The Importance Of Gathering Evidence In Criminal Lawsuits
Evidence is the cornerstone upon which any criminal defense lawsuit is built on.
If both sides simply present their arguments, and there is no evidence to show, the criminal lawsuit cannot be won by either one of the parties.
Even the government is obligated to preserve the evidence if any lawyer needs them.
A criminal defense attorney in san francisco will go to great lengths to examine the credibility of the evidence, collect it, and preserve it accordingly.
Keep scrolling down, and we will find more details on the importance of evidence in criminal lawsuits.
What Is A Criminal Lawsuit?
Usually, the state sues an individual in a criminal lawsuit because the accused person has broken a criminal law.
The district attorney files the case because he represents the state and presents his arguments against one or more defendants.
Except for the state, no other company or person can charge you on the grounds of a criminal offense. If the jury finds you guilty of a criminal offense, you will end up in jail or have to pay a hefty compensation fee.
There are three kinds of criminal lawsuits such as:
- Misdemeanors: These are serious criminal offenses such as shoplifting, and you can end up in hail or may have to pay a hefty fine of $1000 if found guilty.
- Infractions: These are trivial law violations such as breaking a traffic signal, and you only have to pay compensation if the judge finds you guilty.
- Felonies: It is the most severe criminal charge against someone, such as murder. If the judge finds you guilty, you will serve a sentence of more than 10 years, or you may even face the death penalty.
Importance Of Gathering Evidence In Criminal Lawsuits
If you have understood the types of criminal lawsuits and how grave the consequences can be if you are found guilty in one of these, you must have figured out the importance of evidence. Let’s take a look:
1: Proves Prosecution Arguments
Since the state and the government will try to collect evidence to prove the criminal law violation, one has to collect the evidence with proper regulatory standards.
If the evidence was obtained illegally, the court might grant it inadmissible.
A reasonable defense attorney will question the credibility of the evidence to protect his client.
Hence, if the evidence is not preserved, it will lead to a mistrial, and the guilty person may even be released of all charges just because the evidence was not obtained legally.
2: Proves Defense Arguments
The evidence also holds equal importance in the defense attorney’s argument.
Only if there is evidence, the defense attorney can evaluate it and question its credibility. It may release his client of all charges, too, if he manages to find out an inconsistency in the evidence.
Even the defense attorney can provide counter-evidence to question the state’s legitimacy. It can also show an exculpatory nature which may act as the accused’s alibi.
3: Protects Due Process For The Defendant
If the judge has found the defendant guilty in a criminal lawsuit, a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco can appeal to other courts to stretch the decision-making process.
However, one can only do that if he has strong evidence, and this is why all evidence must be well preserved and restored that could be reasonably important to the case’s future.
Thus, evidence becomes a key component in the due process to ensure the rights of the accused person, and so it is an integral component of the judicial process.
4: Helps To Back Up Exoneration
You will find many case examples where the state’s evidence against the defendant turned out to be in his favor years later when the case reopened.
For example, if the state requested DNA evidence that was not possible to collect at that time, it could be used now to release the innocent who was wrongfully convicted.
This is why, if this evidence is not restored correctly, it will continue damning the innocent people in prison.
Signing Off
Are you planning to be a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco? If your answer is YES, you may want to take a look at this article and understand how crucial collecting evidence is.
We have also explained the types of criminal lawsuits in this article, which is why you may have to read it even more carefully.
If you want to know anything else, don’t forget to reach us in the comment section.
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