6 Ways a Criminal Lawyer Can Help You Avoid a Criminal Record
It can affect your chances of employment, application for a driver’s license, child custody, loan applications, and more. So, you should be careful, especially if you live in Peel in Canada, which witnessed a 33.5% increase in crimes in 2022.
But if you have been charged with a criminal offence, then a top-notch criminal lawyer can help you avoid getting a criminal record. Let’s learn how below.
How Does a Criminal Lawyer Free You from Getting a Criminal Record?
A criminal lawyer in Brampton will help you avoid a criminal record through or by:
1. Plea deals
Plea deals are instances wherein you plead guilty to the charges against you, although they are reduced. In other words, your series offence is downgraded to a more lenient one, like an infraction.
While you might not like being charged with an offence, sometimes a plea deal will help you avoid getting a criminal record. Your criminal lawyer will negotiate a plea bargain by using your education, community reference letters, and lack of prior records.
They will also encourage you to express your remorse sincerely by writing apology letters to the victims and participating in community service. You might also be instructed to attend counselling in case of substance abuse.
These actions will help mitigate the severity of your charges.
See also: 6 Ways Court Reporters Ensure Accuracy in Legal Proceedings
2. Alibi establishment
An alibi is a legal way of proving that you weren’t at the crime scene or that things occurred differently. Your criminal lawyer in Brampton will help you establish this through solid evidence.
He or she will speak to everyone involved, like the arresting officer, witnesses, and family, and cross-examine them. The lawyer will also go through the surveillance footage, cellphone data, and receipts from gas stations or restaurants.
They will then compare all the evidence to the notes and your account of what happened before confirming your alibi. Once they have proof, they will present the alibi and help you get off the hook.
3. Challenging the legal admissibility of your case
Sometimes, law enforcement officers arrest people mistakenly, based on circumstantial evidence. They might also use their on-spot judgement to arrest you or file charges, such as in DUI cases.
In such cases, your criminal lawyer can challenge the legal nature of your arrest to help you avoid getting a criminal record.
They will examine the situations in which the arrest took place. For example, if you were arrested in a DUI case due to your Blood Alcohol Concentration, they will argue the threshold of the arrest.
The applicable BAC threshold in Brampton is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood. So, your Brampton criminal solicitor will argue that your BAC was between 50 to 79 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, which is the warning range.
4. Challenge the prosecution’s evidence
Sometimes, the prosecution gathers evidence against you that is circumstantial or based on incorrect information. The criminal lawyer you hire will examine this evidence for inconsistencies carefully.
They will review statements given by the witnesses, police officers, and you. Once they find the discrepancies, they will challenge the prosecution’s evidence. This will lead to uncertainty, which can swing the case in your favor.
5. Appeals for dismissal of charges on grounds of duress
There might be instances where you’re charged for a case under duress. Duress refers to using threats, intimidation, and pressure tactics to force you to commit a crime.
Your criminal lawyer in Brampton will argue the same in court to get your criminal charges dropped. They will examine the circumstances surrounding your crime to determine this. For instance, say a criminal forced you to commit arson or battery by threatening your family.
The lawyer would use the threat to your family as the duress under which you committed the crime to get your charges dropped.
6. Expunging your criminal record
Expunging your criminal record means removing the conviction after you’ve met certain conditions and spent a reasonable amount of time. In some cases, you might not have to wait for a few years to expunge your record, though it will depend on your case.
Hiring a competent criminal lawyer will ensure that they can support you during the process of applying for expungement. They will advise you to apply directly to the Parole Board of Canada for the expungement order and the next steps as well.
You should follow their instructions carefully to successfully expunge your record.
The Final Word
A certified criminal lawyerwill help you avoid getting a criminal record through plea deals, expungement of your records, and appeals for dismissal of charges. They will help you in DUI, impaired driving, assaults, and similar cases.
However, you should explore the types of cases they can help you with before you choose your preferred attorney. You should also check their success rate and the qualifications of their lawyers before hiring them.
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