Springfield MA Criminal Defense Lawyers

Police officers are trained to obtain evidence for use in criminal prosecutions.  Their investigations are designed to get convictions, not to get the truth.   Their goal is to uncover information to support an arrest and to be used by the prosecution in court.  It is a mistake to think everything can be easily explained away when being questioned by the police. 

The investigation by your criminal defense lawyer is different.  The goal is to find inconsistencies, unreliability, and discrepancies in the evidence the police uncovered against you.  The investigation by a criminal defense lawyer is focused on identifying the circumstances that may give rise to reasonable doubt. 

Criminal defendants cannot simply ask for their case be dismissed because they are innocent of the charges against them.  An innocent person still needs to plead "not guilty" to the charges and decide whether to move forward with a criminal trial.  It is up to a judge or a jury to review all of the evidence and determine whether a person is guilty or not guilty.  A criminal case can still go forward even when an alleged victim does not want to testify because the decision to prosecute belongs to the government, not to the alleged victim.

A criminal defense lawyer works with you to develop a defense theory based upon the facts of your case, and helps you present the evidence that supports your theory.  A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  This means you do not have to prove you are innocent if you are charged with a crime.  However, practically speaking, in order to succeed at a trial, there will need to be sufficient  evidence to convince a judge or jury to find you are not guilty. 

A plea agreement is not a "get out of jail free" card.  It is a negotiated out of court settlement of a criminal case.  When a person is considering taking a plea, it is very important to understand what is being agreed to and what is required.  Often a person's goals can be accomplished by taking a deal, but not if there will be difficultly complying with the terms of the plea agreement.  Probation violations are easier to prosecute than original crimes and the punishment can be harsh.

The decision to take a plea or go to trial belongs to the criminal defendant.  When a person agrees to a plea that person also agrees to give up certain constitutional rights, such as the right to a jury trial, to confront accusers, and to remain silent. A knowledgeable and experienced criminal defense attorney will help you weigh your case and your options so that you can make an informed decision about whether to take your case to a trial or negotiate a deal. 

The role of the jury is not to "solve" the case.  The jury's only job is to determine whether the government has met it's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  This means the prosecution must prove every element of the charged crime.  The prosecution proves their case through the admission of evidence at a criminal trial. 

Your criminal defense attorney will review the evidence against you piece by piece and look for ways to challenge it.  The goal is to try to get evidence "thrown out" by requesting the judge prohibit the prosecution from entering the evidence at trial.  This happens only when you are able to show that evidence was obtained by the police illegally in violation of your constitutional rights.  Depending on the seriousness of the violation and the importance of the illegally obtained evidence, this can sometimes result in a dismissal of the charges.  Even if it does not result in a dismissal, it can poke holes in the prosecution's case making it more difficult to meet their burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.