Sumter Criminal Defense Lawyer

Sumter, SC Criminal Defense Attorney

If you have been accused of a crime, you know how much is at stake. You could lose your good reputation and even your freedom. You need to contact a skilled criminal defense attorney to protect everything that you hold most dear. At the Law Office of Charles T. Brooks III, we understand just how important your case is. Our Sumter criminal defense lawyers will do everything we can to make sure you get the best possible results.

What Are the Most Common Criminal Defense Strategies?

The specific strategy a criminal defense attorney selects will largely depend on the nature of their client’s charges. Whether it’s minor drug crimes or severe federal crimes, a seasoned attorney has plenty of defense avenues to take. Some of the most widely used include:

Innocence

One of the most commonly used defense tactics is claiming innocence against the charges. For this to be effective, an attorney must present an alibi that puts their client in a different place at the time of the crime. If an alibi doesn’t exist, an attorney can highlight certain weaknesses and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s strategy that would raise doubts among the judge and jury.

Self-Defense

Sometimes a defendant agrees they engaged in a specific act, but it happened as an act of self-defense rather than an act of malice. To make this case, the defense team must show how their client had a viable reason to believe they were in immediate danger and acted in a justified manner. A combination of eyewitness testimonies and surveillance footage can help to support a defendant’s claim of self-defense and earn them justice.

Entrapment

If someone believes to have been induced or persuaded by anyone in law enforcement to commit a crime, this could be considered entrapment. This is illegal, which means that any evidence an attorney can present to demonstrate officers engaged in entrapment can be enough merit to dismiss the entire case.

Duress

If a defendant believes they were forced to commit a criminal offense while under an active threat of harm, they could choose to take a position of duress as part of their defense strategy. When taking this stance, a defendant must show that the belief of the threat was so genuine that anyone else in the same situation would have responded similarly.

Mistake of Fact

This defense position claims that a defendant misunderstood certain facts of a scenario that could negate some extent of their actions. The defense must show that their behavior was a mistake, yet reasonable given what they understood to be true. For example, if someone takes another person’s property thinking it was their own, they could use a “mistake of fact” defense position to counteract a theft charge.

Insanity

When someone claims insanity, it means they believe they were not in an appropriate mental state at the time of the incident. This would be an attempt to show a judge and jury that the client did not have any criminal intent. A ton of psychiatric evaluations will need to happen as evidence to make this point in court. While this may not be enough to completely drop a case, it can result in more relaxed penalties.

Statute of Limitations

Depending on the exact criminal charge and date of the incident, a defense attorney may be able to claim that the legal time limit to advance this case has expired. Each crime has a different timeframe in which it needs to be reported before a court will deem that evidence is too old to trust. If this is true, the case will likely be automatically dismissed.

If any of these don’t sound right for your case, there are plenty of other possible defense strategies available that could serve you better. Connect with a criminal lawyer as soon as you can to evaluate your case and provide their professional opinion on a top defense position to take.

Felonies & Misdemeanors

Our law firm assists clients who have been accused of a wide range of felonies and misdemeanors. These are serious crimes carrying serious penalties, including prison time. We know how to interview and cross-examine witnesses, suppress evidence that was not obtained legally, and find evidence that helps you to clear your name. We will do everything we can to help you get positive results.

Criminal Defense Attorney, Manning SC

DUI Lawyer

If you need a DUI lawyer, contact us today! Drinking or using illegal drugs and driving is never a good idea, but police officers often make mistakes or gather evidence improperly when they are building these kinds of cases. We will scour the evidence against you and learn all we can about you to build the strongest possible defense.

DUI Defense, Kingstree SC

PCR & Appeals

Even if the jury has turned in a guilty verdict, your case is not necessarily over. At the Law Office of Charles T. Brooks III, we are skilled in helping criminal defendants find post-conviction relief (PCR) and appeal their cases. Depending on the exact circumstances of your case, we can help you to win a new trial, have your conviction overturned on appeal, or even be released from prison. Now is not the time to lose hope. Our firm is here to help.

When it comes to criminal cases, the sooner you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney the better. The Law Office of Charles T. Brooks III is standing by to help you build the best possible defense. Call (803) 430-6959 today to learn more!