Whether you are facing state or federal charges, an investigation or event with police will take place prior to federal indictment or criminal charges being filed. Most criminal cases do not have substantial or lengthy investigations. Rather, police observe a crime or witnesses make statements about a crime, police gather evidence, and the prosecutor decides what charges to file. The best thing you can do in the typical case prior to charges being filed is exercise your right to remain silent, hire an Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney, and do not say anything to law enforcement
On the other hand, more serious crimes or crimes that span a length of time often involve an investigation. You will likely become aware of the fact that you are under investigation prior to being interrogated or arrested. In these instances, it is again in your interest to hire an experienced Oklahoma City criminal defense attorney to guide you through the process and stop you from making any incriminating statements at your defense attorney will be with you during questioning or interrogation.
Once the investigation phase is over, the prosecutor will make a decision on what charges to bring to the grand jury or file in state court. You should never speak to law enforcement, unless you are in the presence of your criminal defense attorney.
At the beginning of your case or the pretrial phase, you and your Oklahoma criminal defense attorney will investigate your defense and evaluate the government’s case against you. When you work with an experienced Oklahoma criminal defense attorney you will be better able to evaluate and understand your options of fighting your case or seeking a plea agreement.
Once your case has been pending for some time you and your OKC criminal defense attorney will have to evaluate your options, hopefully with all the information possible. You will need to decide, which of the following options you will pursue:
- Fight: decide to take the evidence and witness testimony you and your OKC criminal defense attorney have been able to gather to fight your case in motion hearings, suppression hearing, or jury trial. This option is high risk and high reward, if successful your case will be dismissed, but if unsuccessful your punishment may be greater than the next two options. Watch this video to learn more about the options between
- Plea: decide to accept the best deal with the prosecutor that your OKC criminal defense attorney has been able to obtain for you through development of your story and mitigation to show cause for a lesser punishment. This option gives you the most control over the outcome of your case. When you work with an experienced and top-rated OKC criminal defense attorney, they will ensure you understand every option you make in your case and that you know the best case, worse case, and secondary effects of every decision in your OKC criminal case.
- Blind Plea: In Oklahoma federal criminal cases and state criminal cases, you may resolve your case by plea without an agreement with the prosecutor. This option is called a “blind plea” as you do not know your sentence or the outcome of your case and you are leaving it to the court to decide the sentence. This option gives you and your OKC criminal defense attorney the opportunity to present evidence, witnesses, and mitigation to the court with a plan for your sentence and your OKC criminal defense attorney must fight for the best outcome.
There are many pitfalls and decisions to be made during the course of an OKC criminal case in both state and federal court. When you work with an experienced and top-rated criminal defense attorney, you will be better informed of the potential risks and rewards of every decision. Your Fierce Advocates® at Cannon & Associates are dedicated and obligated by our founder to ensure every client knows the pros and cons of every decision in their case. We would be glad to address every single question you have in a case planning session or meeting with our OKC criminal defense team.