Tulsa Criminal Defense Attorney Fights For YourConstitutional Rights
This content is written for Cale Law Office
Constitutional rights are at the heart of criminal defense. For an attorney who focuses on criminal law, call Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale at 918-277-4800 for your free initial consultation and free defense strategy plan.
The U.S. Constitution provides limitations upon the manner in which a criminal suspect may be arrested, convicted, and punished. The first eight amendments to the U.S. Constitution apply only to the federal government. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has incorporated many of these rights into due process requirements that are binding on the states by virtue of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Those portions of the Bill of Rights that are deemed have been incorporated as binding upon the states.
Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale explains what constitutional rights are binding on the states.
The Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The exclusionary rule requires that the result of a violation of his prohibition not be used as evidence against the defendant.
The Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Amendment provides the following: privilege against forced, or compulsory, self-incrimination; and prohibition against double jeopardy, that is, being tried twice or more for the same crime.
The Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment provides for: the right to a speedy trial; right to a public trial; right to trial by jury; right to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses; and the right to assistance of an attorney in felony cases and in misdemeanor cases in which confinement in jail may be a penalty.
Eighth Amendment
The eighth amendment prohibits against cruel and unusual punishment.
State constitutions can provide greater rights federal Constitution provides.
More About the Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment provides that people should be free in their persons from unreasonable searches and seizures. Search is defined as a governmental intrusion into an area where a person has a reasonable and justifiable expectation of privacy. Seizure can be defined as an exercise of control by the government, or government official, of a person or thing. As in many other areas of law, what is reasonable under the fourth amendment depends on the circumstances. Sometimes case law will talk about the totality of the circumstances. You need a Tulsa criminal defense attorney who has a thorough grasp of constitutional law.
Governmental detentions of persons include arrests constitute seizures of the person. As a consequence they must be reasonable to comply with the fourth amendment. Whether a seizure the person is reasonable depends upon the scope of the seizure. For example, is it an arrest or merely investigatory stop? Another factor is the strength of the suspicion prompting the seizure.
An arrest occurs when the police take a person into custody against his will for the purposes of criminal prosecution or interrogation. The arrest must be based upon probable cause. Probable cause to arrest is present when at the time of the arrest, the officer has within his knowledge reasonable trustworthy facts and circumstances that are sufficient to warrant a reasonable prudent person for which arrest is authorized by law. The best Tulsa criminal defense attorney will get evidence thrown out due to an illegal search.
An arrest is not invalid merely because the crown stated for the rest at the time were, as long as the officers had other grounds on which there was probable cause to arrest. Contrary to the rule for searches police generally do not need to obtain a warrant before resting a person in a public place, even if have time to get a warrant. For felonies, a police officer may arrest a person without a warrant when he has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed and that the person be for her or him committed it.
An officer may make a warrantless arrest for misdemeanor so long as it is commended in that officer’s presence. If he’s aware of it through any of his senses police must have an arrest warrant to make a nonemergency arrest of an individual and his or her own home. The officers executed the warrant may enter the suspects home only if there is reason to believe the suspect is within it. All warrantless searches of homes are presumed unreasonable. The burden is on the government to demonstrate sufficient exits and circumstances to overcome this presumption. To fight your arrest and charge call the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney at 918-277-4800.
Knowing whether an arrest or search was properly made is important and can be helpful for a defendant. If an arrest or search was not properly conducted, evidence obtained by police as a result of the arrest or search can be thrown out. If evidence is thrown out, it hurts the prosecutor’s case. Oftentimes when evidence is thrown out, charges will be dismissed.
One of the first steps an attorney should take in a criminal case is filing for a discovery request. This forces the state to produce evidence that it has against you. After looking at the evidence, the next step is preliminary hearing for felony cases. The best Tulsa criminal defense attorney will ask for a dismissal.
At preliminary hearing, a judge will determine whether there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed and the defendant committed that crime. The hearing is not about guilt or innocence. If the judge determines that there is sufficient evidence and that the defendant committed the crime, the defendant will be “bound over” for trial.
In the meantime, however, an attorney can use the testimony and evidence obtained at preliminary hearing to file various motions to get the charge thrown out. Examples of this are Motion to Dismiss, Motion to Suppress Evidence, and a Demurrer. Call the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney at CAlelawoffice.com.
So, it is important to get started on the case right away. The more preparation time, the better. The client and attorney will have to work as a team for a good defense and working toward a dismissal of the case or a reduction of the charge. The first step is the make the call to an attorney. After hiring him, he will set up additional appointments to discuss your case and to gather more information and evidence that will be helpful to you. It will be important for you to do some of the leg work in gathering documents, a list of witnesses with phone numbers, and how you think the witness will be helpful. For example, you could note what the witness would testify about.
For an experienced Tulsa criminal defense attorney, call the Cale Law Office at 918-277-4800. Schedule an appointment for your free initial consultation and free Defense Strategy Plan.