The police report can be reduced to the time of a night to a few pages. The actual charge might be contained on a single line.
Real life isn’t always neat.
Perhaps dinner started at seven. A fight broke out around nine. Someone left at ten and returned at a later time. A neighbor then phoned the police just before midnight. Perhaps a driver was out with his friends and got behind the wheel. He was arrested a couple of miles further. The next morning, all this could have been repackaged into a criminal charge.
For criminal defense lawyers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, one useful task is putting the sequence back together.
Start earlier than the Arrest
The most dramatic moments are the ones people will remember The flashing lights, the officers standing at the front door in handcuffs or the police signal. But understanding what happened may require going further back.
Michigan law, for instance it considers the relationship between the parties in an abuse case involving domestic violence. The information of the firm is able to identify spouses and ex-spouses, people who have children, couples who are currently or previously dating and individuals who live or previously lived together.
Even the incidents that predated the police response are important. Did there continue to be a disagreement? Who was there? When did this interaction begin? Who left and returned? Was there any communication prior to or afterwards?
These aren’t questions designed to create a false story. These questions assist Grand Rapids domestic violence defense lawyers understand the allegations in their proper order, instead of treating the police arrival as the starting point of everything.
The particular charge that is made also plays a role. Michigan differs from other domestic violence crimes and the firm’s papers note that prior convictions can affect the severity of subsequent charges.
The OWI Stop has its own timeline
The sequence of events involved in an investigation into drunk driving may be shorter, but it’s still vital. The reason for the driver’s actions, the officer made contact, the results of the arrest, the roadside procedure and the statements, the tests and then the eventual arrest are all vital. If you view all of this as a single incident, it can be difficult to discern the different purposes of each part of the incident.
Michigan’s MCL 257.625, also referred to as Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), defines the offense. According to the data provided by the firm, a preliminarily breath test is a method of screening and cannot be admitted at trial as evidence of intoxication. However, it could be used to identify probable cause.
That distinction is one reason why drunk defense lawyers for drivers in Grand Rapids, Michigan may make up the stop rather than just focusing on one specific number that drivers remember from the roadside.
Sometimes the Timeline exists on a phone.
There are many criminal investigations that do not start with police witnessing anything themselves.
Sexual-offense charges can relate to instances that took place earlier and often in a dating relationship, family environment or even a workplace encounter. According to the description provided by the firm, an individual could be informed about an investigation long before they are charged.
In this situation, the chronology can be distributed over a variety of sources. The messages may show when people spoke. Digital records can help determine the sequence of events. People may have different accounts of the same event.
It’s not the case that a text message proves or disproves an assertion. This means that criminal sexual misconduct defense attorneys in Grand Rapids, Michigan may be required to know how communications, statements, credibility issues, and other available information fit together.
Memory and documentation aren’t the same thing.
People tend to recall events rather than dates and occasions following a stressful experience. The expression “It was later that night” is normal in conversation, but may not be sufficient to answer a significant legal query.
Documents can assist you in organizing your personal memories. Call histories and messages in court documents, receipts or other records along with photographs, can help you establish the time line. What’s important depends on the particular case.
It is also essential to preserve records and not alter them to improve the appearance of the case. A defense attorney will be in a position to identify what records are essential and how it can be handled.
One case number will not be able to be able to capture the entire evening
Shawn Haff has been practicing criminal law in Grand Rapids for more than 16 years. The Criminal Defense Law Center of West Michigan has handled more than 1,500 cases of criminality in the span of a total of 25 years of experience. The work of the center includes OWI as well as domestic violence assault, weapons and drugs charges, sexual offences, expulsions, retail fraud and driver’s license reinstatement.
Past outcomes, such as dismissals, acquittals and reductions in charges, can’t be a guarantee of the outcome of a new case.
Every new story has its own people, sequences, allegations, evidence, etc. This is the essence of it.
An arrest can happen in minutes. In a few simple words, you can write a charging label. Understanding the circumstances that led to it typically requires slowing down the evening down, and then looking back at the sequence it took place in.