I've been practicing federal law now for over 25 years and have handled numerous cases around the nation, many jury trials, and I believe that the first thing you need to win a federal criminal case is a solid argument that strikes at the heart of the prosecution's theory against you.
In other words, the prosecutors will file certain criminal charges against you. You have to have a defense in your federal criminal case that the jury can relate to that basically negates or nullifies the government's evidence against you.
The government will surely have witnesses. They will have a theory of their case. They will present the evidence. The prosecutor will give an opening statement and will then call witnesses.
Your attorney will have the opportunity to cross-examine each of the witnesses, and then of course, when the government's case is over, your attorney will have the ability to call you as a witness and any other witnesses that are relevant to try to defeat the prosecution's case.
Does Your Argument Make Sense?
So, in considering whether you can win a jury trial at the federal level, you really have to ask yourself whether your argument makes sense, and if your argument is believed, whether that will negate the elements of the charges against you. That you have to lean on your attorney for.
I've talked to many clients prior to trial. We've looked at all of the evidence on both sides. We start with the prosecutor. We want to see exactly how they're going to try to prove their case, what witnesses they will call and how believable their information is.
Then we turn next to what evidence we may bring to bear on a federal criminal jury trial. Once you take all of that into account, then obviously you make an informed decision on whether you take the case to trial.
What it always boils down to — and I tell my clients this when they're deciding whether or not they should take their case to trial — and that is, if you believe you didn't do anything wrong, and you're not guilty of what you're being charged with, you've got to take that case to trial and fight the government tooth and nail.
Credible Witnesses and Strong Evidence
If on the other hand, you believe that you did something wrong, even if it's not exactly what the government is claiming you did, and the government has evidence to prove the elements of the crime against you, then obviously you're going to want to instruct your attorney to try to resolve your case by way of some sort of a plea bargain.
But to win your trial, you must have an argument that strikes at the heart of the prosecution's case. Obviously, you're going to need an attorney who has a lot of experience. One of my talents in life is doing trials. I enjoy them.
I've done many throughout my career, both at the state and federal level and I do think I have a special talent for figuring out which cases should go to trial, which cases shouldn't, and if we do decide to take a case to trial, what evidence we're going to bring to bear.
You've got to have good witnesses. You, as the defendant in the case, if you're necessary testimony-wise, you've got to be a credible witness and that's one thing your attorney can't be shy to tell you — whether they believe you're credible when you tell your story and whether they believe that you could stand up to cross-examination by the prosecutors.
Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
So, once you've got your theory of the case, you've got your witnesses ready to go, you're going to do the investigation necessary with the help of your attorney to make sure that all of the government's evidence is fully vetted and looked at.
This will enable your attorney can challenge the government's case the government's witnesses on cross-examination and point out any inconsistencies and attack the prosecutor's case in order to lead the way to mount a defense on your behalf.
So, if you're looking for somebody who's got the experience, the know-how and the skill to successfully defend you in a federal criminal jury trial, pick up the phone, make the call. Let's sit down. Let's talk. I will be honest with you. I'll give it to straight and I'll let you know what moves I think you should make in your federal criminal case.
Hedding Law Firm is a top-ranked federal criminal law firm located in Los Angeles County at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. Contact our office for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0994.
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