When a person faces murder charges in California, it can be a terrifying experience. It can feel that no matter what the facts are, there is no way to get a fair judgment. The good news is that you do have an attorney ready to act on your behalf. Contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 if you would like a free legal consultation with an attorney who wants to help. In the meantime, learn four of the potential defense options to charges of attempted murder.
- You Did Not Have the Specific Intent to Kill
- You Did Not Take a Direct Step Toward Committing the Murder
- It is a Case of Mistaken Identification
- You Were Acting in Self-Defense
Attempted murder is what’s known as a specific intent crime. That means that if you did not have the intent to attempt murder, then there was no attempted murder, legally speaking. You might have intended to scare the alleged victim with a firearm, or you may have even meant to hurt them. Either way, if you did not intend to kill them, then you are not guilty of attempted murder according to California law.
Even if you did have the intent to kill someone and had even come up with a specific plan to do so, if you did not take direct action to complete that murder, then you are not guilty of attempted murder. Note that even if you bought the guns, wrote down what you were going to do, and made arrangements for what you would do with the body, if you did not execute a direct step toward murder, then this charge should not stick.
The above defenses assume that you did take part in actions that involved or could have involved the injury of another person. But what if you were not involved at all? It is entirely possible that you have been misidentified. You might look like the person who actually committed the crime, or you might have a similar vehicle. Remember that we do not have to prove that it was not you – the prosecution has to prove that it was you.
You have the legal right to use reasonable force to defend yourself or to defend someone else if you believe that bodily harm is coming. If you believe that someone is going to kill you, then you have the right to kill them. You have the right to stand your ground and have no duty to retreat first.
Does your case fall under any of the above defenses? If not, we will find the right defense for your case. Contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 now to request a free legal consultation and find out how we can help you.
