In general, the pre-trial process for a criminal defendant is just about getting prepared and gaining knowledge about the court system and what to expect. The discoveries that are made during this phase of a case can be vital to a defendant's chances for a favorable outcome, which is why the pre-trial discovery and review is so critically important.
What a Lawyer helps
For defendants in Oklahoma, experienced attorneys can walk them through the entire pre-trial process and let them know what to expect. When an attorney starts preparing for a new trial, he will make sure that all the evidence is in order, that any potential witnesses have been contacted, and that all the investigation that needs to be done has been done. Although clients should be aware of what is going on, a competent criminal defense attorney should be able to handle most of those types of matters on his clients' behalf.
It is during the pre-trial investigation phase when a criminal defense attorney would also look into which statutes are still in effect as a way to make sure that the laws that the defendant is being charged with are still on the books and being enforced. If each element of each charge has not been met by the prosecution, then there is a good chance that a defendant could get his case thrown out-but an attorney would never know whether these elements have been met without doing the proper amount of pre-trial work.
It is important that defendants know as much as possible about what is going on in their cases so they can be as prepared as possible for whatever is expected to happen during their trials. The more knowledge that you have of what is going on, the better prepared you can be for a jury trial.
Preparation for Testimony
A client can expect to be put through a review session with his attorney during this time. In order to prepare for what could be an extensive trial, clients need to prepare their testimonies-if they plan on testifying-and also review any witness statements that have been submitted.
A lot of times, the defendants in criminal cases will personally know the witnesses, and they can sometimes have personal knowledge and access to facts that conflict with the statements that certain witnesses give. That is why reviewing witness statements is such an important element in the pre-trial preparation process-because it is the only way to see if there are any inconsistencies in witness statements.
As a lawyer helping a client prepare his own testimony is also important. But doing so is never about coaching him on what to say or do. Instead, it is just about making sure that the client has gotten to the truth of his story. For defendants with criminal records, it is during this pre-trial testimony preparation when past criminal records will often be exposed. If a defendant is going to testify on his own behalf, then he needs to be prepared for all types of questions to come up during the prosecutor's cross examination.
In many cases, however, a defendant who has a criminal history may choose not to testify-not because he is not innocent, but because he does not want his past history to come up in front of a jury. If we already know that the prosecution has not proven its case, then the defendant might choose not to testify just because he doesn't want that criminal record to become knowledge to the jury.
Trial Preparation
Criminal and civil cases with high stakes live in their own rhythm.
The course of every case may be so particular that an experienced lawyer can hardly ever count on each twist and turn.
Preparation is the satisfactory manner to get beforehand of questions which can make or destroy a case., therefore it's very important that trial preparation services in Oklahoma be taken, in order to have the best possible trial winning strategy.
