When a person gets into a criminal case and searches for a defense lawyer, the most important thing is to understand the type of roles he/she is going to play throughout the proceedings. Apart from being responsible for defending, the lawyer has to investigate the case from a number of aspects. He/she has to identify weaknesses in opposition’s points and take desirable moves to turn the case into his/her client’s favor.

• Establishment of Contact for the Case

When a defendant or someone from his side approaches a Toronto criminal lawyer (http://ernstashurovlaw.com/), the aim is to find satisfactory support and surety of handling the case properly. Since most of the criminal lawyers work as public defenders, they used to get paid by their office. Usually, they are appointed by federal, state or local courts while the rest are assigned by private firms. Some have independent legal offices to take care of the matters while others don’t. The reason behind is that public defenders have lower salary as compared to private lawyers and therefore, they couldn’t afford to create their private spaces.

• Case Investigation

Upon assigning a criminal case, the defense lawyer sets meetings with the client and other people involved in the case so as to know their aspects about what has happened. They used to have a list of specific questions that help them to learn new facts about the case.

Once they have first-hand information, the next important step is to analyze the case based on the collected facts so as to make sure that they correspond with each other and help in defending the client in front of the court. Police is also questioned for their investigative procedures while witnesses are approached to check if police was good to them or not.

• Analysis of Evidences

To analyze the evidences presented against the defendant, the Toronto criminal lawyers have to study the theories and facts associated with the case. Sometimes, they need individual investigation or analysis. Even, the lawyer has to check whether they meet all legal aspects as mentioned by the law or not.

• Jury Selection

Another responsibility of the Toronto criminal lawyers is to assist in jury selection. If they find any juror biased or having bad feelings about the defendant, then it’s better to request for changing the juror immediately before the hearing begins.

• Plea Bargaining

The criminal lawyers are also responsible for explaining the case’s status and negotiation with the prosecutor. Here, the lawyer can help to get a reasonable deal in favor of the defendant, leading to lesser chances of getting punishment.

• Trial Participation

Toronto criminal lawyers have to fight for the rights of their clients. They have to analyze witnesses, try to cross examine the facts and convince the jury about the lack of supporting documents against their clients.

• Sentencing

In case the criminal defendant is accused and sentenced for the crime, then it depends upon the criminal lawyer that whether he/she wants to represent the client during this sentencing phase or not. He/she can list down factors and discuss with the jury to reduce the time duration or punishment by proposing alternatives to incarceration.