When reading legal thrillers, you are likely to come across criminal defense attorneys. Many thrillers start with the death of the criminal defense attorney. The novel revolves around the death of criminal defense attorneys who defend the mafia bosses. It seems that the lawyers in thrillers either die miserably or get rich by defending the gangsters. The fact is that many lawyers are alive and kicking in reality. Many of them live up to ripe, old ages.
What are the roles of criminal defense attorneys in real life? They definitely do not get themselves killed as depicted in thrillers. They are legal experts who represent the accused. They have to handle the whole defense, including a settlement. The crimes include sex, white-collared crimes, drug related offenses and violent offenses. All of us are familiar with the role of criminal defense attorneys in trials. We enjoy watching their cross-examinations as shown in TV. We may not realize the tremendous amount of work done out of court.
The job of a lawyer starts when the suspect requests for legal representation. The suspect can get the public defender or appoints his own lawyer. After being arraigned, the lawyer will conduct his investigation by reviewing the police reports, gathering evidence, and interviewing witnesses. We do not see this time-consuming task. The criminal defense attorneys cannot do everything themselves. They hire private investigators, associates, paralegals, and secretaries to handle the paperwork and research. A three-week trial can mean many weeks of research and investigation.
When his client is charged, that does not mean that he is definitely guilty. The jury will return a guilty verdict only when the district attorney's office can present a very convincing case. That is why many crimes go unsolved. When the detectives have no convincing evidence, they cannot charge the suspect. Circumstantial evidence is too risky to bring to court.
The job of criminal defense attorneys is to attack the defense of the prosecution. They do not need to prove that their clients are innocent. They just need to point out the mistakes in the investigation procedures and cast reasonable doubts. If the lower court finds the client guilty as charged, the criminal defense attorneys have to appeal to a higher court. The best is to get a settlement, so that the client need not go to court.
Criminal defense attorneys in real life are not rich, especially those working as public defenders. The lawyers in private practice may get rich and famous after a high-profile case. Some of them help ordinary people, and the trial does not appear in newspapers.
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