What Is Criminal Defence Law?

what is criminal defence law

Criminal Defence Law is the legal framework surrounding the protection of persons or corporations who have been accused of committing a crime. Without these protections, which allow the defendant to argue their point of view and defend their position, there would be an unfair bias in favor of the government. The laws that have been put in place to offer a safeguard for the accused should not be in the wrong. That said, it is more often than not the skills and experience of the criminal defence lawyer who helps them defend their actions that ensures a fair outcome for the accused. 

What Is A Criminal Defence Attorney? 

Also called a criminal defence lawyer, these lawyers either work on court-appointed or private clients. They research the case, facts, investigate the nitty-gritty of it and negotiate deals with the prosecutors. These negotiations can include reduced sentences, reduced charges, plea deals, and even decreasing bail. 

Some attourneys also identify themselves as either a criminal defence lawyer or a trial lawyer. 

A criminal defence lawyer (aka criminal defence attorney) handles the pre-trial defence of the case, such as negotiating plea deals, reducing charges, or attempting to preventing the trial from happening. 

On the other hand, a trial lawyer gets a different form of challenging tasks to achieve. He has to prepare for the trial, set up a record, communicate with the witnesses, and eventually fight the case. 

criminal defense law defendant vs plaintiff court case

Principles Of Criminal Defence Law 

The Criminal Defence Law comes under a few principles, and four of them are the significant ones. These legal principles are: 

Innocent Until Proven Guilty 

Even though a person is being accused of guilty, he/she is still innocent until proven guilty regarding the accusation. The jury, judge, or magistrate must be gratified with a feasible reason or proven reason that shows the person to be guilty. 

Burden Of Proof 

The administration or prosecution has the responsibility of proving the accused person guilty of the charged offense. It must be declared beyond moderate uncertainty. 

Right To Remain Silent 

In general, a normal or accused person is not bounded to answer the questions asked by police. 

But there can always be exceptions to this rule. The exception stands when a police officer requests the address and name of a person who committed an offense or if the police officer has reasonable doubt that a suspect might have committed or is about to commit a crime. 

Leading to that, a police officer is free to ask any person who might be willing to cooperate in inquiring about an offense. 

Double Jeopardy 

Double jeopardy corroborates that a person should not be punished twice for a similar reason or offense. No person should be held more than once in jeopardy of being guilty. 

That being said, those who were charged, accused, tried, and redeemed once cannot be held convicted again for a similar matter. 

The law applied only to typical criminal charges e.g. white collar crime (fraud), traffic matters, and drug charges, but does not apply for heinous offenses, such as manslaughter, murder, aggravated rape, etc. 

What Guilty Means 

In court, there are two types of guilt discussed – factual guilt and legal guilt. The factual guilt is not discussed in the trial period – whether you are guilty or not. On the contrary, legal guilt is the discussion of a prosecution; either the prosecution can provide sufficient evidence to declare someone guilty beyond any reasonable doubts or not. 

So, here you have all the basics of Criminal Defence Law in Australia. If you have been accused of a criminal charge, we suggest seeking the help of an experienced lawyer in Brisbane or your nearest large city, and leaving your matter in an experts’ hands.

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