What Are Potential Defense Strategies Used In Sex Crime Cases?
One of the most important steps an attorney should take is to do an in-depth interview with the accused person. The accused person, who is the defendant, must understand that the attorney has the power and duty to keep what the defendant tells him or her confidential. When I interview a person accused of a sex crime, one of the things I explain to them is that they need to be completely honest with me. They should not lie to their attorney, even if they committed the offense. They need to let their attorney know so that he or she can evaluate the case and prepare a strong defense.
The other key is to quickly identify and interview potential fact witnesses and alibi witnesses as soon as possible. witnesses’ memories go stale. They can forget important facts, move away, or unfortunately die. Therefore, we want to identify and evaluate the witnesses as quickly as possible.
The defense strategies can range from remaining silent to requiring the prosecution to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, which they cannot always do. It can be a more aggressive defense to show that there was an alibi, that the witness’s memory is incorrect, that the victim fabricated the story, or identified the wrong person. The defense strategy that will be applicable or most valuable to a certain case depends on the facts of the case. As previously mentioned, it’s very important for the defense attorney to conduct a thorough investigation; starting with an interview with the defendant, in-depth interviews of witnesses, and to just work the case. Every case is different, and the strategy that works best depends on the facts of the case. There is no one defense strategy that works in every case.
What Is False Memory Syndrome As It Applies To A Sex Crime Case?
Most people often think that false memories are the fabrication of a memory or a lie about what happened. And while that can be true, while memories can be deliberately fabricated or a lie, they can also be false for other reasons. A person’s memories fade over time, and as humans, we don’t like to think that our memory is fading. We tend to fill in gaps in our memories with other facts that sometimes are subconsciously made up. We see this in car accident cases. Witnesses will give different descriptions of the color of a car, or the type of car. Although they all saw the accident, they remember it differently. Likewise, in sex offense cases, people will fill in gaps in their memory with other information that is not always correct. It’s false. We also find in sex crimes that there are a lot of bad feelings involved when a victim has been sexually assaulted. They feel violated. They feel they are injured. They are hurting, and their family members hurt for them. There are a lot of painful feelings and emotions going on. This great degree of pain and injury will affect the memories of what happened. Two false memories can even develop in people who are honestly trying to remember what happened. Memories that are painful, embarrassing, or those that people do not want to talk or think about will fade or become corrupted by the subconscious. That’s why it’s very important to interview as many possible witnesses, and identify them immediately after an incident has occurred.
What Can I Do If My Soon To Be Ex Is Falsely Accusing Me Of Sexually Abusing My Children?
Unfortunately, when people go through divorces or breakups, they have many bad feelings. There can be feelings of abandonment, jealousy, and all types of hurtful feelings. People will often react to those feelings by lashing out at their spouse. This can be verbally or physically. It can also be done by bringing about false accusations that the other spouse abused their children. People understand that one of the worst crimes you can be accused of, one of the most serious offenses, is having abused a child. This is especially horrendous when the person who actually abused a child is the child’s own parent. When that is true, when a parent has actually abused a child, the courts will usually grant custody of that child to the opposing spouse in a divorce. And many times, false allegations of child abuse arise in a divorce setting. Prosecutors have a duty to see that justice is done.
That does not mean that they have a duty to just get convictions, it also means that they have a duty to make sure that people are not wrongfully accused. Most prosecutors understand that, and they want to do the right thing. They want to see that people are charged or not charged appropriately. The fact that a sexual abuse charge has been brought during the course of a divorce is a factor that they will consider. But, that fact alone is not enough to get the charges dropped. They will or should look at the totality of the circumstances.
What Evidence May Be Required When Faced With Such An Allegation?
When faced with such an allegation, it becomes the duty of the defense attorney to investigate the matter, and provide that information to the prosecuting attorney. Oftentimes, the prosecuting attorneys will not look beyond what the victim has said or what the victim’s other parent has said. So, again, it becomes the duty of the defense attorney to investigate these matters when presenting to the prosecution.
For more information on Defense Strategies Used In Sex Crime Cases, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (770) 637-5505 today.
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