As a defendant in a criminal case, getting ready for trial can be a long and confusing process. For defendants in Charleston, having a skilled criminal defense attorney working on your behalf is one important way to put those worries at ease. According to Stephen Harris of the Law Office of Stephen Harris, it is important that attorneys walk their clients through the entire pre-trial process and let them know what to expect.
When an attorney starts preparing for a new trial, he will make sure that all the evidence is in order, that any potential witnesses have been contacted, and that all the investigation that needs to be done has been done, says Harris. Although clients should be aware of what is going on, a competent criminal defense attorney should be able to handle most of those types of matters on his clients’ behalf.
Still, Harris explains that it is important that defendants know as much as possible about what is going on in their cases so they can be as prepared as possible for whatever is expected to happen during their trials. “The more knowledge that you have of what is going on, the better prepared you can be for a jury trial,” he explains.
It is during the pre-trial investigation phase when a criminal defense attorney in Charleston would also look into which statutes are still in effect as a way to make sure that the laws that the defendant is being charged with are still on the books and being enforced. If each element of each charge has not been met by the prosecution, then there is a good chance that a defendant could get his case thrown out—but an attorney would never know whether these elements have been met without doing the proper amount of pre-trial work.
During this time, a client can expect to be put through a review session with his attorney. In order to prepare for what could be an extensive trial, clients need to prepare their testimonies—if they plan on testifying—and also review any witness statements that have been submitted.
Harris explains that oftentimes the defendants in criminal cases will personally know the witnesses, and that they can sometimes have personal knowledge and access to facts that conflict with the statements that certain witnesses give. That is why he says reviewing witness statements is such an important element in the pre-trial preparation process—because it is the only way to see if there are any inconsistencies in witness statements.
Another important part of preparing a client for trial is to help him prepare his own testimony. Harris says that as a criminal defense attorney in Charleston, preparing a client for his testimony is never about coaching him on what to say or do. Instead, it is just about making sure that the client has gotten to the truth of his story.
For defendants with criminal records, it is during this pre-trial testimony preparation when past criminal records will often be exposed, Harris says. If a defendant is going to testify on his own behalf, then he needs to be prepared for all types of questions to come up during the prosecutor’s cross examination.
There are many times when a defendant who has a criminal history may choose not to testify—not because he is not innocent, but because he does not want his past history to come up in front of a jury. “If we already know that the prosecution has not proven its case, then the defendant might choose not to testify just because he doesn’t want that criminal record to become knowledge to the jury,” Harris says.
Harris explains that an attorney should never make any promises about the outcome of a court case during the pre-trial phase, and that any lawyer who says he can guarantee a win should be treated as suspect. In fact, Harris recommends getting that guarantee in writing if it ever comes up.
Overall, the pre-trial process for a criminal defendant is just about getting prepared and gaining knowledge about the court system and what to expect. The discoveries that are made during this phase of a case can be vital to a defendant’s chances for a favorable outcome, which is yet another reason why the pre-trial discovery and review is so critically important.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
