult that may be, by fully investigating the case. From reviewing the officers' statements for inconsistencies to reconstructing the events as they happened, a full criminal defense can help you prove that your version of events is the truth.

No one wants to face criminal charges, but if you do find yourself in court, it makes sense to get help from an expert in the law. With the help of a criminal defense attorney, you can ensure that your side of the story is heard in court and you have the best possible chance of being acquitted of the charges you face. Contact the Law Offices of Jason Pollack, Esq., for an experienced and confident criminal defense lawyer.