When it comes to Criminal Defense, the most important thing to keep in mind, is that defendants are innocent until prosecutors prove that they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Here are some critical factors that will drive what your best defense strategy might look like:
The job of a Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer is to select the best criminal defense attorney tactics after reviewing a client’s case details.
Every Criminal Defense case is different and unique in various ways. Thus, the best criminal defense attorneys evaluate all factors to develop a detailed case theory and Criminal Defense strategy that will provide the best chances to succeed.
Criminal Defense strategies are essentially, the legal arguments and actions taken by your Miami Criminal Defense Attorney, to get Criminal charges dismissed and secure a defendant’s freedom. It can involve exposing legal flaws, inconsistencies in testimonies, inconsistencies in reporting and documentation, and any other doubts about the crime elements or details that the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Incorrect witness identification is a major source for incorrect accusations. This can happen if a person’s description is similar to a criminal perpetrator or if a witness assumes someone committed a crime due to circumstances, or they are trying to cover for a crime they committed.
Most offenses
include deliberate offenses in which the violator intentionally carried out the crime. Your Multi-Award Winning team here at Lett Law have the experience and expertise to prove and show the act to be accidental without Criminal intent; thus building a substantial defense against the charge.
In the event that somebody carries out a crime simply because they believed they were in immediate risk of harm, their actions might not be considered a crime since they were made under duress.
In the event that somebody carries out a crime simply because they believed they were in immediate risk of harm, their actions might not be considered a crime since they were made under duress.
A defendant cannot be guilty of many offenses if their Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer can show they were elsewhere when the crime occurred and therefore couldn't have committed the alleged crime.
Entrapment occurs when a normally law-abiding Miami or South Florida citizen commits an offense because of intimidation, coercion, or law enforcement going too far to persuade someone to violate the law.
This often occurs in various types of undercover police operations. Entrapment is most often raised by a great Miami Criminal Defense lawyer as a defense in court for crimes related to drugs, and other crimes.
Unfortunately it is common not only in Miami, and the South Florida area, but across the nation especially now, there are law enforcement officials committing misconduct during their investigations. Police officers may wish to cover up a mistake they made during their initial investigation, or they may just be convinced a suspect is guilty and engage in misconduct in order to build a stronger case.
Police misconduct in Miami and the South Florida area can take many forms, but the most common are the following:
If your Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer can identify and prove police misconduct, it provides leverage for dismissing your case and potentially pursuing a Civil Rights Violation claim seeking damages.
In many cases, Miami and South Florida police have been known to coerce false admissions from innocent suspects, using different mental strategies and even physical threats, starvation, and sleep deprivation; of which, juveniles are particularly vulnerable.
If your Miami Criminal Defense Attorney’s tactics can show evidence of coercion, then a case can be made to have the admission tossed out and excluded from evidence.
In United States Criminal Law, probable cause is the standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal or the issuing of a search warrant.
It is also the standard by which grand juries issue criminal indictments. The principle behind the standard is to limit the power of police authorities in Miami and the South Florida area to perform random or abusive searches, also known as unlawful search and seizure. This helps to hopefully promote lawful evidence gathering and procedural form during criminal arrest and prosecution. The standard also applies to personal or property searches.
If there is not probable cause, your
Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer can file a motion to suppress any improperly obtained evidence. If key evidence is suppressed, this can cause a case to be dismissed.
In Miami and the South Florida area, it is common that individuals are falsely accused of violations they did not commit. For example, child abuse, sex crime and domestic violence accusations can be made without any physical evidence.
A top Miami Criminal Defense team such as Lett Law Firm, can work to obtain a retraction of the accusation or show evidence that the accusations discredit the accuser.
In Miami and the South Florida area, if an alleged crime was made under a reasonable and honest mistake of fact, then the individual is not guilty of most criminal offenses due to lack of
criminal intent. For example, if an individual accidentally takes someone’s property believing it was their own.
Life is not free from its share of hardships and sometimes extreme difficulties, and thus people are forced to make tough decisions that can result in the committing of a crime. If you committed a crime because you believed you had no other choice at the time, an experienced Miami Criminal Defense lawyer should be able to argue that you broke the law out of necessity.
In Florida, “necessity” is an affirmative defense to Criminal Charges.
The 2020 Florida Statutes 777.013 under Justifiable Use of Force states that the “Use or Threatened Use of Deadly Force; Presumption of Fear of Death or Great Bodily Harm.”
That means Florida is one of the states that recognizes what is called the “Castle Doctrine”, which applies to one’s home, place of business, or other real property. An individual injuring another or using deadly force has no duty to retreat. However, “Castle Doctrine” rights end when an individual is no longer on their real property.
It is also important to note that in general, force used against an intruder must be reasonable and proportionate to the harm reasonably feared.
A great Miami Criminal Defense lawyer, would be able to develop a valid defense against a battery crime for example.
For instance, if you believed that you or another person faced imminent danger and you only use as much force as is reasonably necessary to alleviate that danger and escape is not a reasonable choice.
In the 2020 Florida Statues 775.051 it states “Voluntary Intoxication; Not a Defense; Evidence Not Admissible For Certain Purposes; Exception.”
Furthermore, it states. “Voluntary intoxication resulting from the consumption, injection, or other use of alcohol or other controlled substance as described in chapter 893 is not a defense to any offense proscribed by law.
However...If a defendant was involuntarily intoxicated, that is generally a complete defense to almost any crime.
For example:
If someone slips a drug into a defendant’s drink causing them to become involuntarily intoxicated. Or if a doctor prescribes a drug without warning of the potential side effects.
However, you can only claim involuntary intoxication if you did not voluntarily take
any intoxicating drugs or alcohol.
In most instances, you cannot be found guilty of a crime if you were legally insane when you committed it because willful intent is a required criminal element in most cases.
Florida is a M’Naghten state...which means they utilize the definition of legal insanity known as the M'Naghten Rule (pronounced and sometimes spelled as McNaughton) named after Daniel M'Naghten, a Scottish woodturner who murdered an English official in 1843 while suffering from paranoid delusions.
The M'Naghten Rule requires that the accused...
With the proper knowledge, experience and expertise your Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer may utilize this rule in order fight your Criminal Defense case.
The US Constitution protects citizens from being prosecuted for the same crime twice and facing multiple punishments for the same crime. A suspect cannot be tried twice in the same court for the same crimes.
So if a defendant is acquitted of a crime, prosecution cannot try for the same offense, even if new evidence comes to light.
According to Florida Statutes the various Criminal Statute of limitations Laws forbid criminal prosecutors from charging someone with a crime that was committed more than a specified number of years ago. Although there are no time limits for certain crimes such as:
The purpose of these laws is to ensure that convictions rely only upon evidence that has not deteriorated with time. After the time of the statute has run, the accused is essentially free.
Statutes of limitation generally require an accused person in Miami or the South Florida area to be:
An experienced Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer such as your dedicated team here at Lett Law Firm, knows and thoroughly understands the various statutes of the Florida Criminal Statute of Limitations, and will thus utilize this expertise to help fight your Criminal Defense case.
The information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. No information on this site should be construed or regarded as legal advice for any claim, dispute, or issue. Viewing or receipt of this information does not constitute or intend to establish an attorney-client relationship.
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