Do I Need a Criminal Defense Attorney?

A criminal charge is intimidating. The mere pressure of a possible conviction can have you thinking irrationally about numerous frightening prison scenarios. Unfortunately, that fear can also lead to poor decisions that will have an impact on your trial and your future. For example, anxiety can lead to emotional outbursts and stress, which may lead to paranoia and the thought that no one, including your family, has your best interest in mind. These feelings can then lead to the worst decision any criminal defendant can make — representing himself or herself. Self-representation is a bad idea on several levels, but there are at least five that come to mind as the leading reasons to hire an attorney.

Emotional Outbursts

A courtroom is a place of respect and authority. Judges and attorneys are not typically known for emotion over practicality. Attorneys can craft arguments because they think analytically and logically. Are you able to put your feelings aside to make the same calculated type of responses? Most likely not, especially when your life depends on it.

Relationships

How many prosecutors do you know? Have you witnessed their legal strategies and understood them? Defense attorneys spend hours working alongside some of the best prosecutors in the business; many of them may have even been classmates. Therefore, your potential attorney has professional relationships that can work to your advantage.

Strategy

Do you know how a jury thinks? Can you guess what a prosecutor will argue? Lawyers have spent a considerable amount of time perfecting their craft. They have courtroom experience that you likely lack, which means they understand how to work the jury and plan a proper defense strategy against a seasoned prosecutor.

Knowledge

What law school did you go to? When did you pass the bar? While it is easy to watch legal dramas on TV and tell your friends that you can do it too, practicing law is a hard-earned skill. Lawyers spend years acquiring the education and experience for the right to call themselves attorneys. Use their expertise to your advantage.

Experience

Courtroom experience is more than just sitting in a gallery watching a trial. Lawyers learn how to craft legal arguments so that people who are not in the law field can also understand. They understand the rules and regulations governing the criminal defense process. Don’t assume you can do what they do, especially if you have no legal background.

Anxiety after a criminal arrest is understandable, but throwing away logic in favor of self-representation is not. Before you make such a decision, contact a local criminal defense attorney, like a criminal defense attorney in DC, and discuss how representing yourself might affect your trial outcome.

Thanks to The Lawfirm of Frederick J. Brynn, P.C., for their insight into why it is dangerous for people to represent themselves in a criminal case.