A full day’s worth of events could be reduced to a few lines in a police report. The actual charge might be contained in a single line.
The real world isn’t always that tidy.
Perhaps dinner started at seven. When it was nine there was a fight. One person left around ten, and returned the next day. A neighbor then called the police shortly before midnight. Or maybe a driver spent the evening with a group of friends, hopped driving, got stopped a short distance later, performed roadside tests or a breath test, then was arrested. At dawn, all this activity could have been compressed into a criminal allegation.
A useful job for criminal defense attorneys who practice in Grand Rapids Michigan is to make the entire sequence work again.
Start earlier than the Arrest
The majority of people will recall the dramatic incident that saw flashing lights, officers at the door, or handcuffs. Understanding the circumstances of an incident might be more difficult if you look back.
In the event of a domestic violence case in a case of domestic violence, for instance the relationship between people is legally relevant under Michigan law. The information of the firm is able to identify spouses and ex-spouses, individuals who share a child, current or former dating partners as well as those who live or previously lived together.
The sequence of events leading to the police response can matter too. Did there exist a conflict? Who was involved? When did the interaction start? Did anyone depart and return? Did anyone talk to each other prior to or after the incident?
They aren’t designed to create a false story. These questions could help Grand Rapids, Michigan domestic violence lawyers to understand the allegations and the logical sequence, instead of interpreting the arrival of police officers as a beginning.
The charge itself is crucial. Michigan is a distinct state when it comes to domestic violence crimes. The firm’s materials also provide evidence that previous convictions could affect the severity of a subsequent charge.
An OWI Stop Has Its Own Timeline
A drunk-driving incident may be resolved over a shorter time, but sequence still matters. There’s the driving and the reason given by the officer for engaging in contact, any observations made following the stop, roadside procedures and statements, tests, and the arrest. If you think of all it as a single event it is difficult to distinguish between the various purposes of each part of the incident.
Michigan’s MCL 257.625 which is also referred to as Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), defines the crime. According to the information provided by the firm, a roadside preliminarily breath test is a screening technique that is not admissible in court as evidence of intoxication. However, it could be used in determining the probable cause.
This is the reason defense lawyers for drunk driving in Grand Rapids may reconstruct the traffic stop rather than focusing on a single number that a driver remembers from the side of the road.
Sometime the Timeline is on a telephone
Certain criminal investigations start without police having concrete evidence.
Allegations that a sexual offence is a result of past events in the life of a person, such as a previous relationship, a familial interaction or workplace setting. According to the descriptions of the firm, an individual may be informed of an investigation prior to when they are charged.
In this case the chronology could be distributed across multiple sources. Communication records are an excellent way to know when people talked. Digital records can aid in explaining a sequence of events. The same period may be described differently by different individuals involved.
It does not mean a message sent via text does not prove or debunk an allegation. It means criminal sexual conduct defense lawyers in Grand Rapids, Michigan may need to understand how communications, statements, credibility issues, and other available information fit together.
Memory and documentation are not the same thing
After a stressful encounter it is common for people to recall moments instead of timestamps. “It happened later that night” may be perfectly natural when talking, but it’s not enough to be a valid answer to a crucial legal query.
Documents can help you organize your memories. Contact histories, existing messages, photographs, receipts, court paperwork, and other records may provide dates or times that can help to establish a more precise chronology. The court will decide what’s relevant.
It is equally important to preserve records and to not alter them in order to make it appear more professional the case. An attorney representing the defense will be able to determine which details are important and how to deal with it.
The Case Number Don’t Cover the Entire Evening
Shawn Haff reports more than 16 years practicing criminal defense in Grand Rapids, and the Criminal Defense Law Center of West Michigan reports more than 1,500 cases which were handled over the span of more than 25 years of practice. The work of the center includes OWI as well as domestic violence assault, drug and firearm charges, sexual crimes, expulsions, retail fraud and driver’s license restoration.
Past outcomes, such as dismissals reductions, acquittals or favorable pleas, but cannot guarantee the outcome of another case.
Every new story has its protagonists, sequences or allegations, facts, and so on. That’s precisely the point.
An arrest can happen in minutes. The charge label is written in a few words. To understand the events leading up to it, it’s usually necessary to slow down the night and examine the events that actually transpired.