Why do we have Criminal Defense Laws?

According to the laws made by our founding fathers and after numerous civil revolutions and laws and bill ramifications, we know that every US citizen has a right to defend themselves from accusations of crime. The law looks for justifiable proof that indeed a crime has been committed by looking at physical evidence. The law permits that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

So why do we have these laws? These laws are meant to protect ourselves from being severely penalized for actions that may not have been committed. These laws give everyone a legal base for defending themselves in court. In the past, many innocent people have been tried arbitrarily and they have suffered due to not having a legal process affected by the government.  A person could be lynched or thrown in prison due to “hear-say” and circumstantial evidence.  There was a time when religious or political leaders often disregarded a person’s right to defend themselves and guilt was decided almost randomly.

If there were no criminal laws that allowed a person to defend them, the fabric of society, what it stands for and even its own definition would fall and civilization as we know it would come to a halt.

Criminal defense laws are an integral part of the constitution where everyone has the right to remain free of charge unless physical evidence can be used to prove guilt of the person. Often, these laws are meant not only to provide black and white answers like guilt or innocence only but they are also observed to see that if there was a crime committed  - how much of it was deliberate or planned.  Sometimes crime is committed due to negligence, or simply due to bad circumstance.

This is how a court decides whether the crime, if committed, is a felony or a misdemeanor and how sentencing or judgement should be passed.  Not all charged are guilty and not all crime is deliberate and everyone needs to be able to tell their share of the incident. 

This is how the constitution and the laws protect us, by allowing persons to have their side to the story heard by the courts.  This is the basis of Criminal Defense and it is applicable to everyone who is charged with Homicide, DUI/DWI, domestic abuse, Juvenile crime, Sex offenses, Burglary and theft and more.. 

Please contact a criminal defense attorney if you need any help in your case.