Harford County Criminal Defense: small details make a difference

January 18, 2013 No Comments by KurtNachtman

Often when dealing with Harford County criminal and Harford County traffic cases (or any county across the State of Maryland), the difference between being cut a break by a judge or a prosecutor is a game of inches.  Harford County in particular is easily the toughest jurisdiction in the state.  I had two recent experiences in court that truly illustrated the dramatic benefits of having a private Harford County criminal defense attorney and a former prosecutor going to bat on your behalf in your Harford County Criminal defense case.

Harford County Criminal Defense: understanding the prosecutor

Last week while in one of the tougher jurisdictions in the state I was allowed some leniency by a prosecutor (and rightfully so).  In short, I had been observing the prosecutor all morning, and this ASA was tough as nails, but was not being unreasonable.  I had an ace up my sleeve and had to decide whether to tell the prosecutor about my defense and hope that my client would be cut a deal on some lesser traffic charges based upon my defense OR risk going to trial and have a judge decide if my defense was with merit (and still get found guilty of some lesser charges).  The problem with telling a prosecutor your defense is the same as showing your hand in a game of cards – they know what you’ve got.  With a good prosecutor this strategy will work

Harford County criminal defense lawyer

because good prosecutors want the correct legal result and want justice to be served.  But this particular prosecutor was new and young and I was uncertain how the ASA would react.  Turns out that my experience as a prosecutor came in handy because I had a hunch that the ASA would understand the legal issues and I was right.  My client walked away from some serious traffic offenses with a plea to lesser charges, and my experience as a former prosecutor paid off handsomely for my client.

Harford County Criminal Defense: Is a private lawyer better than a public lawyer?

The answer to that is almost always yes.  Not for the reasons you think, however.  Many public defenders are excellent attorneys and friends of ENlawyers.  But they work under difficult conditions and that was illustrated the other day when I was handling a case in a busy jurisdiction.  As a private lawyer, I often have only one or two clients on a particular day, where a public defender may have 20 or more.   On this day I was handling a very serious matter in a packed courtroom.  I had spent hours preparing my mitigation for the judge on a hearing.  I had 7 different letters from employers and family members of my client as well as extensive background information about my client’s situation.  Then I had an opportunity to observe the public defender assigned to that particular courtroom.  The PD, who otherwise does a good job, had 30 files, most of which contained minimal information.  The PD was forced to rely upon this to defend the clients.  This PD was meeting many of the clients for the first time in court.  Of course, this isn’t always the case and many times the local PD will know and understand the subtle nuances of a courtroom better than any private attorney, but the bottom line is one case is easier to know than 20 or 30.  That is the advantage of having a private Harford County Criminal Defense lawyer.

Harford County Criminal Defense: The Bottom Line

If you find yourself charged with a Harford County Criminal Defense case and are in need of a Harford County Criminal defense lawyer, take my suggestion and be sure to have a Harford County criminal defense lawyer who is a former prosecutor going to bat on your behalf for your case.  Call ENlawyers.