Getting criminal charges can be devastating.
Especially when you did not commit the crime, in case you have been convicted, apart from the penalties, you also need to worry about your future. Having a criminal record can harm your education and professional life as well.
Apart from that, you will not get the same position in the society that you used to have before the incident. If you get any criminal charges, you need a DC Criminal Lawyer to dismiss your charges.
Grounds To Get The Criminal Charges Against You Dismissed
Here, in this article, we will talk about the grounds where you can dismiss the criminal charges that are out against you and come clean from the court or police station.
Ground No. 1: Insufficient Probable Cause
In case you have committed a crime, the police must have probable cause to believe and make a lawful arrest. All those probable causes always have to be more than just a suspicious feeling about you.
Suppose there is a hit-and-run case in your area. Now, if a witness explains that it was a four-door red sedan, and you also drive the same, the police would get probable cause to believe that your vehicle was involved in the same accident.
Now, if you drive a white sports car, the police would not have any probable cause to arrest you. In these cases, a dc criminal lawyer can help you in dismissing the charges against you.
Ground No. 2: Lack Of Evidence
In case the police have arrested you, they or the prosecutor must showcase proper evidence in order to support your guilt, until and unless the prosecutor convinces a judge or a grand jury that there is proper evidence of you committing the crime, all charges are pending.
Now, if the huge or the grand jury deems the evidence does not support the probable cause, all the charges against you will be dismissed. Only a DC Criminal Lawyer will be able to take care of your case here and counterattack that ineffective or inappropriate evidence.
Ground No. 3: Illegal Search
Only under particular conditions do the police have the right to search you, your house, or your car. For that, they must have a reasonable belief about you committing the crime. Just because of your race, religion, gender, or suspicions, they can not search you.
Also, a law enforcement officer only with probable cause can ask the judge to issue a search warrant. There are really rare circumstances when the police, without any search warrant, can search your home. Any type of evidence that is collected during the illegal search will be dismissed.
Ground No. 4: Discretion Of The Prosecutor
You might not know that the prosecuting attorney has the authority to dismiss some particular charges. Your DC Criminal Lawyer can convince the prosecutor’s attorney to dismiss the charges against you.
Prosecutors might dismiss your changes in the following cases.
- You have a clean criminal record.
- The charges against you are minor.
Now, in case you are arrested within a time period of 1 year or charged criminally during this particular time, the prosecutor can refile your original case again.
Ground No. 5: Lack Of Jurisdiction
You might be surprised to know that in some specific situations, in which the prosecutor of the state might not have the right or authority to hear your case. It also includes federal prosecutors who also lack the jurisdiction to do so.
State and federal courts are completely different. In case your case is being heard without proper jurisdiction in a court, your conviction can be overturned, or your charges can be dismissed. Only a DC Criminal Lawyer can help you with all these.
To Conclude
Just because the police have arrested you with suspicion of a crime, that does not mean you are going to bear the penalties. If you do not have committed the crime or fulfilled any of these grounds or all of them, an experienced DC Criminal Lawyer can save you and help you dismiss all the charges.
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