How to Defend a Felony Case, Part 4: Fact-Finding, Building a Defense to Your Case

At Wallin & Klarich, we have defended thousands of people in southern California against felony charges. Many of our clients find us through our website. One of the questions we are frequently asked is what an attorney can do to defend them against felony charges. We have already discussed the first, second, and third steps in defending a criminal felony charge.

The fourth step in defending a felony charge is the fact-finding stage. This part may involve a lot of work. It is your lawyer’s job to find out what evidence the prosecutors have against you, and then to determine how strong or how weak that evidence is.

For example, if a witness identified a client as the person who committed the crime, it is the client’s lawyer’s job to find out how credible that witness is. Was it dark out? Does the witness still remember what the client looks like? Has the witness ever changed his or her story? Are there any witnesses who saw something or someone different? If the evidence involves a police officer conducting tests, it is your lawyer’s job to find out what the police officer’s qualifications are to conduct the test.

This preparation may require the help of a private investigator. It may also require the help of an expert witness—perhaps a document examiner, perhaps a latent print expert, perhaps a forensic toxicologist, or perhaps a ballistics expert. The facts of each case vary greatly, and this is the stage where we need to find out exactly what the facts are. Only when we know what the details of the facts are can we know how strong of a case we would have in front of a jury. This is also the stage where we collect all the evidence that we have. Do we have our own witnesses, our own experts, or our own documentation? If so, we need to get it. Frequently, the teamwork of the client and the San Diego criminal defense attorney is necessary to mount the most successful and thorough defense possible.

The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have the skills and expertise to provide you with the best possible defense to your felony case. Our experienced defense attorneys can be reached by phone at 1-888-749-0034 or through our website at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.

Keep reading to learn the next step in defending a felony case.