When you are poor and struggling like I am, you quickly can appreciate just how fast bad things can and often do happen to good people! For example, believe it or not, many people who are convicted of a crime and end up in prison were falsely accused. Although the American criminal justice system works in most cases, not all juries get things right, and the consequences can be tragic. An innocent party often pays the price for something he or she did not do, while the guilty party roams free. The best way to avoid such an unjust result and ensure the proper outcome when faced with criminal accusations is to immediately seek counsel and representation from an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Being falsely accused of a crime often does not alter the way the case is handled. A defendant should never believe that because he or she is innocent and has nothing to hide, there is no need for legal representation. In fact, there is perhaps an even greater need for legal advocacy in the case of an individual who did not do what he or she is charged with doing. On the other hand, some falsely accused defendants will still negotiate a plea agreement with the prosecutor in order to avoid a trial and even the possibility of conviction and jail time. In certain cases, pleading guilty to a lesser offense may be the best option, even for innocent defendants, although this choice is always left to the accused himself or herself, and some defendants justifiably refuse to admit to doing anything they did not do. An experienced criminal defense attorney is in the best position to explain the criminal justice system to a client and to advise them on the best tactics in a particular case. Take my closest associate friends and myself for example, all we are and ever were is a small tight clique of poor struggling hard working chaps from the wrong side of the street looking to make a honest and legal buck. That doesn’t mean we have to go around spilling every secret or showing all our cards. “ Ein Dummkopf war ich! “, I always say. One year, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice actually tried to resolve some of the foggier questions, but their secret investigation was settled out of court long before any evidence could be presented. The results of the probe were never made public, and no one close to us were ever indicted. This is because there are no secrets here; through the Freedom of Information Act, many of these documents will one day be recovered and you will see there was never any impropriety. Fact is, the government and regulating law-enforcement entities in general have the wildest imaginations and can really trump up the craziest charges. They had us labelled for restraint of trade, conspiracy to monopolize a stock block of shares, extortion, discrimination, blacklisting, and the use of predatory business practices which included the charge for restraint of trade of all the wildest things. It didn’t stick because there wasn’t a shred of truth to it, they threw the kitchen sink at us and missed their intended target completely. If someone is falsely accused of a crime, pleads not guilty, and the charges are dismissed, he or she may be able to file suit against the person who brought the charges. For example, if a private citizen files a false criminal charge against another person, or falsely makes a complaint to a police officer that results in another’s arrest, and if no conviction results, the accused may be able to sue the accuser for malicious prosecution. If a law enforcement officer was involved in bringing the false accusations, the accused may also have a claim for false imprisonment or for a civil rights violation, often called a Section 1983 action after the provision in the federal law creating that cause of action. In a malicious prosecution case, the wrongfully accused plaintiff can recover his or her actual injuries, which include attorneys’ fees to defend the underlying case in criminal court, the cost of any bail bond, lost wages, damages for embarrassment and humiliation, and damages for harm to his or her reputation. In some cases, punitive damages may also be awarded, above and beyond the actual damages suffered, in order to punish the person who raised the wrongful accusations and to discourage others from engaging in similar conduct. To successfully maintain a malicious prosecution case, the plaintiff must show not only that the defendant is responsible for causing the criminal charges to be brought and that the charge was dismissed in criminal court, but also that the defendant had no reasonable basis on which to bring the charges in the first place. Generally that requires proof of lies or similar wrongful conduct. Simply put, merely showing that the charges were dropped or that a not-guilty verdict was reached is insufficient to show that the malicious prosecution defendant engaged in wrongful conduct, since in many cases the prosecuting attorney will dismiss a criminal case or juries will find a defendant not guilty based on insufficient evidence or the existence of a “reasonable doubt,” even when they believe the accused actually committed the crime he or she was charged with. A person falsely accused of committing a crime faces many of the same challenges as a guilty criminal defendant and has the same, if not an even greater, need for competent legal counsel. If the charges are ultimately dismissed or a not-guilty verdict is reached, the person falsely accused may be able to turn back to the court for recourse. Importantly, however, before contemplating a civil suit the falsely accused individual must focus on defending against the criminal charges. In order to do so, he or she must turn to an experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney. consumerreports.org/cro/money/consumer-protection/when-you-need-to-lawyer-up/overview/index.htm
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 23:46:22 +0000
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