By Lynn Mahon
This is a question we get asked a lot as lawyers. And the short answer at Ralli Solicitors LLP is: we don’t.
Accused and interviewed
When someone is charged with a criminal offence, they are interviewed, and the evidence is put to them by the prosecuting authority. The evidence can either be accepted or challenged.
Criminal lawyers take instructions from the accused and point out the strengths or weaknesses of the case against them.
We can only advise someone on the strength of the case against them and the likelihood of being found guilty or not guilty, but we cannot force them to take that advice.
They are also provided with the sentencing guidelines on guilty pleas, credit for guilty pleas, and the sentence, if found guilty after a trial, which is always higher.
We are obliged to tell the defendant this information.
What if the client admits they are guilty?
If a client did say “I am guilty, but I want you to do your best to get me off scot-free” then we would withdraw from the case. The criminal lawyers at Ralli Solicitors could not and would not enter the courtroom and run a not-guilty case knowing that the client had told us otherwise.
That is what we call being professionally embarrassed.
At that point, we simply inform the court that we can no longer act.
We do not have to, and nor do we, tell the Judge any more information other than that we can no longer act for the defendant.
Thank goodness that does not happen very often!
Do lawyers carry out their own investigations?
Most of the time we have very specific instructions as to why the prosecution is flawed, one-sided or presented totally out of context. That is when we start our own investigation work at Ralli Solicitors, and then we present evidence that casts doubt on the prosecution case.
In this digital world we now live in, there is usually a vast amount of material to go through, for example, cell site information showing telephone call records and messages. When a message is deleted from a handset, it never disappears completely. A forensic download brings up every single item including searches from web browsers and deleted messages.
The prosecution will sometimes do a very specific word search from the downloads. That isn’t helpful in most cases as things get taken out of context. What we do, is look at everything to ensure that a fair picture is presented to the jury.
Ralli Solicitors LLP are here to help if you been accused of a crime
Having the right team on your side from the very start of any investigation is paramount. Here at Ralli Solicitors LLP, we have many years of experience dealing with investigations and prosecutions. Please have a look at our testimonials from the very satisfied clients we have represented over the years.
At Ralli Solicitors, we also have a dedicated and confidential 24-hour telephone helpline if you’ve been accused of a crime or need some advice. Call us on 0161 615 0660, or you can email enquires@ralli.co.uk for assistance.
Learn more about our Criminal Law services here: ralli.co.uk/practice-areas/crime-law