Being convicted of a criminal offense can impact your life significantly. Personal relationships among family members could be strained while you are on trial. Additionally, your career prospects might be stunted.
People often become deflated when they have been charged, but it is important to try and refrain from this. Being charged does not necessarily mean you are guilty. You should fight your criminal charges, and here’s why.
You may not be liable
Law enforcement may have convinced you that your act was criminal, but do they always get it right? Even if you have committed the act in question, that doesn’t mean for certain that a criminal offense has occurred. For example, if you are vulnerable because of your age, or a health issue, you may simply not have understood what you were doing at the time.
In other circumstances, you might have acted in self-defense. While self-defense may involve an act of violence, if your life was endangered, you were probably legally entitled to use reasonable force.
You didn’t do it
To the layman, the prospect of being wrongly charged or convicted may seem inconceivable, but it does happen. Whether it’s a case of mistaken identity, wrongful accusations or circumstance, if you did not commit the crime you shouldn’t be punished for it. It is up to the prosecution to establish your guilt. Until this point, you are innocent.
If you are facing criminal charges it is important to protect yourself. Having an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side will facilitate this process.
