YOUR RIGHTS NEED TO BE PROTECTED! THE PEOPLE’S COUNSEL IS HERE TO HELP
Having to face criminal charges in Wildwood MO is not anyone’s idea of a good time. But facing those charges alone (without the aid of an experienced attorney) is highly inadvisable. That is because the vast majority of self-represented defendants end up doing nothing more than pleading guilty.
Why is pleading guilty a bad idea? When you plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in Wildwood Missouri, that will turn into a criminal conviction on your permanent record. And once that conviction is attached, it will stay there forever. This will have a tremendous impact on your future in more ways than you might expect.
For example, when you go to apply for a job, the employer will undoubtedly run a criminal background check on you. And that will likely end your candidacy for the position altogether. Unfortunately, the same exact thing would happen when you try to rent an apartment (because the landlord will run the same sort of background check), or when you fill out a loan application for a student or business loan (because financial institutions are increasingly using background checks as a way to eliminate applicants).
WILDWOOD MISSOURI CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER
So what can the Wildwood MO criminal defense lawyers at The People Counsel do for you instead? Once we are hired, we will let the Wildwood MO prosecutor know that our legal team is representing you. This will ensure that all future communication will be between us and the local prosecutor.
Next, our goal will be to determine if the charges leveled against you should be dismissed. This can happen in a number of situations. But the most frequent form of dismissal is found in improper police conduct. When you interact with an officer of the law, he/she must follow very strict protocols and procedures. Very often, those norms are broken, and a person’s Constitutional rights are violated.
For instance, if the officer were to perform an illegal search of your person (or personal effects), which then lead to the officer seizing something that he/she found on you, our Wildwood Missouri criminal defense attorneys would be in a position to ask that the seized items be thrown out. If the judge agrees, then the charges would likely be dismissed (because if the prosecutor can no longer make use of the incriminating items that were illegally seized by the police, then the case no longer holds any legal merit).
Of course, it is not always possible to get the Wildwood MO criminal charges dropped. If that happens to be the case, we will then work closely with the local prosecutor to see about getting the charges amended down to a lesser offense. So for example, let’s say you have been charged with misdemeanor disturbing the peace. This kind of misdemeanor carries potential jail time and a large fine. But if we work out a “plea bargain” with the prosecutor, the misdemeanor would be reduced to a minor infraction (such as “littering,” which would never show up on your permanent record).
PLEADING GUILTY IS NOT YOUR ONLY OPTION – OUR WILDWOOD MO CRIMINAL DEFENSE TEAM IS THE BEST IN MISSOURI
Believe it or not, the plea bargain method is how 99% of all criminal cases are disposed of around the country. It is by no means a perfect system. But it does allow both sides to claim victory: you walk away without anything negative on your record; and the prosecutor can still say that he/she at least secured a plea to an infraction.
On the other hand, there may be a situation in which the prosecutor is unwilling to amend the charges. This might be the case when the charge is something like misdemeanor assault. If this happens, we would likely attempt to convince the judge that you should be put on probation (instead of serving any jail time, or paying a large fine). If the judge agrees, then he/she will sentence you to a probationary period (usually between one to two years in length). Assuming you do not get into anymore trouble during this period of time, then the original misdemeanor charge will not appear on your record (and therefore not damage your future).
Our Wildwood Missouri criminal defense team will also be prepared to defend your rights in a trial, if that were to become necessary. Criminal trials at the misdemeanor level are rare, but our team has a great deal of experience trying cases all over the state of Missouri.
All you have to do is get in touch with us! We will begin working on your case immediately, and make sure your rights are fully protected. We look forward to hearing from you!!