Innocence and guilt are determined in courtrooms across the country every day. While the burden of proof is on the prosecution in any criminal trial, the defense strategy offered during a trial can certainly do a lot to dismantle a prosecutor’s presentation. Whatever defense you wind up with, you want your attorney to put forth a calculated foundation that challenges the theories delivered by the prosecution. Certainly, the best-case scenario has the defense providing an alternate theory of the case that will decimate any chance of a jury finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. An experienced criminal defense attorney can help you to weigh four basic defenses: perfect, imperfect, affirmative, or denial.
A Perfect Defense
A perfect defense is looking for an acquittal on all charges. It could be based on something like a strong alibi or similar factual matters or on legal statutes, such as an expired statute of limitations that negates the state’s ability to prosecute in the first place. Whatever the specifics, a perfect defense is designed to provide a path to acquittal.
An Imperfect Defense
Sometimes, attorneys are simply unable to deny any connection between a defendant and the crime, so they seek to reduce the severity of the charges. In other words, the defendant’s attorneys argue that, while the defendant was a participant in criminal activities, the crimes do not rise to the level of the charges. That might mean seeking manslaughter charges instead of first-degree murder charges, for example. This imperfect defense will not result in an acquittal but aims to achieve a lesser sentence.
An Affirmative Defense
Sometimes, a defendant asserts some sort of justification—temporary insanity, for example—that must be credibly demonstrated in order to explain the event in question. A couple of other commonly used affirmative defenses include self-defense and entrapment. An affirmative defense, in other words, acknowledges the defendant’s involvement in the crime but provides a legal excuse for the actions.
A Denial Defense
The denial defense challenges that there is no proof beyond a reasonable doubt related to each and every element in a case. These elements, at the very least, will include confirmation of criminal activity and of criminal intent and of the concurrence of the two. If a crime requires a negative outcome (not all do), causation and harm also must be proven. Finally, in some cases, attendant circumstances may be required (for example, characteristics of the victim in a hate crime). The defense team can either brawl to demonstrate that these elements are not in evidence or simply wait for the prosecution to fail in their ability to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fighting for You
The resourceful, committed criminal defense attorneys at Boertje & Associates always go to bat for clients in an attempt to achieve the best possible outcomes. To discuss your situation, schedule a confidential consultation in our San Diego office today.