Law Office of George A. Barton

are filed - and persuade them not to file charges against you.  It is often easier to convince prosecutors not to file charges in the first place, than to persuade them to dismiss charges once filed.

Should I speak with the Police?

NO! Make no statement and sign nothing.  If the police think that you will talk, they may try to interview you.  You may even believe that this is your chance to tell your story.  However, the police are not there to clear you of suspicion.  Their role is to gather evidence to convict you of a crime.

The police regularly use deceptive tactics and lie to people under investigation.  They tell you that if you  tell them your side of the story, they will not arrest you.  That is a lie.  It is a regular police tactic - used in the hope that the accused will make a statement which can later be used against them in Court.  Whether you should speak to the police is an extremely important and complex decision, which can only be made with the advice of competent legal counsel.

What can my lawyer do if the charges have already been filed?

First, your lawyer will evaluate the evidence and determine if the government can prove its case against you.  Sometimes prosecutors are mistaken about the strength of their evidence and can be persuaded to abandon their case after hearing both sides of the story.  Other times, prosecutors can be persuaded to dismiss charges because of changes in the evidence.

If the evidence against you is too strong to obtain a dismissal of charges, your attorney will evaluate whether it is in your best interest to go trial or to obtain a negotiated plea bargain.  Only an experienced criminal defense attorney can evaluate your chances for success at trial.  If you and your attorney decide to go to trial, your attorney will develop a case to persuade the jury that there is a reasonable doubt as to whether you are guilty of the charges.

We use many tools to determine the likelihood of success at trial:

Investigation: While the police gather evidence against you, your attorney will use private investigators to gather evidence to prove your innocence.  Proving your innocence may mean learning everything about your accuser.  The investigator may discover and interview witnesses.  And, may discover evidence which attacks the honesty and credibility of your accuser.

Expert Witness: These are used to examine the prosecution's scientific evidence or prepare defense evidence in specialized areas within their scientific fields, such as ballistic, fingerprints, forensics, psychiatry, DNA, and many other fields.

Pre-trial Motions: The right pre-trial motions supported by solid evidence and the law can result in the dismissal of your case, a favorable settlement of the charges, or set the framework for a winning defense.