Facing criminal charges can cause a lot of anxiety for many people, and coming up against the criminal justice system is daunting. Police officers and prosecutors are motivated to secure a conviction against you for your alleged criminal offenses, and in most cases, they have significant resources to do so. Being convicted of a crime in Will County can have serious consequences that can impact the rest of your life.
With the help of an experienced criminal defense attorney, however, you can try to avoid facing the serious consequences of a criminal conviction and help ensure your rights are protected. The criminal legal system in Illinois is built in favor of police officers and prosecutors, and all they want to do is move you through the system as fast as possible and secure a conviction. Your freedom and rights are not a top priority for prosecutors and police officers in Will County.
At Hirsch Law Group, we care about your legal rights and want to protect your future from tarnishing by a criminal conviction. Our law firm has been helping protect the rights of individuals accused of crimes for over 15 years, and we have law offices all over Illinois. Our team comprises former prosecutors who now work as aggressive criminal defense attorneys, fighting to ensure justice for defendants in Illinois.
We have seen first-hand how the criminal justice system is built against defendants and how criminal convictions can ruin a person’s life. You must hire legal representation from a criminal defense attorney to protect your rights.
Call us at 815-880-1134 to schedule a free consultation with a Will County criminal defense attorney today.
Suppose you are arrested for a crime in Will County, such as drug possession, assault, domestic violence, a sexual offense, or a violent crime. In that case, you will likely be brought into the police station, where questioning will begin. At this point, the police officer wants to try and get information from you to point toward a guilty verdict. They may use dirty tactics and manipulate you to try and get you to confess to a crime.
It is important to remember that a police officer does not have to have an arrest warrant against you before they begin questioning. As such, they may have arrested you without probable cause and then use the information you give them to get a warrant for your arrest. If they can build a strong case against you or garner probable cause, they can legally bring a criminal charge against you.
Once criminal charges have been brought against you, you will be served with an arrest warrant and begin your way through the criminal system. The prosecution will begin to speak to witnesses and gather evidence against you to try and secure a conviction. Their priority is moving your case through the justice system as quickly as possible to secure a conviction, and it benefits them if you do not have a good criminal defense attorney backing your case and bringing up critical legal issues.
The consequences of a criminal conviction stretch far beyond the immediate penalties of jail time, probation, fines, and community service. With a criminal conviction comes a criminal record with added consequences for the rest of your life. Criminal law does not take into account the extra consequences that having a criminal record can have and does not provide any means for those convicted of a crime to move on with their life.
Employers in Will County often perform background checks on potential employees. If you apply for a job in specific industries, such as education, childcare, or government, your employer must perform a criminal check. If it turns up that you have a criminal conviction, you are much less likely to be employed for the job.
The same goes for education in Will County. Although it is still possible to get accepted to a university with a criminal conviction, universities are less likely to accept students with criminal records, particularly if the spaces in the course are limited.
If you are currently going through a child custody battle in Will County, being convicted of a crime can seriously impact the outcome of this battle. With a criminal conviction, you are less likely to be awarded custody of your children by the court, particularly if you were convicted of violent crimes. Judges rarely offer sympathy to those convicted of a crime and are more inclined to decide that you should not have visitation rights for the child as it’s in their best interests.
Getting loans from banks or other financial institutions with a criminal record can be substantially more difficult. Financial institutions often believe that those with criminal records are less likely to repay a loan or cannot be trusted in the same way as individuals without convictions. As such, if you need a mortgage, car, or education loan, you must avoid getting convicted of a crime.
Individuals in Will County are required to abide by criminal law, which includes local state criminal laws and federal statutes. If you are suspected of or have been caught breaking a criminal law, you will be charged with a crime. Regardless of how serious the crime is, being convicted can result in a permanent criminal record. Your criminal case will be brought through the court in Will County to try and secure a guilty verdict against you.
Some examples of charges you could face include:
Drug crimes, including drug possession, trafficking, and distribution
Violent crimes
Traffic violations, including a DUI case
Criminal cases involving weapons
Hate crimes
Battery and assault
Theft
Domestic violence
Domestic battery
White collar crimes
The penalties for each type of crime depend on the severity of the crime, sentencing guidelines, the personal circumstances of the individual accused of the crime, including whether they have a criminal record, and of course, the discretion of the judge. Having a Will County criminal defense attorney will increase your chances of receiving a lower sentence substantially.
Facing the criminal justice system without a vital criminal defense attorney is a big mistake. The only way to ensure a favorable outcome in your case is to hire legal representation from a reputable law firm. Criminal defense attorneys understand your situation, and they know how to fight the system and ensure that your rights are protected at all costs. We care about preserving your rights and protecting your future.
Some things a criminal defense attorney can do to help your case include:
When you schedule a consultation with a Will County criminal lawyer, they will advise you of the options available for your case. Using their experience with criminal law, a lawyer can explain how the court system works, relieve any anxieties you have, and explain any criminal defenses that may be available for your case.
Our lawyers have witnessed many criminal cases in which investigators and police did not uphold the rights of the accused. When rights are not protected, it can sometimes lead to severe stress, trauma, and false confessions. A criminal defense attorney will ensure that your rights are protected at all stages of your criminal case, including your right to remain silent and your right to have a fair trial.
A criminal defense attorney will need strong evidence to prevent you from being convicted. They can conduct an independent investigation into your case by examining the evidence against you, speaking with any witnesses to the scene, tracking down witnesses that can provide you with an alibi, and gathering evidence favorable to your case. They will then use this evidence to build a solid criminal defense.
A skilled criminal defense attorney can negotiate with the prosecution on your behalf to reach a favorable plea bargain. They will assess the strength of the prosecution’s case, evaluate the potential consequences of going to trial, and work towards securing a plea deal that minimizes the charges or penalties you may face.
A defense attorney will thoroughly examine the evidence against you, looking for any inconsistencies, errors, or violations of legal procedures. They can file motions to suppress evidence obtained unlawfully or present arguments to undermine the credibility of witnesses. By challenging the prosecution’s case, they aim to weaken the evidence against you and improve your chances of a favorable outcome.
The most important thing a Lake County criminal defense attorney will do for your case is build a solid criminal defense. Using their experience with criminal law, they will examine the evidence, speak with you about what happened, check for any legal issues, and base their criminal defense on this. They will then use this defense to defend your case in court or try and negotiate a plea deal on your behalf.
Without a solid criminal defense, you cannot effectively defend the charges brought against you. Our law firm has the unique experience of a former prosecutor, so we can predict arguments they may make against you and ensure we have a counter-argument against these claims. We understand their tactics against you and how stressful this can be. We want to protect you at all costs and ensure you get a fair criminal case.
The type of criminal defense that may be used in your case depends entirely on the particular circumstances of your case and the criminal offense you are accused of committing. Having a strong criminal defense is the key to avoiding a criminal conviction. Without one, you will likely face the full impact of criminal law.
Some types of defenses our Will County criminal defense lawyers may use for your case include:
Police officers and prosecutors have to bring criminal charges against an individual within a certain period, known as a statute of limitations. If charges are brought against a person outside of this time frame, they will be invalid.
If you are innocent of the charges brought against you, your attorney must gather substantial evidence to prove your innocence. Prosecutors and police officers do not want to lose a case against a defendant and will do almost anything to secure a conviction. As such, you must hire an effective criminal defense attorney with experience proving clients’ innocence in a criminal court.
Often, people commit crimes because they fear for their life or have received threats requiring them to commit a crime. In this case, a criminal defense lawyer can argue that you only committed a crime because of a threat of violence or actual violence against you.
If you committed a crime in defense of your own life or property, a criminal lawyer could argue self-defense on your behalf.
To bring criminal charges against an individual in Will County, the police or prosecutor must have probable cause for your arrest based on evidence or witness testimony. Without probable cause, any arrest warrant made will be illegal. As such, if the reasons they used to get an arrest warrant against you were invalid, a criminal defense attorney can try to invalidate your arrest.
If your rights were breached by the Illinois state police or at any stage throughout the criminal process, criminal law attorneys could use this to get your charges thrown out.
Contact a criminal defense lawyer from our law firm to discuss your case and assess what defense could potentially be used for your case. The stronger your defense, the more likely you are to avoid the serious consequences of a conviction.
At Hirsch Law Group, we understand that the odds are stacked against you in the criminal justice system, and we have seen first-hand how it works. Our Will County criminal lawyers want to protect your future and allow you to defend your criminal charges properly. We have the experience and skills that you need to ensure your life is not affected by a conviction.
The criminal defense lawyers at Hirsch Law Group have been helping defendants in Illinois for over 15 years and have a combined legal expertise of 100+ years. Our law offices currently serve 13 counties in Illinois, and we have Will County, Cook County, DuPage County, Kendall County, Kane County, and Chicago criminal defense lawyers.
Our managing attorney, Gordon H. Hirsch, has worked as a former prosecutor, as well as other attorneys in our firm. With our unique experience, we take a specific approach to fighting criminal cases as we know the dirty tricks that prosecutors and police officers play to secure a conviction. Our priority is to provide aggressive legal representation to all our clients charged with criminal offenses in Will County and ensure that their rights are protected at all stages.
Our law office has been ranked among the best 40 in Illinois by Enterprise.com, and our attorneys have been ranked in America’s Top 100 Attorneys. The Illinois State Bar Association recognizes all of our criminal defense attorneys and have received multiple awards and recognition for their hard work and dedication to protecting their client’s rights.
Once you contact our firm for a free initial consultation, we will assign a compassionate criminal lawyer to your case who will advise you on your options, help you secure a fair plea bargain, or begin to build a strong criminal defense on your behalf.
If you are facing criminal charges in Will County, you may feel anxious about facing the criminal justice system. It can be tough to defend any charges brought against you without a competent criminal defense attorney. Judges and prosecutors do not treat individuals without lawyers lightly, and you are likely to be convicted of a crime without a premium criminal lawyer.
At Hirsch Law Group, our Will County criminal lawyers have defended hundreds of clients similar to you and have helped secure not-guilty verdicts in many cases. We understand how to negotiate with prosecutors to secure a lighter sentence, and we have the skills to take your case to court and prove your innocence.
Prosecutors are much more likely to drop charges against individuals with solid legal representation, as we can protect your rights and prove that they do not have sufficient evidence to convict you of a crime. You must seek aggressive representation immediately to prevent your life and future opportunities from being impacted by criminal records.
Call 815-880-1134 to schedule an immediate free consultation with one of our Will County criminal lawyers.