White-collar crime allegations, including those about fraud and embezzlement, can wreak havoc on your life. They might cause you to lose your job and your standing in the community, and they can threaten you with an extensive amount of time in prison should you end up convicted. Although those realities can be incredibly stressful, you should find some relief in the fact that criminal defense options are available to you.
Picking the defense strategy that’s right for you
To choose the right defense strategy, you have to know your options and how they apply to your set of circumstances. This is where an experienced attorney may be able to help you by crafting the compelling strategy that you need on your side. But in the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the common defenses that may be available to you in your case.
- Lack of intent: For most white-collar crimes, prosecutors are going to have to prove that you intentionally took money for the purpose of converting it to your own personal use and gain. This can be difficult to prove sometimes, especially when you’re dealing with complex financial records and business practices that may not be standard.
- Illegally obtained evidence: Even if the evidence against you is convincing, you still might be able to block it from being used against you. This is especially true if that evidence was obtained in violation of your constitutional rights. In some instances, this occurs when law enforcement officers conduct a search and seizure without a valid warrant exception or in a way that goes beyond the scope of a validly secured warrant.
- Statute of limitations: Criminal charges must be brought forth within a certain period of time, the length of which is dependent upon the crime being charged. If the prosecutors swoop in too late, then you’re off the hook, even if the evidence shows that you’re guilty.
- Insufficient evidence: This is a commonly utilized defense strategy. Here, you merely try to poke holes in the prosecution’s case, thereby demonstrating that they’ve failed to prove every element of the charged crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure you understand the elements of the crime that you’ve been accused of committing so that you know how to attack them.
- Lack of witness credibility: This goes hand-in-hand with insufficient evidence but is worth mentioning in its own right. The prosecution is going to rest a lot of its case on the testimony of witnesses. If you can effectively attack the reliability of those witnesses, then you can diminish the strength and weight of their testimony, which could make it harder for the prosecution to prove its case.
- Opinion-based statements: Some criminal accusations are made because the defendant allegedly made fraudulent statements or claims. However, if you’re in that position and can demonstrate that your statements were merely based on opinion and had no fraudulent intent, then you might be able to escape criminal conviction.
Build the strong criminal defense that you need to protect your future
There’s no doubt that there’s a lot on the line in your criminal case. That’s why you need to be prepared with the strongest defense arguments possible before you head into the legal arena.
If you want to know more about what you can do to create the aggressive defense strategy that you need on your side, then you can continue to browse our website, do your homework, and reach out to a legal team that you think will adequately represent your interests. By doing so, you might be able to beat the prosecution and protect your future.