7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you want to hire a criminal defense lawyer, then you probably need to do this soon. However, before you take the services of any criminal lawyer, you must ask him or her some important questions, which are as follows.

1. Are you certified by the board in Criminal Law?

Your potential criminal defense lawyer must be Board Certified in Criminal Law. This is because such attorneys know how to fight criminal cases. They have lots of experience and have tried plenty of cases.

2. Will the lawyer come in person to handle your case?

Ask your to-be criminal defense attorney whether he will come or will he send someone else to fight your case. There is no point in hiring a criminal lawyer who cannot make efforts to handle your case.

3. The number of jury trials

Ask your criminal defense attorney as to how many jury trials he or she has tried. Although, you will not want your case to go through a trial, you still want to hire a criminal lawyer who has tried numerous jury trails. This is because prosecutes request plea bargains as per the result they thinks that they can get, if their case goes to a jury.

And, if the prosecutor already knows that the lawyer he is against has no or little trial experience or that they fear trials, then the prosecutor will probably not make an easy plea bargain or reduce the charge on the defendant. This shows that a lawyer, who is experienced in taking trials, is always a better choice.

4. The number of jury trials in the past 3 years

You must ask your prospective criminal lawyer as to how many jury trials he or she has tried in the recent years, specifically in the past 3 years. This is quite different from the overall number of trials he or she has tried, as the trials could have occurred long ago and not in the recent years. In order to ensure that your criminal defense attorney has sharp trial skills, they should have recently tried the jury trials, and not a long time back.

5. His experience as a prosecutor

Ask your potential criminal defense attorney, if he or she was a prosecutor sometime in their life or not. This is because a defense lawyer who also has experience as a prosecutor can fight your case in a better way, as he or she will know what kind of attack the prosecutor can bring up and they will have more experience of trials. In addition to this, former prosecutors often have more sincerity with current prosecutors.

6. In case yours is a DWI case and you puffed into the Intoxilyzer - Is the criminal defense lawyer experienced in breath test cases and has he won them?

If yours is a DWI case and you blew into the Intoxilyzer, you must ask your criminal defense attorney whether he or she has ever handled a breath test case and if he has then did he won them. This is because breath test cases are extremely technical, as the State can bring forward a proficient witness, who can testify the reliability and accuracy of the Intoxilyzer on the day you blew it.

But, if your defense lawyer has handled a DWI case before, then he would surely be aware of the technicalities involved in these types of cases with quite some experience. And if he has won such a case, then it would be even better for you to hire him or her.

7. In case yours is a DWI case and you gave your blood - Is the criminal defense lawyer experienced in blood test cases and has he won them?

In case yours is a DWI case and you gave your blood, ask your defense lawyer whether he has ever handled a blood test case and if he has then did he won them. Blood test cases are more technical as opposed to breath test cases, as the State can present a skilled witness who can confirm the reliability and correctness of blood test results.

In such cases, a criminal defense attorney who has handled blood test cases before will know the technicalities involved in such cases, in addition to the flaws of blood analysis and its inaccurate results. And, if he or she has won such type of case, then it is even better.

With these seven questions, you can know that your prospective criminal defense attorney is worth hiring. An Expert like Patrick Grozinger is good at handling criminal defense cases, you can read about the firm here.