Facing a murder charge can be one of the scariest charges a person can face. It often feels as though the easiest thing to do is to plead guilty without even getting your day in court. All too often, a person who is not guilty of a crime at all is so worried about spending the rest of their life in jail that they will plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a significantly reduced sentence.
If you or a loved one has been charged with murder or another serious crime, keep reading to learn about the potential defense options that may work for your case. Then contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 to speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney who cares about you and your case.
- Self-Defense
- It Was an Accidental Killing
- The Evidence Against You Was Not Legally Obtained
- You Confessed but it Was Coerced
- The Physical Evidence Against You Was Tainted
- You Are Actually Guilty of a Lesser Crime
It would not be murder if you were protecting yourself. Of course, this can be difficult to prove in some situations. Your attorney will need to prove to the police that you had a reasonable fear for your life or for the life of someone else. If that can be proven, then the charge of murder should not stand.
If someone was killed and it was due to the actions you took, we may still be able to show that it was an accident. One of the elements of murder that must be proven is intent. If they cannot show that you intended to kill the person then you are not guilty of murder and you should not be convicted.
Every citizen of this country has rights, even if this does not always seem true. The police cannot legally come into your home and search it without your permission, a warrant, or reasonable probable cause. If They did not have this, and we can prove it, then the evidence obtained against you should not be used against you. Depending on what the evidence is and how central it is to the case, this could result in charges being dropped.
It is legal for the police to lie to you when questioning you in order to get a confession. That said, they cannot coerce you. There are many different situations that can be considered coercion, such as holding you alone in a room and refusing your food or water until you admitted guilt. If your confession can be shown to be coerced then it should not be admissible.
There are very specific laws and regulations regarding how physical evidence must be handled. The prosecution must have a clear chain of custody. If they do not, or if we can show that there was even an opportunity for the evidence to be tainted, it may be deemed inadmissible against you.
It may be that you are guilty of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter. This could result in a much lower sentence and could reduce a felony charge to a misdemeanor.
