It gets devastating when you are accused of a crime you didn’t commit. Sometimes, it’s even worse when you get charged with a crime you don’t know. But when such happens, you don’t get into panic or stress. There are precautions that you are needed to take, other than staying calm. Sometimes, people go to jail for the wrong mistakes, simply because they didn’t follow the right procedure or didn’t take any action after being accused. When you get charged, you need to take the below measures.
Understand the Seriousness of these Accusations
Before taking any precautions, you need to understand the seriousness of these accusations. You need to understand the allegations, their outcome in court, and penalties if any. According to PalestiniLaw.com, it doesn’t matter what you are getting charged for, and you can’t assume that the prosecutor, judge, or attorney will understand your case beforehand. You need to know the case, make decisions about it, and actions that will make its outcome favorable to you. Staying mute and waiting for that judgment day will lead you to either losing the case or getting hefty penalties. Take action immediately.
Understand the Cost of your Defense
After understanding the case, the next step will be to determine the cost of your defense. It would help if you defended yourself, depending on the accusation. Building a strong defense can be expensive if you don’t properly plan it. It would help if you accommodated several costs, including attorney fees, witness fees, investigation costs, and other miscellaneous expenses. While sometimes it seems not right getting funds to defend oneself for a mistake not done, it’s a matter of getting jailed and or being free. It would help if you did what’s necessary to clear the case and enjoy a free life. Such costs can be redeemed later if you can sue for defamation and false charges.
Intervene Before Charges
Do not wait until the case gets in court to intervene. When you get a competitive lawyer, they will show you ways to intervene before the trial date. Lawyers can take proactive charges on your behalf and make your charges dropped before getting into a trial. If you got charged falsely, they can talk to the police and the prosecutor and convince them that you aren’t the right culprit. Through convincing, the case can get dropped without further charges. The police can get confident that they are holding the wrong person for trial.
Take No Action
If you are confident that you are getting accused wrongly, you can take no action and see if the prosecutor or police throw the charges away. However, when taking such action, you need to be sure that you aren’t the culprit and that you don’t connect with the case in any way. Taking no action and then being found guilty later may create a severe offense. Sometimes, issues that go to court do not have witnesses or sufficient evidence. The prosecutor might look at the case and drop it if there is insufficient evidence or a lack of witnesses. Present yourself to court to face the charges if you know that you are connected to the case.
Gather Evidence and Documents
If you get accused, either rightly or falsely, prepare yourself rightly for the court. Gather evidence and any other supporting document which you require in the trial. Physical evidence might include clothing, pictures, or anything else that relates to the case. Get them quickly and present them to your lawyer with details. Other documents that might help you include receipts, emails, correspondence, GPS data, and any other data that may show the place you were or what you were doing when such an occurrence happened. Ensure to have proper documents and those that can be approved in court.
Get Witnesses Contacts
To effectively win a case, you need to have witnesses. Witnesses will help you confirm the areas you were or what you were doing when the incident happened. Remember, your accuser will have witnesses too, and if their side has enough evidence to prove the claim, you might land yourself in jail or get hefty fines. Get reliable witnesses ready to testify for you and get their contact information to communicate with them about the trial date. The witnesses should have at least knowhow on how to testify in court. If you can’t find someone to stand with you, you can talk to your attorney and have them get witnesses for you. Lawyers are known to get suitable witnesses that can effectively represent you in a court of law.
Investigation
If you get charged with a crime, your attorney will have to conduct a thorough inquiry concerning the crime. They will also need to research the prosecutors’ evidence and find ways to counterattack such proof. The attorney will also have to interview the witness, know what they will say in court, and, if possible, get the best witnesses that can effectively stand in a trial. A thorough investigation can help evaluate the strengths of the case and also know its weaknesses. Through such explorations, your lawyer will learn how to counterattack. They will find the means to deal with the issue according to their strengths and weaknesses. They will know how to get in and out of that case.
Plea Bargain
Even if you aren’t part of the crime, sometimes you may need to take a plea agreement with the prosecutor to get a lesser charge. Why should this happen? Sometimes, witnesses or the prosecutor’s evidence might outweigh you and your witnesses, leaving you with no choice but to get jailed or fined, even if you didn’t commit a crime. A plea agreement ensures you get a less charge when such happens. The lesser conviction will exclude you from a trial, harsher sentence, or permanent record damage. Your lawyer will advise you when to take such precautions.
Nobody likes going to jail. Sometimes, we find ourselves on the wrong side of the law, knowingly or unknowingly. When such things happen, it’s better to take the above precautions than just stay and face prosecution. Next time when you get accused, use the tips provided here and see if your case can get terminated without trial.
