If you have been accused of committing a criminal act then you will need to be represented by a criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta, this lawyer can defend you and fight for you in a court of law. In a situation like this, the individual accused of committing the crime is known as the defendant. On the opposite side of the court room is the prosecuting attorney. In many cases defense lawyers began their legal careers as prosecutors. As crimes are considered to have taken place against the state and there is no plaintiff per se, the prosecutor is an agent of the government, simply acting in the best interest of the individual who was victimized.
If the person who has been charged with a crime cannot afford to hire an independent criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta, the system in the US guarantees the defendant a state appointed attorney. Most people prefer to have a private lawyer as the state lawyers are often so over worked they cannot do justice to a case.
The defense lawyer must defend his client in court and cast doubt on the prosecution’s case. In court, the defendant is innocent until proven otherwise so it is up to the defense lawyer to cast doubt on the evidence and convince a jury that the defendant is not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not the mandate of the defense lawyer to prove the client’s innocence; the law says the accused is innocent by default. The defense lawyer tries to present evidence that will exonerate the client and prove innocence.
A defense lawyer must defend his or her client vigorously but not break the law in the process. The lawyer cannot bring a witness to the stand knowing full well that his testimony is a lie, nor can the lawyer lie to the court. In many cases the lawyer does not want to know if the client is innocent or guilty as the lawyer can be more flexible in defense when the truth is not known to him.
Although in many cases the criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta does not want to know if the client is guilty, in cases where the preponderance of evidence of guilt is overwhelming the lawyer will want to know as he will attempt to get the lightest possible sentence handed down by the judge.
