VIDEO: Choosing a Criminal Lawyer: Getting it Right

In today’s video Insight we look at the field of criminal law and more specifically, what you should look for in a defence lawyer.

If you have been charged with an offence and are summoned to appear in Court, you need the best possible representation and support. 

By choosing the right lawyer, you can face the Court knowing that your defence is the best it can be.  Get it wrong, and you may end up with an undeserved criminal record or worse still, face a harsher sentence than is necessary.

What many people don’t realise is that the law changes frequently and complex issues often arise.  By engaging the ‘right’ criminal lawyer, you will receive the best possible advice throughout your case – saving you unnecessary time, worry and stress.

But who exactly is the “right” criminal lawyer for you?

To cut to the core of it, you want a lawyer who will get you the best result. But what are the attributes of a lawyer that will get you the best result?

The answer to that is twofold: honesty and bravery.

Let’s deal first with Honesty.

American TV gives an unfortunate portrayal of how an ideal criminal law lawyer should act in court.

Whether it’s a TV show or a movie, the defence lawyer is often portrayed as aggressive and, worse still, dishonest.

This is completely the wrong approach and not one that should be followed in the real world.

Honesty is a key attribute that you should look for in a lawyer. 

Consider this for a moment: if you are dealing with someone in your personal life and you come to the conclusion that the person is dishonest, will you listen to anything they have to say?

It operates in exactly the same way with judges and lawyers.

If a judge or magistrate comes to the conclusion that a lawyer defending the accused is not honest, then nothing that lawyer has to say will be taken up by that judge or magistrate. This will be very harmful to your case.

If you are honest, the judge will listen to what you have to say, which will be critical to obtaining the best result for your case.

Recently, I acted on behalf of a client in a serious criminal matter that involved a strong element of what the law calls ‘general deterrence’ – that is, the need to send a message to the community about the seriousness of the crime when sentencing.

I chose to be open and honest, addressing this principle at the beginning and admitting that this was a very real consideration for the court.

I didn’t say if, I didn’t say but, I didn’t say however.

The judicial officer then took me seriously and when it came time to sentence, my client received a lighter, yet appropriate sentence

The prosecutor was asked to comment whether they had anything to say in reply and all they could say was that we had already addressed everything that needed to be addressed. The alternative approach, of NOT being honest, would have seen them have the last word and it would’ve been very apparent that we had been avoiding certain facts.

Secondly, let’s look at Bravery. 

A lawyer must be brave in addressing the negative aspects of a case.

Any negative aspect of your case is like an ‘elephant in the room’. If you do not address the elephant, it remains an elephant (as one Supreme Court judge put it).

A brave lawyer is one who addresses all of the bad aspects about your case up front and faces the issues head on.

There is a misconception that a lawyer should only argue the positives and try to paint a glowing picture about your case.  This is most certainly the wrong approach. 

A great defence lawyer will ALSO think of the strongest aspects of the prosecution case and address them – usually first.

A judge will respect them for this.

You shouldn’t whitewash bad aspects of a case. You shouldn’t excuse them. You shouldn’t let the prosecutor have an excuse to come back and attack what you have just said.

You should not let the Prosecutor have the last word about something you failed to address.

Instead, you bravely admit the features of the case that are most harmful to you and watch as the judicial officer appreciates your honesty, gives due respect, and then takes you seriously when it comes to submitting what you are actually asking the court to do.

As someone’s defence lawyer, if you are brave and honest, the judge will respect you, and then listen to you when it comes time to make your submissions.   This all acts in your client’s favour.

In one particular matter where the client had a lengthy criminal record, we briefed an amazing barrister to help us in court. The barrister’s opening line was this “As I prepared for this case, I thought to myself – prison”.

The barrister then let that thought linger.

The judge immediately realised that this was a brave barrister, who understood the seriousness of the matter and was going to face the issues head-on.   He took what the barrister had to say very seriously.

When it came to sentencing, even though prison was an open option to the court, the client was given an alternative, yet appropriate, punishment.

It takes years of practice for a defence lawyer to get used to addressing the most serious and adverse matters of the case early on.   At Maclarens, we have worked on a wide variety of criminal cases for clients and have many years of experience in advising and representing clients in Court.

We take pride in our honest and brave approach to defending a case and we would be happy to discuss how we can help you if you find yourself facing criminal charges.