Violent crimes are almost always charged as felonies. A conviction would lead to a jail sentence, and likely a long one. Violent crime charges are a very serious matter. You need an experienced criminal defense attorney to defend you, and you need to hire one immediately. Your lawyer would help you determine the path forward in your case. The attorneys at Hogan Eickhoff are standing by and ready to help you.
In Wisconsin, a felony is a crime that is punishable by imprisonment in a state prison. It is a far more serious charge than a misdemeanor, which may be punished by up to a year in county prison. Felonies involve more serious crimes. These crimes could be violent in nature or more serious versions of crimes that may otherwise be misdemeanors. For example, possession of narcotics and theft charges could rise to felonies when they exceed a certain amount of drugs or monetary value, respectively.
There are high stakes involved when you are facing any type of domestic violence charges in Wisconsin. If you are convicted, there will be immediate impacts. You cannot and should not face the legal system alone. Otherwise, you may be subject to a rush to judgment, and you can do damage to your own case. You should always contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as you are arrested or you learn that you are being investigated.
Most criminal cases do not end up at trial. Either the charges are dropped, or the defendant reaches a plea agreement with the prosecutor. Your criminal defense attorney may look for a way to get the charges dropped if it is at all possible. In some cases, the charges are dropped when you successfully fight and stand up for your legal rights. In other cases, the charges may be dropped as part of a deal with the prosecutor.
Once you have been charged with a crime, your first major decision is whether to hire a lawyer in your case. There is no question that you should retain an attorney to represent you. Your legal rights and perhaps even your freedom are at risk. You are then faced with a choice of whether to hire a private criminal defense lawyer or a public defender. It is worth the investment to get your own private lawyer. Public defenders are simply too overloaded and under-resourced to fight as effectively as a private lawyer can.
It goes without saying that you need to hire your own criminal defense attorney for your Wisconsin court case. You must make your decision quickly because your legal rights depend on you getting the necessary legal help. The question then becomes which attorney you should hire. You are faced with many choices, as there may be a large number of criminal defense attorneys in your area. The attorney you select must be the right attorney for you, and you must make the selection under pressure. Here are some things that you should consider when choosing a Wisconsin criminal defense lawyer.
Kyle Rittenhouse was an 18-year-old man charged with reckless homicide and intentional homicide in the shooting of three men during protests against the shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer in Kenosha in 2021. Rittenhouse’s defense attorneys argued that Rittenhouse was the person facing danger, with one man trying to attack Rittenhouse with a skateboard and Rittenhouse only defending himself against his would-be attackers.
The prosecutor has the legal obligation to prove each element of the alleged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Even if they believe they have the evidence, it does not automatically mean that you will be convicted. For each charged offense, there may be an effective legal defense that keeps the prosecutor from being able to prove the crime. Depending on your defense, you may have your own obligation to prove each individual element. Some of these defenses amount to saying, “yes, I did what I was accused of, but there is a valid legal reason for it.” Here are some defenses that are used in Wisconsin criminal cases.
Many people have the exact phrasing of Miranda Rights memorized after years of watching courtroom television. However, they may not exactly understand what these rights are and how they come into play in a criminal trial. Whether police officers have properly read you your rights can impact your entire criminal trial.
Sentencing is when the court imposes a punishment on the defendant after they have been found guilty at trial or has pled guilty to a crime. A judge will hold a hearing before they render their decision about the criminal sanctions for the defendant. The sentencing hearing is a tremendously stressful proceeding for the defendant because they literally learn their own fate. The defendant has a right to be heard before the judge hands down a sentence.