Annapolis Robbery Charge Defense

Robbery is a very serious crime and it is never a misdemeanor. A person charged with robbery could face decades of jail time, which is the harshest penalty they would face as a result of a robbery conviction. In order to prove a robbery charge in Annapolis, a prosecutor must prove that there was a use of force or a threat of the use of force in a commission of a theft. In order to avoid these harsh penalties, and to counter the claims and strategies of the prosecutor, it is crucial to work with an Annapolis robbery lawyer on building a strong and effective defense.

Preparing a Defense

In an Annapolis robbery case, in much same way as with a theft case, a criminal lawyer makes sure that he or she has the entire discovery from the prosecution. That includes all the evidence the prosecution intends to use during the course of the trial, as well as evidence they gathered that might not be used during the course of a trial.

A criminal lawyer should never expect that the prosecution is going to turn over all of the materials that they have on a particular case. The defense attorney must conduct their own investigation to find surveillance videos, talk to eye witnesses, and locate information that might assist them in the defense of their client in criminal court.

Prosecutors are required under discovery obligations to turn over both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence to the defense. However, prosecutors and police detectives generally get into a state where they only look for information that tends to prove their case, as opposed to things that tend to disprove their case, which ends up creating a very one-sided system of discovery. Therefore, it is essential that the defense has their own investigation to uncover evidence that could potentially prove their client not guilty of the charge.

Evidence Used

There are varying kinds of evidence a criminal lawyer might compile. These include any video surveillance, eyewitness reporting, and anything else they discover that is potentially useful for them to present to a finder of fact in these cases.

Reasons to Take a Plea Deal

After all investigation is exhausted, after all witnesses are interviewed, and after all options are considered, a defense attorney might discuss with their client the possibility of taking a plea if they believe the evidence against their client is strong.

Other times, they might encourage their client to take a plea if the evidence against their client is weak. The prosecutor takes this weakness into account and reduces the case in terms of the charges to such a degree that it is now worth considering some kind of resolution. For example, if an individual was charged with a robbery offense and the prosecutor identified the problems with the case, they might consider reducing the charge to a misdemeanor theft. That might be a conversation worth having with for the individual, because the charge is reduced from a very serious felony to a very minor misdemeanor offense. It is something that the attorney and the client may wish to discuss to determine if it is an option worth exercising.