Being charged with a crime is probably one of the most challenging times one can go through. From a scheduled visit to the court and fear of facing prison, among other frightening judgments that may be passed on to you.
Being charged with a crime can be traumatizing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will spend your next life in prison. Many criminal cases usually go through the plea agreement stage to be dismissed, but here are other ways that you can use to have a case dismissed. A criminal defence lawyer Brampton can maximize your chances of securing a dismissal on your case. If you get a criminal case dismissed, ensure to stay away from further crimes for your criminal record and reputation.
Let’s learn how to get a criminal case dismissed:
1. Plea Agreements
A plea agreement is one of the most common and oldest means of getting a criminal case dismissed. The process requires the criminal to plead guilty to one or a few charges, prompting the prosecutor or judge to dismiss the case or drop several charges.
Plea agreements have been divided into two types, namely, charge bargaining and sentence bargaining. Sentence bargaining applies when the prosecutor agrees to instill a lesser charge if the suspect pleads guilty to them.
Charge bargain, however, applies when the prosecutor agrees to minimize expenses for certain offences if the suspect pleads guilty to them. In most cases, the suspects may need to involve a lawyer or more qualified personnel due to the complexity of the process.
An experienced lawyer should guide you through a reasonable amount of charge bargain to avoid cases of embezzlement, among others.
2. Present a Strong Defence
Sometimes you have to actively defend your case from proceeding to further trials or maybe prison. Several defences can get you out of the hot soup, including acting in self-defence, defending false accusations, misidentifying by eyewitnesses, or presenting a solid alibi to the crime scene.
In most cases, prosecutors will request further shreds of evidence, and that is when you need to get the best of the bests. After presenting your strong defences, prosecutors will possibly offer you a deal to push on with the case or dismiss it lawfully.
Proceeding with the issues after the suspect presented their significant evidence has always been challenging to the prosecutors. Working with a qualified attorney makes the process quicker and more effective since they are more experienced in the field.
3. Blaming the Police
The arrest process is quite complex, with plenty of constitutional criteria and procedures. Often the police will barely follow the required standards and choose the shortcuts that will send the suspect to prison sooner. This should be your mega-opportunity to counter-attack the police with various blames for constitutional violations.
If the police don’t provide an adequate defence for their actions, this could lead to the dismissal of the case or a drop of some charges. Some of the common mistakes the police commit include:
- Mishandling the suspect on the way to court.
- Failure to advise the suspect on their appropriate rights and freedom.
- Unlawful arrests.
- Unreliable evidence.
- Misled or scandalous eyewitnesses.
4. Lack of Evidence
It’s nearly impossible for a case to proceed to its final trial when there’s no adequate evidence. A qualified attorney can help you by providing more substantial evidence against your detainer or arrestor.
If your attorney’s evidence outdoes the courts, the case will probably be dismissed entirely or some charges dropped. No judges or prosecutors like to lose anyway- lack of evidence is a sure path for case dismissal.
5. Pre-trial Diversion Program
The pre-trial diversion program allows the court and the suspect to agree to withhold prosecution for a specified period. During this time, the suspect is exempted from some forms of treatment and engagement with the court and can confidently run their other operations as they wait for the current probation.
The court might dismiss the withheld case to save time for other, more severe cases. Simultaneously, if the suspect meets all the conditions for the pre-trail diversion program, their case might be dismissed with no criminal records connected to the charges.
Failing to satisfy the program might prompt the court to restart the case with additional costs for not fulfilling the pre-trial diversion program. The most common conditions of the pre-trail diversion program include the following:
- Limited or no contact with the victims.
- Mandatory attendance to counselling and educational sessions.
- A specified amount of fee may be requested by the court.
- Regular reports to the court across the pre-trial period.
- Required service to the community (maybe mandatory or not).
- No engagement with any form of crime within the specified time.
6. What Happens After a Case Has Been Dismissed?
Dismissal makes the final stage of a case; neither the court nor the suspect can reprise the issue at a future date, no matter the circumstances. Case dismissal is probably the best news a defendant could receive but not without precautions.
The ‘pardoned’ suspect is advised to avoid further criminal activities as the court might not dismiss their future cases.
