Criminal law is the branch of law which relates to criminal cases, such as drug abuse, murder, causing intentional/unintentional harm to someone’s health and property, as well as moral welfare. The violator is usually punished appropriately, depending on the level of guilt and in accordance with the law. It is no surprise the laws and regulations in the United States differ from state to state, which makes it even more difficult to find proper protection. In the case of violating criminal law of a certain state, you have to find a local criminal defense lawyer familiar and knowledgeable on the criminal law of that particular state. Moreover, laws have a tendency to change over time, and local criminal defense attorneys are well-aware of the changes in their state laws.
What Are the Usual Criminal Defense Cases?
In Louisiana, The Criminal Defense Counsel accepts cases from the following areas of practice:
- Theft and fraud
- Violations of traffic
- Forgery
- Sexual assault
- Drug charges
- Aggravated assault
- DUI or driving under influence cases
- Juvenile offenses
- Domestic violence
- Personal injuries
All these misbehaviors have the potential of harming someone’s health and property, with DUI cases resulting in the most accidents (over 10,000 fatalities and 345,000 injuries in 2010).
What Are the Possible Consequences?
According to the theory of retributive justice, a criminal has to take a punishment, which is proportional to the offense. The aim is to restore the justice and to prevent future disobedience. Depending on how severe the offense was, the criminal can be inclined to:
- Pay a fine – In the case of disobeying criminal law, the offender might have to pay certain fines and compensations to the plaintiff, or the victim, along with other more serious types of punishment. The fines and the amount of compensation are usually calculated in accordance with the negligence or fault of the defender.
- Probation – This is the period of supervision over the offender, which is ordered by the court instead of imprisonment. Although it does not deprive the offender of liberty completely, the offender will still have to follow certain conditions set by the court. Direct supervision by the probation officer is also possible, which aims to control the offender’s actions to some extent.
- Imprisonment – imprisonment is one of the more critical forms of punishments. Nevertheless, it also depends on the severity of the offense. The length of imprisonment can be from a few days to a whole lifetime.
- Rehabilitation – in some cases, when the court decides that the defender has committed the crime as a result of some mental disability or while being under an emotional affect, it might come to a final decision of sending the defender to rehabilitation. The aim is to transform the offender into a valuable member of society and to prevent future offenses.
Other than the abovementioned punishments, the criminal law offense will be in the personal record of the offender throughout his/her life, and that will affect the offender’s future tremendously. In some states, including Louisiana, a former criminal may not be accepted to university or might lose financial aid. Another possible consequence is that the offender might not be able to find a job or a place to live, as some employers and landlords refuse to accept former criminals. Moreover, if you are ever accused of another crime, the court will pay attention to your previous criminal records, which can affect its decision negatively. So even if you make one bad decision, it might affect your whole life. That is why, in case of being accused of criminal law offense, you should immediately hire a local criminal defense attorney, so that he/she helps you mitigate the punishment or avoid it completely.
How Can a Criminal Defense Lawyer Help?
For those who are accused of committing a criminal offense such as personal injuries, medical malpractice, property damage and so on, the resulting charges are serious enough to consider consulting with a lawyer immediately. A criminal defense lawyer will help you with building a strong case and protecting your rights. He/she will guide you through the whole process and will help you make well-informed decisions that will benefit you maximally.
So if you live in New Orleans, Louisiana, contact us to get a free case evaluation and let us know what we can do for you. Our criminal defense attorneys will be happy to help you understand the situation better and to protect yourself properly.