After criminal charges are filed against you, the prosecution is going to present their position as if they have failproof evidence that’s sure to secure a conviction. While they might have a strong case in many instances, sometimes this simply isn’t true. And given that most criminal cases resolve through plea agreements, you don’t want to make a decision about your future based on a false impression of the strength of the prosecution’s case. In fact, if you can identify weaknesses in their case that you can attack, then you might secure a better plea agreement, dismissed charges or even an acquittal at trial.
So, as you build your criminal defense strategy, it’s crucial to look for signs of weakness in the prosecution’s case. But how do you do that? Let’s look at some common signs of weakness that prosecutors exhibit when building their cases, any one of which you might be able to exploit to your advantage.
Prosecutors don’t always act the same, but there’s often enough commonality that you can pick up on multiple signs of case weakness. This includes the following:
- They’re pushing you to resolve through a plea deal: Sure, prosecutors will almost always offer you a plea deal of some sort, regardless of the strength of their case, but they might become incessant if their case is weak. They could keep watering down the penalties to which you’ll be subjected and dropping the most severe charges if they’re concerned about securing a conviction at trial. So, be sure to gauge how hard they’re pushing for a plea deal.
- Their witnesses are problematic: You need to scrutinize the witnesses the prosecution intends to call to testify against you. As you do so, you might find that several of them are problematic for the prosecution. For example, key witnesses might have criminal histories that demonstrate a character for lying, or a crucial witness might have a strong motivation to testify against you. You need to highlight these issues and consider how much devastation they may cause to the prosecution’s case.
- The police acted illegally: The police have to abide by the law when they conduct searches and seizure as well as when they carry out interrogations and arrests. If the police broke the law in your case, then there’s a good chance that you can suppress some of the evidence that the prosecution intends to present against you. This can crater their case and leave you in a strong position to secure the outcome that you want.
- Prosecutors struggle to articulate motive: Criminal offenses don’t require the prosecution to prove motive, but doing so can go a long way toward establishing intent, which is often an element of a criminal offense. Therefore, if the prosecution is struggling to put together a realistic story of why you conducted the crime in question, then their case might be in trouble.
Know the best path to take with your criminal defense
There are multiple ways to approach your criminal case. You have to find the path that best protects your interests. That can be tricky to do when you’re unfamiliar with the criminal justice process, though, which is why it might be a good idea to read more about how plea negotiations and trial play out. And if you need guidance in gathering evidence and crafting your criminal defense legal strategy, then you might want to seek out any assistance that you deem necessary. That way you can rest assured that you’ve done everything possible to protect yourself against the aggressive prosecutors who are handling your case.