A criminal lawyer in Orange County is a skilled professional that represents an individual who has been charged with committing a crime. There are two distinct criminal lawyers in any criminal case; the defense lawyer who represents the accused and the opposition lawyer known as the prosecutor. A criminal defense lawyer must be very adept; he or she can be called upon to defend a person charged with DUI as well as a person charged with murder or rape.
Most criminal lawyers are either sole practitioners or they work for a small law firm. Although many of the clients of a criminal lawyer in Orange County are private there are also times when the same lawyer will be hired directly by the government as a public defender. Public defenders are those lawyers who are provided to the defendant in a criminal case by the state in the event they cannot afford to hire a private attorney.
The primary task of any criminal lawyer in Orange County is to sadvocate for the client. To be effective in doing this the lawyer must put away his or her personal feelings and opinions about any case being handled. The defense lawyer must champion the cause of the client whether he or she truly believes in the client’s innocence or not, in the eyes of the law everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, this is the task of the defense lawyer.
A civil lawyer rarely sees the inside of a courtroom, this is not the case with a criminal attorney, they are frequently appearing in court advocating for their client. It is not only during the trial phase when the lawyer is in court, there are numerous other times when it is necessary to make courtroom appearances such as bail hearings and other administrative hearings.
Making court appearances is far from being the only thing that a criminal defense lawyer does. The lawyer often spends a great deal of time finding case law and statutory interpretations that can be used in court to support the client’s case. The lawyer must take depositions and locate witnesses and take their statements as well as hire private investigators to delve into certain aspects of the case. The lawyer will have to familiarize himself with any evidence brought back by the investigator, interpreting it and determining how it can be introduced into the defense of the client. Depending on the case and the circumstances the criminal lawyer in Orange County may also bring in expert witnesses in support of the case.
The job of a criminal lawyer in Orange County is by no means simple. There is a great deal of work that goes into a successful defense of a client charged with a crime. You are invited to discuss your issues with the Law Offices of Christopher J. McCann.
