Pleading Not Guilty

There are different ways to fight a federal criminal charge. For any serious charge, there are obviously clever and unique ways to fight for your future. Having a South Carolina federal criminal defense attorney can help provide you with the best possible defense and carefully analyze all of the facts of your case.

Common Defenses Include:

Insanity Defense/Ability to Stand Trial:

For almost any federal statute, insanity can be used as an alternative protection. What an insanity defense means, is that during the time of the crimeis work, the defendant was not able to recognize from improper as a result of significant mental disease or trouble. Basically, the defendant didn’t realize, when they apparently carried out the offense, the crime was wrong. However, just having a mental disease does not mean that one may use an insanity defense.

Frequently, the responsibility of evidence is around the prosecution, but for this type of defense, the defendant should build effective and clear evidence that they do have a right to use this insanity defense. The defendant must allow government recognize, throughout the pre-trial motion phase, they wish to pursue this. Expert testimony on the defendant’s madness is necessary nearly 100% of times. After the government understands the opposition is pursuing an insanity defense, they might ask the Court to look at the opposition for mental disease or defect. Any official of the judge or lawyer may obtain an evaluation to demonstrate the opponent is able to stand trial and contains the capacity to understand the fees, their privileges, and their capability to fully assist in their own safety. The defendant must be mentally competent to actively engage in every stage of their trial.

Necessity:

To make use of the defense of necessity, the defendant should show that, while yes, they served by themselves free-will, it had been to attain a larger good or prevent a larger damage. It takes the defendant show 1. These were confronted with a choice of two evils and he or she chose the lesser; 2. They served to avoid imminent harm; 3. They reasonably expected an informal connection between his/her activities as well as the damage that would be prevented as a result of this activity; 4. There is no legitimate option to breaking the law in this act.

Reliance Upon the Advice of Counsel:

In the event the defendant acted under guidance of their attorney, they may be excused of wrongdoing in this defense. This, also, requires many different aspects to be satisfied including: 1. The lawyer urged this before the act in question; 2. In good faith, the client sought advice from the lawyer (who the attorney considered completely sane); 3. The guidance sought was about the legality of the act in question; 4. The defendant told the lawyer of all facts in their situation; 5. They acted just with the guidance of the attorney.

Duress:

To make use of duress or coercion as a defense, the defense must verify that the defendant acted under a fully well-grounded fear of immediate death or severe bodily injury and had no other alternative than to violate the law. The defense must show: 1. An immediate danger of death or damage; 2. Fully substantiated fear that the threat will be performed; 3. The defendant had no power to escape from the injury.

The problem with this alternate safety are immediacy (meaning it’s certain) as well as the means to avoid the threatened harm (meaning they had no reasonable ability to escape this injury). A downside of this defense will be the defendant putting themselves within this dangerous situation by choice.

Let Us Help

These experienced federal criminal defense attorneys will provide you or a loved one with an aggressive and fully-planned defense to have your charges reduced or possibly dismissed. Please call or contact us today.