If you’ve been accused or charged with a crime in Texas, you will need to start planning your criminal defense strategy. Defending yourself against criminal charges involves building a reliable argument that reflects your version of events and undermines the prosecution’s evidence against you. While choosing a strong defense can be difficult, a skilled criminal defense attorney can help you determine the best defense strategy for your criminal case.
Below, you can read more about the most common defense strategies used against criminal offenses in Texas.
Key Takeaways
- Plea deals are one way to reduce your charges without necessarily proving innocence.
- Strong defense strategies include establishing an alibi, proving you were acting in self-defense, or proving you were wrongly accused.
- On the other hand, your attorney may be able to prove that you were entrapped or under duress when the offense occurred.
- In cases involving severe mental illness, your criminal defense attorney may use the insanity defense.
- Finally, cases involving police misconduct or that have passed the legal deadline for criminal prosecution may be dismissed.
Plea Deals
Plea deals are a key part of the criminal defense process. Through a plea deal, your attorney can negotiate with the prosecution to determine a punishment for your case. By admitting to a level of guilt, you can access reduced charges or penalties. Typically, the plea bargain agreed to by you and the prosecution must then be approved by the court. If approved, your case will skip trial, and instead you will receive your sentence as stated in the plea deal.
If you’ve been charged with a crime in San Antonio, it’s important to get help from a skilled attorney to determine the right path forward for your case, whether that means a plea deal or a denial defense.
Self-Defense
There are two main categories that criminal defense strategies can fall into: affirmative defenses and denial or standard defenses. While standard denial defenses are based on the argument that the accused never committed the alleged offense, affirmative defenses state that, while the crime occurred, there are factors that should limit the offender’s guilt. A self-defense argument is a type of affirmative defense.
In an argument based on self-defense, criminal defense attorneys claim that the defendant’s actions were legally justified due to a reasonable fear of imminent harm. They will also need to prove that your response was reasonably proportional to the perceived threat.
Alibi Defense
With help from a criminal defense lawyer, you may be able to prove that you were elsewhere when the crime was committed. A strong alibi may be proven using eyewitness testimony, phone records, and surveillance footage, and it can significantly weaken the prosecution’s case against you. If you can prove that you were not at the scene of the crime when the offense occurred, you may be fully acquitted.
False Accusations or Mistaken Identity
These types of defenses rest on proving that the accused was not the person involved in the criminal act. To establish guilt under criminal law, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt what crime was committed and by whom. This means that if there is any reason to suspect that a different person committed the crime, you may be acquitted. Relying on a range of evidence, your attorney may be able to argue that someone else committed the crime involved in your case, with your charges either being the result of mistaken identification or intentional false accusations.
Entrapment
Entrapment is one of the more complicated types of legal defense strategies, often relying on a difficult and lengthy legal process. In these cases, your attorney must prove that law enforcement induced you to commit a crime. This may include using coercion or threats, or repeatedly badgering the accused into engaging in criminal activity, with many entrapment cases involving sting operations.
To prove that entrapment occurred, your legal team will need to build a reliable foundation of evidence, often including communication records, witness and expert testimony, and your prior criminal history or lack thereof. Specifically, you must establish that there is a preponderance of evidence supporting your defense, meaning proof with a more than 50% chance of being correct.
Duress
Another potential defense is to prove that the defendant committed the crime under duress. A person acting under duress believes that they are under imminent threat of danger with no reasonable escape. For example, you may be forced to engage in a criminal act at gunpoint or as a result of imminent threats against your well-being.
Similar to other defense strategies, proving duress will mean gathering physical evidence such as phone records, surveillance footage, and witness statements. Your attorney can help you build a strong argument to meet the legal standards for duress in Texas.
Insanity
The insanity defense is based on proving that the defendant did not know that they were acting illegally when the crime was committed. Often, these cases involve establishing that the defendant didn’t know right from wrong at the time of the offense, including cases of temporary insanity.
Keep in mind that, in Texas, the law presumes that all defendants are sane, putting the burden of proof on the defendant to establish insanity beyond a reasonable doubt. This may mean relying on expert testimony and medical records, with a strict standard and steps to follow. If you plan to use an insanity defense, getting help from a skilled San Antonio defense attorney will be essential.
Statute of Limitations
Many types of criminal charges are subject to strict deadlines known as statutes of limitations. If you’ve been charged with a crime, but the actual offense was a long time ago, your case may be past the statute of limitations. Cases that have missed this deadline may be dismissed, with the prosecution barred from pressing charges.
It’s important to note that some types of violent crime cases do not have a statute of limitations in Texas. You can be charged with murder, manslaughter, sex crimes involving children, and some other felonies no matter how long it’s been since the alleged crime was committed.
Law Enforcement Violations
Law enforcement officers and other members of the criminal justice system must treat those accused of crimes in accordance with their constitutional rights. For example, officers must either have probable cause or present a warrant to search your property, and you are owed due process during any arrest proceedings. Illegal searches, wrongful arrests, and other poor behavior by police officers and detectives can significantly weaken the prosecution’s case. Your attorney can help suppress evidence obtained during illegal searches and arrests.
Build a Reliable Defense With a San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney
Whether law enforcement violated your rights or you were acting in self-defense, you will need help from an attorney to build the best defense for your case. Gathering evidence, creating a defense strategy, and defending your legal rights to a fair trial are all key parts of a good defense attorney’s job. Without legal representation, you could be putting your freedom and future at risk.
Here at the Law Office of John G. Perez Jr., we pride ourselves on helping Texans defend themselves against life-changing legal charges. We fight tirelessly to get charges dropped or reduced, and we won’t rest until we reach a favorable outcome in your case. You can count on us to identify weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, exploiting inconsistencies to create a strong defense.