BLOG

When you have been arrested and charged with a crime, the decision whether to accept a plea bargain or go to trial is a serious matter, one that should be discussed immediately with an experienced criminal defense attorney.

In any criminal case, an appeal is extremely important – it gives you a chance to change the result of the trial or sentence.

When facing criminal charges, the first step you should take is to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney. In your search for an attorney, you may ask yourself, “What experience and skills should my attorney have to effectively prepare a defense in my behalf?”

We cannot pick up a newspaper or, more common these days, read a newspaper online, without finding an article about someone who has been charged with committing a white collar crime. Just what is white collar crime?

“Mafia” movies have given audiences an inside look at organized crime for many years. “The Godfather”, “Casino”, and “The Departed” are a just few of the many action-packed, captivating movies which depict the violent, but at times romanticized lifestyles of mob members.

Many individuals do not seek the services of an attorney until they have been arrested, charged with a crime, and brought before the court. Although it would have been beneficial for the accused to hire an attorney before facing charges in a courtroom, an experienced criminal defense attorney can still “play offense” and build a successful defense for his client.

When under suspicion for involvement in a crime, you may wonder, “Should I wait until I am actually arrested and charged for the crime to seek legal assistance, or should I take my concerns to an attorney now?”

Barbara Sloan’s home in Phoenix, Arizona, burned down May 13, 2009. Added to the anguish of losing her home, Sloan found herself arrested and facing charges of arson by the Phoenix Fire Department after two fire captains, Sam Richardson and Fred Andes, concluded she committed arson after she couldn’t sell her home.

Michael Morton, a man with no arrests, convictions, or history of violence against anyone, spent twenty-five years in a Texas prison after being convicted of his wife’s murder in 1989.

John-Adrian Velazquez was convicted of second-degree murder for the shooting death of a retired New York Police Department officer, Albert Ward, in 1998 and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in Sing-Sing prison.