Kenansville Criminal Defense Attorney

Kenansville, NC Criminal Defense Lawyer

A criminal conviction can have a serious impact on your life. Depending on the severity of the charges, you might be facing community service, probation, fines, and even jail time. If you are facing criminal charges, you need to contact a Kenansville, NC, criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

If you haven’t been convicted before, you are also looking at the potential risk of a criminal record, which could hurt your career, educational, financial, and even social opportunities. All of this can be a frightening prospect, made all the more intimidating by the fact that the whole weight of the legal system seems to be against you.

Silva, Kiernan & Associates, PLLC: Your Kenansville Criminal Defense Attorneys

A Kenansville criminal defense attorney can guide you through the process as they help you fight these consequences. Despite what it feels like, there are a number of different ways that the legal system provides you with the opportunity to avoid these penalties if there is insufficient cause to convict you. The prosecution must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a high standard to meet.

With the right legal team behind you, like Silva, Kiernan & Associates, PLLC, you can at least know that a formidable defense can be made on your behalf in Kenansville. We take advantage of whatever opportunities the legal system affords us to protect our clients.

What Does a Kenansville Criminal Defense Attorney Do?

It’s the job of a criminal defense attorney to protect your rights throughout the legal process and ensure that you are given every chance to defend yourself. There are several steps to doing this:

Defend Your Rights From the Start of the Case

Even while you are being investigated, we can help defend you against unlawful searches and seizures, as well as other forms of self-incrimination. If you are arrested, we can push for your right to remain silent to be respected, along with all the other legal rights that you are afforded in the judicial system.

Investigate the Circumstances of the Case

In preparing to offer a defense for you, we often begin with performing a thorough investigation of your case, including the circumstances surrounding your arrest and the charges. We can search for any evidence or eyewitness testimony that could be helpful in defending against the charges you face. We also look for any information that might contradict or weaken the prosecution’s narrative.

Predict How the Prosecution Will Build Their Case

Part of preparing a defense for our clients involves foreseeing how the prosecution might argue their case. This comes naturally to the former prosecutors at Silva, Kiernan & Associates, PLLC. The ability to understand how the prosecution might be planning on arguing the case is critical because it allows us to identify any potential holes or weak points in their case. If we can later magnify these flaws for the jury, this can be critical to creating reasonable doubt in their minds.

Build a Defense for Your Case

We consider all the relevant factors in a case and develop a strategy that is appropriate for your situation. In some cases, depending on the facts or evidence available, defending against criminal charges may take a very different approach.

There are times, for instance, when the evidence that a defendant committed an act is so overwhelming that denying it would hurt their defense. In these cases, the better option may be to admit that the action in question did occur. However, it can then be claimed that it’s not actually a crime because of mitigating factors. Arguing self-defense or entrapment are examples of this kind of defensive tactic.

Engage in Pre-Trial Motions to Help or Dismiss Your Case

Our defense of you, though, begins before presenting that argument at the trial. Before a trial, there are pre-trial hearings and other opportunities to submit various motions. During these proceedings, if there are any grounds for a dismissal, we can make that case. We may also challenge the validity and admissibility of certain bits of evidence that the prosecution may wish to present. Then, we can see if they may be disallowed from being brought to trial.

Defend Your Case

When the trial starts, it’s our job to act as both your representative and advocate throughout the legal process. That means presenting a defense that’s appropriate to the situation. We can challenge the prosecution’s narrative and put forth a proactive defense for you as well. Our attorneys have experience on both sides of the courtroom and understand what the prosecution is attempting to do. We can counter it as well as the evidence in the case allows.

Negotiate the Sentence or Appeal the Verdict of Your Case

Even with a well-argued case, though, it’s possible that we may not receive the verdict that we are hoping for. No one can predict the outcome of a court case. If that happens, though, we are not done advocating for you, as we can use the relevant information and facts about your case to argue for a lighter sentencing.

There may be some opportunities, as well, for an appeal. For instance, something was allowed to be used as evidence in the trial that shouldn’t have been. We can fight for you through this process as well.

A Kenansville Criminal Defense Attorney Is Critical for Your Defense

The consequences of a criminal conviction can leave your life upended. Probation, fines, and community service may be required on the lighter end of things. However, more serious criminal convictions can result in lengthy jail stays. Whatever the legal penalties, a criminal conviction is going to result in a criminal record that will appear on background checks and limit your opportunities. With so much at risk, it’s important that anyone facing criminal charges take their defense seriously.

When facing the legal apparatus, it’s easy to get disheartened and feel like your chances of avoiding conviction are minimal. Fortunately, a Duplin County criminal lawyer from Silva, Kiernan & Associates, PLLC, can help you limit or avoid the penalties of a criminal charge.

The legal system is designed with protections and opportunities for those who’ve been charged with a crime. A criminal lawyer is well-suited to ensure that those protections are observed. We can defend you against these charges and increase your likelihood of avoiding a conviction. If you’re facing criminal charges and need a team that takes your defense seriously, contact us today.