CALL FOR FREE CONSULTATION
480-I-HAVE-HELP (480) 442-8343)
2 N. Central Ave. Floor 18, Suite 1928 Phoenix, AZ 85004
When Is It Beneficial to go to Trial?
Interviewer: What sort of cases would one want to go to a trial, strategically? What sort of cases would that be desirable?
Individuals That Are Innocent of the Charge or Their Cases Have Substantial Legal Issues Would Be Advised to Go to Trial
AZ Criminal Law Team Lawyer: When the individual is truly innocent. When there are legal issues. I have a case right now where there’s no impairment in the person’s system. There are drugs, but they’re all metabolite drugs, so there’s no way to prove that that person was actually impaired at the time.
A legal issue like that can lead a person to decide to take their case to trial. Also, if there’s no factual basis. Sometimes, prosecutors charge things a certain way, and there’s not enough evidence to support the factual basis for that charge.
Interviewer: Are there any typical offenses that you can give us an example of?
The Individual Circumstances of the Case Dictate If a Trial Is Advisable
AZ Criminal Law Team Lawyer: No. I don’t think you can say that there’s certain offenses that people can take to trial. Everything is so different. Everyone’s circumstances are so different. A lot of it is determined by what’s in the police report, what legal issues come up, what factual issues come up. What we can find through investigation. Every case is so different.
There’s not a certain type of case where you can say a person should take it to trial or not take it to trial, but if a plea agreement is not reached, then the case can go to trial. A lot of times, at the pretrial level there are negotiations and settlement conferences.
Through all the stats, sometimes we’re not able to obtain the plea agreement that the person may decide that they’re going to take it to trial. The issue with that is a lot of times people have priors. There’s more severe consequences than what the plea agreement has, what the plea agreement offers. But, sometimes it makes sense for someone to take it to trial if they have a legal issue and a good defense.