Know your rights and options during your criminal case

When you are facing a criminal charge, you are going to have to make some very serious decisions. The first one that might come up is whether you will speak to investigators or not. Remember that you do have constitutional rights. One of these is that you don’t have to answer questions without having your lawyer present. It is usually a good idea to clearly invoke this right so that you don’t say anything that will implicate you in a crime.

We understand that you might have some questions about what’s going on right now, especially if this is your first time in the criminal justice system. We are here to help you learn about the options that you have in your case. These can vary greatly depending on the circumstances, so don’t try to rely on what someone else did with their case unless yours is exactly like theirs.

You will be asked to enter a plea to the charges you face. You can plead guilty, which means that you admit that you did the crime. The case would then move to sentencing.

You can plead no contest, which means you aren’t admitting that you did the crime, but you are saying that the evidence is strong enough to convict you. Once this plea is entered, you will be sentenced.

The other option is pleading not guilty, which means you claim you didn’t the do the crime and want the prosecution to prove you did it without a doubt. If you plead not guilty, your case will either go to a jury trial or you will work out a plea deal with the prosecutor. We are here to help you with either option.