what questions to ask a criminal lawyer

Some relevant questions to ask include:

• Do you have time to represent me?
• Are there other criminal defense attorneys in your office who will work on my case? May I meet them?
• When I have questions, whom should I call? How do you prefer to be contacted? How quickly should I expect a reply?

Full Answer

What questions should I ask a prisoner?

Oct 15, 2021 · Ask These Questions To Your Criminal Defense Lawyer How Long Have You Been Practicing Criminal Law? What Are Your Educational And Professional Credentials? Have You Handled Cases Like Mine In The Past? What Is Your Success Rate? Are There Testimonials From Past Clients I Can Read? How Often Do You Take Cases To Trial?

How to Ace a criminal law question?

Aug 03, 2021 · Ask your attorney whether or not you will be able to contact them if you have any questions about your case. Inevitably, you will have concerns that will come up, and you need to know who you can call to get answers. What are my obligations? Ask your attorney what your obligations are for your case.

Can I anonymously ask someone to answer a question?

Dec 14, 2010 · 7 Questions you need to ask your Criminal Defense Attorney (to ensure a good defense) DISCOVERY -- EVIDENCE -- INVESTIGATION Has your lawyer obtained and reviewed all "Discovery", including: police reports,... CLIENT ACTIONS - What should you do? Sometimes there are steps you can (and should) take ...

Do you know the right questions to ask?

Oct 11, 2016 · 10 Questions to Ask Your Criminal Defense Lawyer at Your First Consultation 1. If I Hire You, How Much Will it Cost Me? This is a very important question to ask as you certainly do not want to be... 2. What Can I Do to Help My Case? Although your criminal defense attorney will take charge of your ...

What are the areas of criminal law?

Unsurprisingly, there are various areas of criminal law, including domestic violence, sex crimes, theft, drug, and violent crimes, among many other areas. Before hiring a lawyer, make sure that they have the experience and expertise needed to defend the specific charge that you are facing. 3.

Is a consultation free?

While the consultation is free, the services will absolutely cost you money. The attorney should be able to give you an estimate of how much it will cost to handle your case.

Can a lawyer assess a case?

While it’s not possible to fully assess your entire case in an initial consultation, a good lawyer should at least give you some insight into how they would handle your case so that you can make an informed decision about whether they are the right lawyer.

Can a criminal defense lawyer settle a case?

If the criminal defense lawyer regularly settles cases via plea bargain rather than trial, the lawyer may not have the appropriate experience to represent you in a trial.

Will you personally be handling the case?

Large law firms typically have multiple attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and others working on a single case. However, when too many people are handling the case, this can leave the defendant wondering who is actually in charge. Make sure that the attorney that you speak to will be the one handling your case and representing you in court.

How often do you make court appearances?

Feel free to ask how often a prospective attorney takes cases to court. Many criminal defense attorneys regularly settle cases through plea deals and have very little courtroom experience. You want to make sure that you have someone who can take your case all the way to court if necessary.

Do you have experience handling cases like this one?

Ask if the attorney has experience handling cases like yours. Criminal defense law is vast, and if you have a relatively complicated or unique case, you need to make sure you have an attorney who has handled a situation like yours.

How long have you been handling criminal defense law?

Feel free to ask an attorney how long they have been handling criminal defense cases. There is nothing wrong with hiring a brand new attorney, but your situation may require nuance developed over years of practicing law.

What are your legal fees?

You need to know how much your attorney is going to charge for their services. Your attorney will not begin working on your case until after they have received some type of payment and a fee arrangement has been arranged. Some attorneys work on a flat fee basis, while others work on an hourly basis.

Are there any other fees you are responsible for?

You need to ask an attorney if there are any other fees that you may be responsible for if your case goes to trial. In some cases, it may be necessary to hire experts to testify, and these experts are not cheap. Additionally, costs money to file complaints, briefs, and motions.

What will you do to help with the case?

You can ask an attorney specifically what they are going to do that you are not able to do. Please understand that it is incredibly difficult to represent yourself in a criminal case, but you need to hear from your attorney how they will proceed forward, mainly so you can understand the complexity of what is going to happen.

DISCOVERY -- EVIDENCE -- INVESTIGATION

DISCOVERY -- EVIDENCE -- INVESTIGATION#N#Has your lawyer obtained and reviewed all "Discovery", including: police reports, witness#N#statements, video and audio tapes, photographs and other material provided through "discovery" by the Prosecutor? Has the attorney made copies of all of it and reviewed it with you? What is your attorney's evaluation of the evidence? What is the "worst evidence" against you? Has you attorney considered not only what evidence is there, but what evidence is not there (missing)? What physical or testimony evidence does the prosecution rely on open to challenge? Or what evidence does the DA not have that could mean dismissal of your case? Are there eyewitnesses that should be interviewed? What sort of defense investigation should be conducted to find that evidence to disprove your guilt?.

CLIENT ACTIONS - What should you do?

CLIENT ACTIONS - What should you do?#N#Sometimes there are steps you can (and should) take which will dramatically lessen your sentence.

STRATEGY

STRATEGY#N#What is your lawyer's preliminary evaluation of the case against you? What defenses are available to you? What is the best defense strategy? What are the risks and benefits of strategy? Can your attorney mount a successful defense at trial or is it in your best interests to plea bargain?

COSTS

COSTS#N#How much defense investigation needs to be done, and what will it cost? Do you need to hire Expert Witnesses to testify for you at trial? How much will they cost? Is their testimony worth it? What is the time table preparing for trial; how long will the trial last and what will it cost?

SENTENCING ALTERNATIVES

SENTENCING ALTERNATIVES#N#Are there any Sentencing Alternatives to standard Jail that you may be eligible for, such as electronic home detention, Sheriff's Work Program, Work Furlough, or community service? Are there any standard or creative Probationary Terms that are preferable to you which will satisfy the prosecution and court's concerns and allow you to receive a lesser sentence, easier to accept? Some clients want to avoid fines, others want to keep their driver's license, others want to avoid jail, and others who are not citizens, just want to remain in the U.S.

MOTIONS -- Legal Defenses (Due Process and your constitutional rights

CONCLUSION This case is not just any case; it’s your case! You deserve the best defense from an attorney who considers all of these questions.

Where is Lauren Taylor?

South Carolina divorce attorney Lauren Taylor practices family law in Charleston and Greenville. She graduated from the Charlotte School of Law, and has been practicing for more than ten years.

Why is it important to retain a lawyer?

Apart from hiring a lawyer who is experienced, professional, and knowledgeable, it is also very important to retain a lawyer who you trust and have confidence in. By simply asking the attorney sitting across from you why you should hire them you are giving them a chance to sell themselves to you and hopefully their response will inspire confidence. It is very important that you have confidence in your attorney’s abilities and trust them because this will enable the two of you to work together to build the best legal defense possible.

What should an experienced criminal defense attorney do?

However, an experienced criminal defense attorney should be able to analyze your case, talk about the possible legal outcomes, and predict what is likely to happen in your case. Keep in mind that there is a big difference between an attorney who guarantees an outcome and one who predicts what is likely to happen.

Can a criminal defense attorney take charge of a case?

Although your criminal defense attorney will take charge of your case, there are often actions that criminal defendants themselves can take in order to improve the outcome of their case. Each criminal case is unique and your lawyer will be able to make personalized recommendations to you, however, it may be beneficial to ask your lawyer ...

What to tell your lawyer about your arrest?

Be prepared to tell your lawyer about any police interaction that you had prior to your arrest, during your arrest, and while you were detained. Providing your lawyer with a detailed account of your experience is very important because if the police violated your civil rights your lawyer may be able to get your charges dismissed, even if you are guilty. Therefore, it is a good idea to ask your lawyer during the initial consultation if they think that your civil rights were violated in any way.

Do lawyers have to disclose conflicts of interest?

For example, the lawyer that you are interviewing may have a conflict of interest if they are already representing the co-defendant in your criminal case. Even though your lawyer is required to disclose any conflict of interest to you it is still a very good idea to ask this question during your initial consultation.

How to get a positive outcome in a criminal case?

Find out if there are any classes you can enroll in. It often looks favorable to take counseling or drug rehabilitation classes if relevant to your criminal charges. These actions could wind up decreasing your sentence, so it's always worth a shot to consider them.

Is it cheaper to hire a criminal defense attorney?

Hiring a criminal defense attorney will not come cheap, but it's crucial if you want to limit the impact criminal charges could wind up having on your personal life. Don't be afraid to ask a potential attorney just how much everything is going to cost. Figure out what your attorney fees will be, if there are any extra costs (such as court fees), and determine if payment plans are available. Many attorneys will offer a payment plan to make retaining their services easier for you. Knowing this ahead of time is better than receiving a surprise bill later on.

Do they offer a free consultation?

Before choosing the right person to handle your case, you should check out all the options you have. Know that most of the firms will let you have an initial consultation for free, where you can ask all these questions.

What should you do for your specific case?

The right legal advisor will let you know what you should do and steer away from so you don’t lower your chances for success.

What are the options you have?

You should talk to your attorney about the options you have, and the things that might happen to you. Your lawyer should be honest with you, and even though they don’t know the outcome, they will be able to give you an estimate.

Do they have any experience with similar cases?

According to Aswani Datt, you should look for an experienced attorney that has the needed knowledge when it comes to cases similar to yours. This is a life-changing experience, so you need to have the right person by your side.

How many of their cases end up in front of a judge?

As we mentioned earlier, less than 10 percent of all the cases will end up in front of a judge, but there is no guarantee that yours won’t be one of them.

What is their rate?

You should also ask about their rate and their fee, because sometimes you may want to go with an attorney, but you may not be able to afford them. Ask this question right from the start, so you know if you should continue asking questions, or if you should just walk away before you feel bad for not being able to hire them.

Are they going to be handling your case, or someone else in their firm?

This question is a must, especially if you are talking to a big law firm. Sometimes you may have the initial consultation with one person, and someone else may get assigned to your case. So, when talking to a representative from a law firm, always ask who is going to be handling your case.