Finding yourself on the wrong side of the law can be a very frightening experience – and particularly if this is the first interaction that you have had with the criminal justice system. Having a solid, reliable criminal defense team on hand is absolutely essential for helping you to secure the best chance at retaining your freedom and ensuring that justice is served.
The Criminal Justice Process
Before we take a closer look at the importance of criminal defense, it is worth gaining an overview of the criminal justice process. There are a few stages to this:
- Arrest – many cases will start with you being arrested. During this process, you should remain calm and cooperate fully, even if you disagree with the action. Exercise your right to remain silent until you have had an opportunity to speak to an attorney.
- Arraignment – once you are brought into custody, you will be required to attend an arraignment. This is where you will hear the chances brought against you, and can opt to plead guilty, not guilty, or exercise your right to remain silent. Your attorney will be able to advise you on the best course of action here.
- Pre-Trial Conference – the next step is usually a pre-trial conference, and this is a chance for your attorney to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your case. They will also have a chance to bring up positive, mitigating factors, including a reliable history, lack of prior offenses, or good reputation.
- Plea Bargaining – at the pre-trial conference, your attorney may enter into a plea bargain. This is a negotiation with the prosecutor to have the charges against you dropped altogether, or reduced to a lesser charge. This is where many cases will end.
- Trial – if the plea bargain is unsuccessful, or your attorney advises against it, the case will proceed to trial.
Types of Criminal Case
Your criminal case may take one of a number of forms, and the most common include:
- Battery – battery is the unlawful use of force on another individual, who has not consented to this taking place. Penalties here are likely to include a jail term.
- Domestic battery or abuse – domestic battery is defined as touching a family member who has not given you their permission to do so, and comes with a heavy punishment if you are convicted.
- Assault/Aggravated Assault – unlike battery, which requires physical contact to be made, assault and aggravated assault can include the attempt to injure someone through written or verbal threats. A conviction can carry a five-year sentence and fines of up to $5000.
- Drug trafficking – drug offenses are heavily penalized in Idaho, and trafficking and distribution will receive a harsher penalty than possession. As a result, it is crucial that you have access to quality, reliable legal advice as soon as possible.
- Drug possession – being caught in possession of illegal drugs could have life-changing penalties, including a heavy jail sentence.
- Sex crimes such as rape and sexual violence
- Computer crimes, such as fraud or hacking
- Kidnapping – kidnapping is defined as the unlawful taking of another without their consent and tends to be a violent offense.
- Petty theft – petty theft refers to the theft of items with a value of up to $1000.
- Grand theft – this is defined as when an individual steals property worth over $1000.
- Robbery – robbery is defined as taking something from another using force, threats or violence, and comes with a sentence of between five years and life.
- Burglary – defined as entering a building with the intention of committing theft or another felony, you can also be charged with burglary even if the theft is not actually carried out – the intention is all that is required.
- Fraud – fraud is the knowing, willing and intentional deception of another, for the purposes of unlawful gain for the offender. These are penalized heavily.
- Forgery – forgery is defined as the willing and intentional defrauding of another through forging or altering currency, documents, or other items – this can land you up to 14 years in jail.
- Probation violations – violating your probation can land you with extra convictions and penalties alongside the original offense.
- Resisting Arrest – resisting arrest by a police officer can land you an extra charge, in addition to the original criminal offense that you were charged with.
- DUI – if you are charged with a DUI, you may lose your driving privileges for up to six months, in addition to a number of other penalties depending on the circumstances of your case.
- Murder – all individuals charged with murder are to be considered innocent until proven guilty – seeking legal advice should be your number one priority.
- Manslaughter – this is defined as the unlawful killing of another, without malice, and can be divided into three degrees.
- Arson – arson charges come in three degrees, and punishments can be up to 25 years in jail or fines of $50,000
- Trespass – Idaho law prohibits entry into private territory without the knowledge and permission of the owner.
- Vandalism – if you are charged with vandalism including damaging mailboxes or breaking windows, you face jail time, community service, or probation.
How We Can Help
As you can see, the criminal justice system can be intimidating, and you need a calm, experienced legal professional on hand to help ensure that you retain your freedom. As soon as you are arrested or facing criminal charges, get in touch with the team – we have the skills, experience, and background to help you achieve the best results from your case.
