A good criminal justice system is important for every country, as it tends to be the backbone of the law and justice procedure of the region. The criminal justice system in most regions, including the US is viewed as a distinct three-part system that includes the prosecutor, the judge, and jury, as well as the defense lawyer. David Serna, a renowned attorney, underlines that each of the elements of the criminal justice system has its own indispensable role to play. Mr. Serna is a criminal defense lawyer largely based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over the years he has provided valuable counsel to a number of Albuquerque residents.
Both criminal defense lawyers and prosecutors tend to play a major role in judicial proceedings. Criminal defense lawyers like David Serna are especially regarded to be the first line of defense for the defendant in a court proceeding. Mr. Serna has been practicing criminal defense law for several years, especially in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also is a lifetime member of the NORML’s National Legal Committee. Owing to his expansive experience in the domain of law, he would be the perfect candidate to talk about criminal lawyers, their duties and importance.
David Serna says that the key responsibilities of defense lawyers tend to largely include offering the defendant with the counsel they need for a certain case. They discuss the diverse arguments and strategies that can be used for a particular case with their clients, while also underlining the pros and cons of each one of them.
According to the United States constitution, any of its citizens charged with a crime would have to be provided with adequate representation. In case the lawyers are unable to seek out the services of a defense attorney on their own, they would be provided one by the state itself. No matter if the defense lawyer is privately hired or is retained by the state, such professionals typically take a number of actions with the aim of both protecting and helping out the defendant at various stages of a case.
According to David Serna, some of the major duties of a criminal attorney include:
- The defense attorneys make sure that the defendants are adequately informed about their distinguished constitutional rights, and can make use of their privileges and benefits
- These attorneys ideally seek out the temporary release of the defendant through bail in order to help them to prepare for the case
- Usually, the defense lawyers negotiate with the prosecutor in order to have the charges against them reduced or even dropped
- The criminal defense lawyers commonly work alongside the defendant and various witnesses for the purpose of gaining a superior understanding of the version of the relevant event from the perspective of the defendant, and subsequently form a good defense on its basis
It also is the responsibility of the defense lawyer to determine which witness to be called on the stand and when.
