What Is The Job Of The Criminal Defense Lawyer? A lawyer whether they deal in criminal law or in civil cases is an advocate for the accused, basically they speak for the accused and their job is to protect their client’s best interests and ensure that their rights are not harmed in anyway.
A criminal defense lawyer’s role is deemed crucial to an accused receiving a fair trial and even though the accused may dispense with their lawyer’s services and conduct their own defense this is considered to be extremely foolish. However, modern day criminal lawyers do not just fight it out in the courtroom they must be prepared to get to know every details of a client’s case. This might mean interviewing witnesses, studying the police reports and even visiting crime scenes. This is because a crucial part of a criminal lawyer’s role today is to determine the probability of his client’s odds of acquittal or conviction.
The criminal lawyer’s job is then to prepare the accused defense as diligently as possible. However, a controversial element has crept into modern criminal trials whereby the prosecutor can approach the defense lawyer to make a plea bargain. This typically involves the accused pleading guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a reduced sentence.