The Criminal Defense Process Part 9 Defense Discovery

The Criminal Defense Process Part 9 – Defense Discovery

In this video, I am going to be talking about doing your own discovery, or defense discovery, in the context of a criminal defense case. Now, just like in almost every situation you deal with, you do not want to rely on just one avenue for getting all of your information. You want to do your own investigation. Now, in a criminal defense case, this is vital because you do not want to rely on just the police or just the people who are trying to charge you with a crime or convict you of a crime to produce all of the evidence in your case. What you want to do is do some discovery on your own. Now, it is common for a criminal defense lawyer to go out and visit the scene of an alleged crime. At that time, they can take pictures, or have a private investigator take pictures. These will be useful when they are trying to lay out the case or draw out a diagram or make some sort of demonstration to the jury. The next thing that you will want to do in a criminal case is you will also want to hire a private investigator. That private investigator can be invaluable. They can go out, they can interview witnesses, they can interview witnesses that the police did not interview. If there is a crucial witness in a case that is against you, that private investigator can do a background search on them, they can try to find evidence your criminal defense lawyer can use to impeach that witness. Also, as part of the discovery process on your side, you can interview experts. If you have an expert that would be relevant to your case that can help explain a complicated, scientific issue to a jury, you might want to consult with that expert or even retain that expert to come into court to explain these types of things. I cannot stress enough that whenever, on any criminal defense case, the defendant’s discovery is going to be vital to having a successful outcome in a criminal defense matter. For more information on criminal defense, and topics like these, please view our website, www.copleyroth.com for more information.

The Criminal Defense Process Part 10- What happens at Pretrial Conference?

The Criminal Defense Process Part 10 - What happens at Pretrial Conference?

In this video, I am going to talk about pretrial conference in the context of a criminal defense case. Now, any time you are going to have a trial, whether it is a jury trial or a bench trial, you are going to have a pretrial conference or a final pretrial conference right before trial. This usually happens just a couple of days before the trial is to begin, and what happens at the pretrial conference is a lot of different things. First, if there are some pending motions in limine, the judge will usually rule on those to decide what is going to come in as evidence, what is not going to come in as evidence, and how you are going to address concerns that you, or either the state or your criminal defense lawyer has about how evidence is going to be presented in the case. They will also talk about the timing of the case, how long the case is to be expected, how long they anticipate the voir dire will take and kind of lay out a road map so that both the state and criminal defense lawyer and you are all on the same page as how this trial is going to go. Now, obviously they cannot anticipate everything that is going to happen at trial, and the judge will have to deal with problems that may arise, but this time, this pretrial conference, is basically there to get out every single thing, iron out every single problem, that either side can anticipate. This is also done to save time. This pretrial time is going to limit a lot of the back and forth between the lawyers on the day of trial which will make the trial go a lot quicker. Depending on the judge, the judge may go ahead and pull jurors or establish the jury pool. This would be a time when you get juror questionnaires and things like that. Anything that we can do to limit the amount of time that trial takes will be handled at a pretrial conference. One of the final things that happens at a pretrial conference is because at this stage, your lawyer and the state’s lawyer are ready for trial, they have looked at all of the evidence, they have looked at all of their own discovery and the other side’s discovery in most cases, and they are going to have a very good sense of what is going to happen with the case and where their weaknesses are in the case. So, this is a good time, if there is any middle ground, to be had on a plea some sort of thing that can be done in exchange for dismissal, then this is a very good time to flush out any opportunities. If you have any other questions about a pretrial conference in a criminal defense case, if you have any other questions about the criminal defense process or are in the element of the criminal defense process, please view our website, www.copleyroth.com.

The Criminal Defense Process Part 11- The Trial

The Criminal Defense Process Part 11 – The Trial

In this video we are going to talk about trial in the criminal defense context. Now, if you are accused of a crime, everyone knows that you have a constitutional right to have an impartial third party, whether that be a judge or a jury, hear your case and hold the state to its’ burden. Basically, this is to hear the case and decide whether they have met their burden and you are guilty or not guilty. Now, what people do not know is that there are various different processes within the trial context that must take place. The first thing that is going to happen, whenever a person is set for trial on the day of trial, is the judge is going to come in and basically give a greeting to everyone and kind of tell people a little bit about how the process goes and explain to them why they are there and how long they are going to be there. This is usually pretty quick, and then the judge will jump right into voir dire. Voir dire, or voir dire, depending on how you want to say it, is the process of jury selection, or jury D selection. This is where the lawyers, both the state and the criminal defense lawyer, will get to ask the panel, or the people that have been called for jury duty that day, questions, and help determine whether they have inherent biases or if they are not going to be fair in your trial. Now this process, depending on the type of case, how much publicity the case has had, and the person in which is charged with a crime can take a few hours or it can take a few days. And what the ultimate goal of jury selection is, is to make sure that you get a fair and impartial jury to hear your case. Now, after this was concluded, the judge will have the state begin with opening statements. You have to remember throughout the entire context of the criminal defense trial, the state will always go first. They will go first in jury selection, they will go first in opening statements, they will go first when presenting evidence. Everything will happen with the state going first. It is designed that way because it is the state’s burden to prove that a person is guilty. So, after we have done jury selection, the state will go first on opening statements. At the end, your criminal defense lawyer will be able to produce their opening statement, and then the state will go right in to presenting evidence. Now, evidence in a criminal defense case can range very widely. It can be very short, which is a relatively simple matter, to just having one officer testify, all the way up to multiple witnesses testifying, experts, police officers, and a whole host of evidence presented. The defendant has a small disadvantage here because all of the state’s evidence is presented first and people tend to have formed their opinion before the defendant has even had a chance to present their evidence. But, after the state’s evidence is concluded, they will rest their case, and usually this is a time when would the defendant or the defendant’s lawyer will make a motion for an acquittal to the judge. And if there is any sort of defect in the state’s case, then the judge can grant the motion for acquittal. After the state has presented their evidence, then the defendant gets a chance. The defendant gets the chance to produce any evidence that is relevant to their case, including having the person testify if they want to, but there is no obligation for a person to testify in a criminal defense case. This would be a time for you to call an expert, if you have an expert, or present any evidence through a private investigator that you obtained. Remember, that in any criminal defense case, that the defense part is generally going to be a lot smaller than the state’s part because they are going to have the burden of proof. The defendant does not have to prove that he did not commit the crime. The state has to prove that he did commit the crime beyond any reasonable doubt. So, after the state has presented their evidence then the defendant has presented his evidence, the last part of the trial will be closing arguments. Now with closing arguments, it is your time to tell your story through your lawyer. Your lawyer is going to get a chance to get up and speak and point out the inconsistencies in the state’s case and point out your theme of your case and how the state has not met their burden of proof. After closing arguments, then the judge will instruct the jury, he will read the instruction that have been agreed upon by the judge and both lawyers, and then the jury will be released to deliberate on the case. This will conclude the trial portion of your case. If you have any other questions about criminal defense, or want something else explained to you in the criminal defense context, please view our website, www.copleyroth.com, for more information.

The Criminal Defense Process Part 12 - The Verdict

The Criminal Defense Process Part 12 – The Verdict

In this video, I am going to talk about the verdict after a trial in a criminal defense case. Before we get straight to the verdict and whether a person is guilty or not guilty, you have to talk a little bit about at the end of the trial how that works. After the judge has read the jury its’ instructions, he is going to release the jury to go back and deliberate about the case. Now after the jury is out deliberating, they are going, they are going to have very, very minimal impact on what happens after that. The jury will consider all of the evidence that is presented in the case and give it its’ due weight and they will decide whether the state has met their burden. Now during this process, the only real time you will interact, or your defense lawyer or the state will interact with the judge and jury in this case, is if there is a question. The jury has some sort of question that they want to present that either was not explained or if the jury wants to look at some sort of exhibit, they notify the bailiff and the bailiff will notify the judge and then you will have a conference with the judge, your lawyer, and the state’s lawyer, about whether they can answer the question and how best to answer the question if they can answer the question. It is up to the judge to determine if the question can be answered, and sometimes the answer is you just have to rely on the evidence that was presented at trial. After that is concluded, after the deliberations have gone through and any questions have been answered that can be answered, the jury will hopefully come to a verdict in the case. Now sometimes, the jury cannot come to a verdict in the case. They are incurably deadlocked. When this happens, then sometimes, the case has to be retried. But a judge will generally try to get a jury to come to some sort of verdict so that that process, the retire process, does not have to begin again. Once the jury comes to a verdict in their case, they will notify the bailiff, the bailiff will then notify the judge, and then the jury will come back into the courtroom. At that point, the judge will ask the jury if they came to a verdict. That verdict will be produced to the judge and the judge will read it aloud in front of the court. Now this is where the case can end. It can end if there is an acquittal, or if the person is found not guilty, then the case on your side just stops. If the person is found guilty, whether on one charge or multiple charges, then the case continues. For more information on how the case continues, please look at our website, www.copleyroth.com.

The Criminal Defense Process Part 13 - Motions after the Trial

The Criminal Defense Process Part 13 - Motions after the Trial

In this video, I am going to talk about what happens after a trial and if there is a verdict that is unfavorable to a defendant. If there is a verdict that is unfavorable to a defendant, then the case is not concluded with just the trial ending. There is a window of opportunity after the trial for your lawyer to file a motion for a new trial. Now, when this comes about, you are going to have to have a good reason to ask for a new trial. It cannot just be, “Judge, I felt like the jury got it wrong here.” What you have to do is you have to come up with a legal reason. There are many legal reasons you can get a new trial. If there is some sort of juror misconduct, like maybe you found out one of the jurors was not qualified to be on the jury. If there was some sort of prosecutorial misconduct, like maybe the prosecutor violated one of the motions in limine, or did something that irreprovably harmed your case and it caused the person, the defendant, to not get a fair trial. If there was some sort of error by the judge, like if the judge made some sort of ruling that was against the law and that was detrimental to the defendant getting a fair trial, you could file a motion for a new trial. Or, if there was some sort of newly discovered evidence that would exonerate the defendant. There are other reasons to file a motion for a new trial but those are the most common. For more information on topics like these and criminal defense, please visit our website, www.copleyroth.com for more information.

The Criminal Defense Process Part 14 - What happens after a Guilty Verdict?

The Criminal Defense Process Part 14 - What Happens After a Guilty Verdict?

In this video, I am going to talk about what happens after a person has either plead guilty or been found guilty after a trial of a criminal act. Now if this is a felony matter, the person is going to have to do a couple of things before the judge can sentence them on the crime in which they have been found to be guilty of. A couple of things, including what they call an LSI-R, which is a level of service inventory-revised, and you are also going to have to do a PSI, or a pre-sentence investigation. These are things that are just done as a matter of course before a judge can sentence you in a criminal case. The LSI-R is a process that the defendant goes through after they have been found guilty or plead guilty. It is design is to help the judge determine recidivism rates, or that person’s chance that they are going to commit a crime after this. Aside from the LSI-R, you are going to do a PSI, or a pre-sentence investigation. This is required by law in any felony matter. What the PSI accomplishes is that it goes through your entire criminal history. It is going to provide the judge with an accurate criminal history score so that the judge can use that when he sentences you. Now, the LSI-R and the PSI are vital tools that the judge has to have at his disposal before they can accurately sentence you and fairly sentence you. Because these things are tools that the judge uses to sentence you, you get a say on what happens. For example, like the PSI, the pre-sentence investigation, if during the course of the pre-sentence investigation, there comes back some crime that you have never been convicted of that shows up on your pre-sentence investigation, you get a chance to object to the criminal history that has been produced by the PSI. Then, it is on the state to prove that you actually were convicted of that crime and you can dispute that. Once you have objected to the criminal history score, it is on the state to prove that you have actually been convicted of those crimes before the judge actually can use that and enhance any punishment that you get. If you have any other questions about the PSI (pre-sentence investigation) or the LSI-R, please view our website for a full detailed explanation. 

The Criminal Defense Process Part 15 - Sentencing

The Criminal Defense Process Part 15 – Sentencing

In this video, I am going to talk about sentencing in the context of a criminal defense case. Now, if you have been arrested and charged with a crime, been convicted of that crime, and you have done the other steps including the PSI and LSI-R, you will reach the last stage of the criminal defense process, other than appeals, and that is sentencing. Sentencing is the second part of the verdict which will be delivered against you. If you have already been found guilty, that is the first part. The second part is how much trouble you are going to get in, how much time the judge is either going to put you on probation or sentence you to prison. And as you can imagine, if you have made it to the sentencing phase, you are under a disadvantage. The state has already proven their case, the judge has heard the evidence against you, and there has been a finding of guilt. This is your time to try to mitigate the damages. Now depending on what happened in your case, whether you reached some sort of plea agreement, or whether you went all the way to trial, it is going to dictate largely what happens at your sentencing hearing. If you have reached some sort of plea agreement, there is usually either a defined amount of punishment that you have agreed to accept, whether that is probation or prison, or there is a very narrow difference in opinion between what the state is going to be requesting and what you are going to be requesting. If you went to trial on your case and have been found guilty, the state could ask for the maximum punishment and not be confined by some plea agreement. Also, depending on how your case progressed, whether you went to trial or entered a plea, you may have never actually got to get up in front of a judge and tell your side of the story or try to mitigate the damages against you. This, the sentencing, will be your opportunity. Now what the judge is going to do at sentencing, is he is going to look at your criminal history score, consider the facts and evidence in your case, and is going to look at the severity level of crime in which you were convicted. The judge is going to then, depending if it is an on-grid felony or an off-grid felony, consult the Kansas sentencing grid and look at what your presumptive sentence is by looking at your criminal history, and the severity level of crime you have been convicted of. Now, just because you fall within a certain box on the sentencing grid, does not 100% mean you are either going to get that probation or get that specific amount of time in prison. Your lawyer can ask for something different. Your lawyer can either do that through filing a motion for dispositional departure or a motion for durational departure. When your lawyer files either one of these motions, they are going to be trying to establish a substantial and compelling reason to depart from the sentencing grid. They will basically prove to the judge that you deserve an exception. Now, your lawyer can try to prove that you deserve an exception or that there is a substantial and compelling reason that exists that the judge should depart from the sentencing grid by testimony of witnesses, or having you testify, or just statements of counsel. Arguing a motion for a durational or dispositional departure can be the most crucial part of any sentencing, and in fact can be the most crucial part of the entire criminal defense process depending on your particular case. If you have further questions about sentencing, how it works, or filing a motion for dispositional or durational departure, please view our website, www.copleyroth.com.