Introduction
A criminal defense attorney is a lawyer who defends a person accused of a wrongdoing or a criminal act in a criminal court. He or she is hired by an person to defend the interests of the person, a company or entity. If a person or an entity is charged of a criminal offense, it is the duty of the criminal defense attorney to defend or prove the innocence of the suspect.
The history of a criminal justice in the U.S. began during the time of Colonial America. At that time, a lot of the features of the judicial system bore resemblance to the systems of colonist countries such as England. A criminal defense attorney was not known. In fact, defense of the accused person was not really looked at. People who were accused of crimes or misdemeanor were charged by the sheriff who acted as the police in addition to other functions such as collecting taxes.
Judges and magistrates were persons of religious and political affiliations and had really no training on criminal law. Serious crimes were handled by a group of courts. Punishment of misdemeanor consisted of shaming and whipping. Interrogation of the suspect was done without the presence of a criminal defense attorney. Eventually, a new judicial system gave rise to the presence of a criminal defense attorney as the system was developed, putting in place laws, institutions that would uphold and implement laws and constitutional rights.
With a more developed and rationale judicial system, a criminal defense attorney is now empowered to defend a person or entity suspected of a criminal act or wrongdoing., everyone is entitled to hire a criminal defense attorney and if this is not possible due financial incapacity, the courts will provide one to represent the accused party.
A criminal defense attorney has the main duty of defending his client. To do so, the attorney must be familiar with the U.S. Constitution and laws. Based on the police reports filed in court, the criminal defense attorney will review these documents and check if there were no constitutional violations. Particular attention is paid to the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment states that there should be no searches and seizures on the accused and his property not sanctioned by law whether it is to gather evidence for and against the defense. The Fifth Amendment stipulates that no one shall be a witness to his own crime. This means that the accused has the right to remain silent, refusing to answer questions without the presence of the criminal defense lawyer.
In addition to being mindful that there were no constitutional violations, the criminal defense attorney can also request that the complaint be dismissed without reaching the courts. This happens when there are constitutional violations throwing the case off due to a technicality or when there is not enough evidence against the accused. So a lot of the work of a criminal defense attorney involves studying reports and evidence, finding credible witnesses by himself or using a paralegal. Based on the outcome of the reports, evidence, and witnesses, the criminal defense lawyer will build or set up the defense of the accused or the defendant.
Tips and comments
For all these services, a criminal defense lawyer receives financial compensation for the work carried out. Most attorneys practice privately or work for state and federal agencies, private corporations or nonprofit organizations. A criminal defense lawyer working for the state or the federal agency receives fixed wages from the government while a private lawyer sets his/her own wages including retainer’s fees, hourly wages or fixed costs.
