Criminal charges levied on an individual can bring him/her a plethora of undesirable troubles such as severe penalties and heavy fines. Such charges can even affect the personal, professional, and social life of a person adversely. In order to avoid such grave situations, you need to hire a well-trained, certified, and experienced Cobb County criminal defense attorney.
A criminal defense lawyer can help you to lower the fines or dismiss the levied charges altogether. That said, before hiring a criminal attorney, it is important for you to have a clear idea about the responsibilities and duties of such lawyers. This knowledge can help you in taking full advantage of the potentials of the lawyer you hire and get the desired result for your money.
Here are some of the top responsibilities of a criminal defense attorney:
Analyzing the Case
The cobb county criminal attorneys are expected to analyze the concerned case carefully, keeping in mind each and every component related to it. Although it is the defendant who is the defaulter, the lawyer should know how to handle the matter smartly and must have the ability to come out with excellent ideas for tackling the case.
Performing Careful Assessment
A good Cobb County criminal defense attorney should have the caliber to assess and judge the concerned case well. S/he must be capable to figure out the potential loopholes present in the case of the prosecution and come out with smart solutions for supporting the defendant. The ideas resulting from the assessment should be so strong that they can get the charges levied on the defendant dismissed or at least lower the potential fines and penalties.
Collecting Strong Information
The criminal lawyers in Cobb County GA must be able to gather every relevant data related to the concerned case. In order to do this, they should visit the crime scene for gathering potential evidence and other relevant information that can help in strengthening the case for the defendant.
In case there are potential witnesses of the crime, the lawyer should interact with each one of them and try to collect more relevant information. It is the duty of the criminal defense lawyer to work extensively for collecting the potential proofs and safeguarding them against manipulation or breach.
Keeping the Client Updated
It is a matter of fact that a criminal lawyer needs to visit the court multiple times when working on a particular case. The lawyer is expected to do this promptly, without making any unnecessary delay and wasting the time of the court.
That said, it is also the duty of the lawyer to keep his/her client up to date with the advancements of the concerned case without hiding any detail. The lawyer should also be able to tell the client the most anticipated result of the case and prepare him/her to face any potential adversities.
Maintaining Privileged Communications
A criminal defense lawyer is expected to maintain privacy or privilege about client-attorney communications. This can let the concerned client speak out his side of the story safely to the lawyer without any fear. That said, however, the privilege may not be applied if the client makes use of the advice and suggestions of the lawyer for committing crimes.
In general, a criminal defense lawyer can break privilege if and when required by the court or for preventing potential bodily injuries or deaths.
Being Honest to the Court
Just like all the other kinds of lawyers, a criminal defense lawyer is also expected to be honest with the house of law. Criminal lawyers should not in any circumstance make untrue representation to the court. They must be as truthful while communicating in the court as the other types of lawyers. They must not lend support to a client who is involved in committing perjury. If they become aware of potential perjury committed by their clients, they should take the necessary steps for reporting the same to the court, which may even include the lawful breach of client-attorney privilege.
Avoiding Conflicts of Interests
A criminal defense lawyer should be capable of avoiding conflicts of interest while representing his/her client. If multiple defendants are involved in a single case, shifting of blame from one person to the other can surface. However, a professional criminal lawyer should not be condemning one client for supporting or rescuing the other.
An established and professional criminal defense attorney should abide by the legal system and serve all the expected responsibilities and duties. Just like any other lawyer, they are also expected to be loyal and truthful. They should be intelligent enough to assess the case thoroughly and make wistful representations in the court, which can help them support the interest of their client without breaching the guidelines of the legal system.
