Facing white-collar crime charges in West Virginia or elsewhere does not necessarily mean that you will incur a conviction, or even that your case will go to trial. A lot can happen in between the time of your arrest and a judge’s decision as to whether your case should continue to trial. In that time, the court could dismiss your case or rule certain evidence inadmissible. The type of criminal defense strategy you choose may have a significant impact on the ultimate outcome of your situation, as well.
There are usually several criminal defense options available in a particular case. It’s helpful, especially if you have no legal background, to ask someone who is well-versed in white-collar crime issues to review your case and recommend a defense strategy.
Truthful evidence is often a helpful criminal defense strategy
Perhaps someone is accusing you of committing a while-collar crime while using a computer. Investigators may have confiscated a computer as evidence of the alleged crime. If you know that you own the computer in question, but it was stolen from you, stating the truth can be a useful criminal defense strategy.
You might want to appeal to the mercy of the court as a criminal defense strategy
A situation might occur where you have, in fact, done exactly what prosecutors have accused you of doing. Maybe you acted under duress when someone was coercing you or threatening you. Perhaps you had second thoughts about what you were thinking of doing and tried to stop it from happening, either by convincing others who were going to participate that it was a bad idea or reporting the crime to the police.
In such cases, part of your criminal defense strategy might be to speak to the court about these things to try to gain the sympathy of the judge or a jury. If you have never been in trouble with the law before now, you might be able to convince the court that you are usually a person of good character who had a momentary lapse of judgment in this case.
Alibies are real, and if you have one, you will want to use it to your advantage
Maybe there is a person in your town who looks a lot like you. If you believe you have been arrested in a case of mistaken identity, this information can be given to the court as part of your defense. Do you have proof that you were not at the location where the supposed crime was committed? While such alibies definitely require proof, you may be able to win the court’s favor if you can confirm what you say.
You do not have an obligation to employ a specific criminal defense strategy or to limit yourself to one strategy alone. If more than one option is relevant in your case, you may pursue additional strategies. Just remember that the decisions you make may influence the outcome of your case.