How To Choose a Criminal Defense Attorney - Tip #2

Asking Questions.

Many times, clients seeking to choose a criminal defense attorney fail to ask questions, whether tough or routine. Questioning your potential attorney on certain tactics or strategy should not offend the attorney. Think about it, the criminal defense lawyer does not face the possible maximum sentence and fines that you face, so it's totally reasonable, if not prudent to ask questions and make sure that you are understanding exactly what will happen during the criminal process you or your family member are facing.

Here are some examples of decisions or advice that you should question and make sure you have a clear reason and explanation for the decision.

- If the potential attorney is recommending that you waive your preliminary hearing without receiving anything in return, ask why!

- If the criminal defense lawyer is pushing you to plead guilty, make sure you know all the elements of every single crime you are pleading guilty to. In addition, make sure you know the possible penalties, defenses, fines, suspensions and possible repercussions of your guilty plea.

- If your attorney is advising you to waive your absolute right to a jury trial, make sure you understand why and make sure you know the pro's and con's of jury trial versus non-jury or bench trial.

Asking questions BEFORE you decide on a criminal defense lawyer will help you fully understand your rights throughout the criminal justice process and assist you in making the best decision on how to proceed in your case.





Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Walker
FrankWalkerLaw.com
412.281.5423 Office
412.401.1764 Cell

How to Choose a Criminal Defense Lawyer - Tip #1

Ask the potential criminal lawyers if they have experience in your type of case. You want a lawyer with years of experience in the charges brought against you.

What type of experience? Preferably, you want your attorney to have dealt with your particular issue in the past, from the inception of the case: from the preliminary hearing all the way through trial.

For example, an attorney that typically deals with fraud cases wouldn't have much experience in drug charges. Additionally, you want someone who was actually the lead attorney on the particular case, not an intern, clerk or second chair.


Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Walker
FrankWalkerLaw.com
412.227.0290
412.401.1764

Search Warrant

a written order by a judge which permits a law enforcement officer to search a specific place (eg. 112 Magnolia Avenue, Apartment 3, or a 1991 Pontiac, Pennsylvania license number 123ABC) and identifies the persons (if known) and any articles intended to be seized (often specified by type, such as "weapons," "drugs and drug paraphernalia," "evidence of bodily harm"). Such a search warrant can only be issued upon a sworn written statement of a law enforcement officer (including a prosecutor).

The 4th Amendment to the Constitution specifies: "…no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized." The 14th Amendment applies the rule to the states. Evidence unconstitutionally seized cannot be used in court, nor can evidence traced through such illegal evidence.

Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Walker
FrankWalkerLaw.com
412.227.0290
412.401.1764

What's the Difference Between a Felony and a Misdemeanor?

Most states break their crimes into two major groups: felonies and misdemeanors. Whether a crime falls into one category or the other depends on the potential punishment. If a law provides for imprisonment for longer than a year, it is usually considered a felony. If the potential punishment is for a year or less, then the crime is considered a misdemeanor.

In some states, certain crimes are described on the books as "wobblers," which means that the prosecutor may charge the crime as either a misdemeanor (carrying less than a year's jail time as punishment) or a felony (carrying a year or more).

Behaviors punishable only by fine are usually not considered crimes at all, but infractions -- for example, traffic tickets. But a legislature may on occasion punish behavior only by a fine and still provide that it is a misdemeanor -- such as possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for personal use in California.

Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Walker
FrankWalkerLaw.com
412.227.0290
412.401.1764

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Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Walker
FrankWalkerLaw.com
412.227.0290
412.401.1764