You’ve been arrested, or you’ve received a notice to appear in court. Now what? You’re probably asking yourself, “Do I even need an attorney? I mean, I have a right to represent myself in court. Why can’t I just represent myself and save the money?” It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot. The answer to that question comes down to what an attorney can do for you. An attorney brings several things to the table, most notably his or her knowledge, expertise and relationships.
Knowledge We’ve all seen My Cousin Vinnie and other shows in which an inexperienced attorney gets tripped up in court over some procedural issue and their excuse is that they never learned that in law school. So what exactly did they learn in law school? Supposedly, how to think like a lawyer. An attorney spends three years reading things called “fact patterns” and learning how to apply the law to those fact patterns to represent a client. What is a fact pattern? Basically, it’s your story. When you go to an attorney and tell them your story, the attorney is making notes based on what laws can be applied to your story. Say you’ve been pulled over and the police searched your car, the conversation could go something like this: “Well, I didn’t think I was speeding, but suddenly I saw the red lights flashing behind me…” (The attorney is thinking: 4th Amendment challenge to illegal detention) “Then when the officer came up to me, he asked me if he could search my vehicle. I told him no, but he told me to get out of the car, arrested me and he searched it anyway.” (4th Amendment search and seizure violation, 4th amendment illegal detention, no consent to search, was there a warrant to arrest and/or search? Did one of the warrantless exceptions to search and seizure apply? Arizona v. Gant says that an officer may search a person’s vehicle incident to arrest only if they searching for evidence of the crime for which the person was arrested, or if the person arrested might gain access to the passenger compartment of the vehicle. File a 1538.5 Motion to Suppress.) “The officer found an ounce of pot in my friend’s bag. He didn’t read me my rights, but asked me if I had given my friend the pot.” ( 5th Amendment Miranda violation) And that’s just what the attorney is thinking from the story you tell them. They will apply the same type of reasoning to the police report they receive from the district attorney. An attorney also has knowledge of court procedure and evidence, admitting evidence, evaluating how evidence can harm or help your case, preventing evidence from being admitted against you if it was obtained illegally, direct and cross examination, how a prosecutor will try the case, how a judge will most likely rule on certain motions and objections, whether it is better to take a case to trial or negotiate to plead guilty to a lesser charge, how to write motions, how to file motions, what motions to file, etc. If you decide to represent yourself, and you haven’t gone to law school, realize that everything you are researching and learning is already in the knowledge base of a good attorney, and that an attorney has been trained on how to apply the law and facts of the case to your advantage. Experience Not only does an attorney have the knowledge, they also have been practicing the use of that knowledge. It’s one thing to know how a piano works, you hit the keys and the hammer hits the strings, but it’s another thing to be able to play Beethoven. That takes practice. The same thing goes with knowing how to conduct a criminal defense. You may know that you can make objections and that the court can sustain or overrule those objections, but it’s another thing to make the objections at the right times for the right reasons and to know how not to offend the court. Relationships "Know the enemy and know thyself, and in a hundred battles, you will never be in peril." -Sun Tzu A good attorney knows the prosecutor, the judge presiding over your case, and any expert witnesses needed to aid in your defense. Your attorney's relationship with these people will have an impact on your case, especially what tactics and strategy are best used. The attorney knows what kind of deals a prosecutor will agree to and what reasoning will bring a prosecutor to a better solution. The attorney knows what types of sentences a judge will hand out and what will or will not offend a judge. Cost Balancing all of this out is the cost associated with an attorney. Even what you may think of as a simple matter, a DUI, a petty theft, a domestic violence case, can cost you anywhere from $50 to $300 an hour depending on the attorney. Why not save that money? After all, an attorney may not be able to keep you out of jail. An attorney may not be able to get your charge reduced, and you may lose at trial, or on appeal. What hiring an attorney does is give you the best chance at getting your best possible outcome. An arrest, a trial and a conviction will affect your life in more ways than just the fine and loss of liberty. Among other things, a trial and court appearances take time away from work and family; an arrest and conviction can have negative consequences for current or future employment; for those persons who are undocumented or legal permanent residents, a criminal conviction could have negative immigration consequences. Hiring an attorney will give you the best chance of mitigating the consequences of an arrest and subsequent contacts with the criminal courts.
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AuthorJason Tauches is an attorney and writer who lives in Massachusetts. Archives
December 2015
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