Posts Tagged ‘criminal lawyer’

The Criminal Attorney For The Defense Protects The Constitution

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

The Criminal Attorney For The Defense protects the constitution. This might surprise you but the criminal lawyer deserves respect for upholding the constitution. The constitution states that everyone charged with a crime is to have legal representation in the criminal proceeding.

Some countries do not recognize this right and convict people without a trial. But this country stands for basic principles of justice. The right to a lawyer should never be taken for granted. It is the duty of the attorney for the defense to make sure his client’s rights are upheld. When someone is charged with a crime one of the basic rights he or she has is to not talk until his or her lawyer is present. This is because the person does not have enough knowledge of the law to know that what he says might affect his case. The attorney is the objective person to make sure the accused is fairly charged and fairly convicted if he is guilty of the crime.

The government must adhere to all the laws of evidence and of criminal procedure. The government must follow the rules of due process. The government is charging the person, bringing the action against, who is on trial. They need to be held to the standard of law.

There is also the right to plead guilty without having a trial. This is usually the case if their is a plea bargain involved.

If the case is so compelling for conviction then the defendant has the right to plead guilty so he will have the chance of a lessor sentence. The plea bargain happens when the defense lawyer meets with the prosecution to get him to agree to a lessor sentence than his client would get if his client went to trial.

The defense attorney is also negotiator. He will bring up all the arguments in his client’s favor. Perhaps his client has a clean record up to that point. He will say that his client messed up and will not do this again.

He might say that his client is willing to take any counseling the prosecution suggests or that he will do community service.

The purpose of the criminal attorney is to represent his client as zealously as he or she can. This is in fact the attorney’s duty. Part of the zealous representation is to get the best plea bargain he can.

But the prosecution might not agree to a lessor sentence and so the case goes to trial. The criminal lawyer then is responsible not to misrepresent his client but to make sure the government proves their case. He does not lie about his client or the charge but he makes sure the government is also honest in their case.

The prosecution has the burden of proof. The client is innocent until proven guilty. This means the criminal lawyer need only try to disprove the government charge. He does not have to prove the innocence of his client.

Some have a poor opinion of the defense criminal attorney. The Criminal Attorney For The Defense protects the constitution. We must appreciate his job and his role in our judicial system.

A criminal lawyer gives legal advice when being charged with a crime. These criminal lawyer Toronto can also assist in handling drinking and driving cases.


Don’t Be Drunk Driving A Wheelchair: DUI Laws In Canada

Monday, March 29th, 2010

If you use a motorized scooter in Canada, don’t get drunk and head out on the streets because you can be found guilty for impaired driving.

How could this be you ask? Well, the definition of a motor vehicle is any vehicle that is drawn, propelled or driven by any means other than muscular power.

In R. v. Shanahan the accused while drunk in a motorized scooter crossed a road. While doing so, the police saw him and pulled him over. He failed a breathalyzer (approved screening device), and was arrested for DUI.

An important point is the accused was not 100 percent disabled; he could walk 100 to 150 meters. Therefore, he was not entirely confined to a wheelchair.

At trial, J.D. Wake J. (the Honourable Judge) held the scooter was a motor vehicle as defined by the Criminal Code. The trial judge then gave the accused an opportunity to apply for relief under section 15 (equality rights) of the Charter.

The section 15 Charter breach hearing (equality rights) dealt with these two issues.

1. Were the accused’s section 15 equality rights breached?

J.D. Wake J. held that the Canada DUI laws (section 253 of the Criminal Code) does not make a distinction between people reliant on motorized wheelchairs and people who don’t need motorized scooters.

Equality rights assessments use a comparator group. In this case the comparator group were all able-bodied persons who drank too much alcohol. This was the critical finding – the Court held because the accused was not completely immobile that he was not disadvantaged compared to the comparator group.

Also, people walking and impaired in public places can be charged with other criminal offences other than a DUI laws such as mischief.

2. What about the dignity of the defendant under s. fifteen of the Charter?

The Honourable Judge found the following regarding the accused’s dignity.

“The argument in favour of striking down s.253 seems to be that the dignity of a disabled person can only be sustained if he is afforded the right to behave with a lack of dignity. In my view s.15 of the Charter should not be used to support the result of such inverted reasoning.”

When all is said and done, a person operating a motorized scooter cannot be impaired.

Considerations:

This specific case involved someone not totally disabled. Therefore, the outcome could be different if a person was 100 percent disabled.

What about people using a motorized scooter on pain prescription medication?

Lastly, it’s a Canada DUI law that you can be found guilty of drunk driving if sitting in the driver’s seat while car is stationary. Does the same apply to a stationary motorized personal device?

If you’ve been charged with a crime such as DUI in BC, visit Vancouver defence lawyer website to learn more about Canada DUI laws and how Dykstra & Company can help you.

categories: DUI,Impaired Driving,DUI law,DUI lawyer,criminal,criminal law,criminal lawyer,criminal attorney,lawyer,lawyers,attorney,attorneys,law,legal


How You Can Fight Traffic Tickets

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Getting pulled over by a police officer can be very stressful. The violation you may receive as a result of this stop may even cause distress to your wallet. In addition to having to pay the actual ticket, your insurance premiums may increase as well. Not to mention the demerit points that will be put on your driving record for a few years (according to your state’s regulations). If you feel like you have been unfairly served with traffic tickets, there are a number of techniques you can use to fight your traffic violation.

In several states you can challenge the police officer’s subjectivity of what happened. Since many times a traffic violation is a direct result of an officer’s subject view of how you were driving, challenge this view. For instance, if you are pulled over for making an “unsafe left”, you can challenge by stating that your actions were responsible and you were not risking harm to anyone or anything. Use facts to justify your claim. This can be the location of where the police officer was located when making this judgment.

Usually the details of the violation come down to your word against the officer’s word. More often than not, the judge sides with the officer. There are, however, steps you can take to create doubt in the mind of the judge as to whether the officer made the right call.

Support your case by having eyewitness statements. Bystanders or passengers who can testify to your version of what happened are examples of eyewitnesses. You can use a simple diagram to show the location of your car in reference to the police officer’s vehicle, and any other kind of traffic stops. This can be especially helpful for violations that have occurred at intersections.

You may photograph intersections, stop signs or road conditions to prove a point. These photos can be used to show conditions like unclear stop signs. Or, you can use this technique to show that from where the officer’s car was standing the officer could not have accurately seen what exactly happened.

Sometimes you will find that a judge may be willing to be a little lenient if you prove that there were circumstances beyond your control and you made an honest mistake. For instance, you may have been taken by surprise by a new stop sign. If you did not stop at a pedestrian crosswalk because the strips were faded, you can the violation on the premise that you did not see the strips. This is a defense based on the notion that you were not clear on what was expected of you in the first place.

Sometimes it may be worth your while to pursue a defense that your action was legally justified. For instance, you may have been driving too slowly in the left lane. You may have been preparing to make a legal left turn, which was the cause of slowing down. Do not deny you were driving slowly, but were being careful in order to make the left turn.

Traffic tickets may seem unbeatable, but fighting your violation can help save you immediate and long term expenses. If a violation sticks you will have to pay the applicable fee. You will also have to deal with higher insurance premiums on your monthly coverage.

In need of professional and affordable representation for traffic tickets Ontario and drunk and driving Toronto? As Ontario’s leading legal services provider, they are commited to providing effective legal services that you can afford.


What Family Law Lawyers Can Do For You

Monday, March 15th, 2010

In times when you find yourself in a bit of a bind at home, you may need to get a professional to help you get through. If you are facing divorce, home violence, and paternity suit problems, better hire a lawyer that knows a lot about your issues. Get a family law lawyer pronto.

When do you need a family law lawyer?

Are you and your spouse divorcing or maybe annulling your entire marriage? Then you definitely need to ask a lawyer specializing in family law to help you out. There are several issues you have to deal with before you can obtain your freedom, including the splitting of your conjugal assets, the custody of your kids, and the spousal and child support you need to pay.

An experienced and capable legal counsel may strike a deal for you with your soon-to-be ex-husband or ex-wife. All the debts you have acquired during the marriage period should be split up between you and your ex-spouse, but the court may not see it this way and may even tell you to pay expensive spousal support so you need a lawyer to help them side with you.

Family law lawyers can also aid you have custody of your children, if you so desire. It is possible that your spouse would want to keep the children because of the child support payment he or she will be getting from you for the kids. But whatever the arrangement is, your attorney must assist you strike a more than fair deal for you to acquire your children’s custody or at least see them in a regular basis.

Your attorney should also be useful in happier situations like adoption. Getting the legal and full custody of a kid that is not your own isn’t as simple as it appears. The process may take months or years and you would have to undergo a lot of exams and screenings. Single parents and couples may find the whole procedure strenuous. Your family law attorney may help you undergo the entire thing a lot simpler and smoother.

Other works a family law attorney can do for you include drafting a premarital or post nuptial agreement, setting up a paternity suit, handling domestic violence cases, and getting restraining order against a family member.

Even if you think family law lawyers are expensive, do not pause to get a good one. It may cost you now, but in the long run, you are actually getting a bargain.

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Non-Civil Suits Call For Criminal Lawyers

Monday, March 15th, 2010

When charged with a crime, go to a reliable criminal attorney. Not a general practice lawyer, but a criminal lawyer. Other lawyers may not have the skills and experience to help you with your dilemma.

It is very important that you hire a criminal attorney for your criminal suit. Only legal counsels specializing in criminal law will do. Don’t settle for anyone else. Remember, it’s your life and freedom are on the line.

You might believe that you can get any other lawyer only because you are charged with a light misdemeanor suit. Logic tells us that if you are stuck in a litigation case, you need a litigation attorney. Same in this case. Even if it’s a minor charge, if it falls under the criminal law, only a criminal attorney is recommended because as much as possible, you don’t want to take a chance and have your clean record sullied.

As soon as possible doesn’t mean you should take the first criminal attorney that comes your way. Pick the one who has experience in winning cases similar to yours. Ask for referrals on who may be the best one for the job. You need to get the best possible prospect because this is a game that you can’t afford to lose

After narrowing down your search, cut it some more by asking yourself two things: can you afford the lawyer’s fee and if you agree with his or her defense manner. Before buying something, you must be able to pay for it, so it goes without saying that you should see first if you can pay your counsel before availing his or her service. Also, make sure you agree with your lawyer’s take on your case. There are several ways on how to deal with a case. How your lawyer sees it must be agreeable to you. Don’t let the attorney to bully you into taking a guilty plea if you think you have a winning case. You should also know when a plea deal is best handed out in a situation.

So remember, only a criminal attorney will do when you find yourself charged with a criminal offense. Only an efficient and reliable attorney will do because your life and freedom are on the line here.

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categories: Criminal Lawyer,Divorce Lawyer,Family Lawyer,Litigation Lawyer