A criminal accusation of any kind is a serious circumstance that should be met with immediate legal action. This is especially true for sexual-related offenses since the penalties could be so severe that the accused may have their life negatively impacted forever.
If you have been charged with a sex crime, you need to enlist the services of one of our skilled defense attorneys at Leifert & Leifert. A lawyer could sit with you to learn more about the details of your case to help develop potential defenses against West Palm Beach sex crime charges. For more information about defending yourself, schedule a consultation today.
How Does an Attorney Build a Defense?
Experienced criminal defense lawyers build defenses in these cases by showing the extent of the prior relationship between the accuser and the alleged attacker, if there is any prior relationship, to show previous consent and how long it may have been going on. It will be hard to show lack of consent if it was a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. Though that does not mean that rape did not occur, the defense is allowed to show that the parties involved may have been together for many years. Ultimately, it is up to a jury to decide whether there is a lack of evidence to show that there was an intent for this type of crime.
Requesting Rape Kits and Other DNA Evidence Be Tested for Accuracy
If the prosecution is claiming that a DNA test shows that the defendant’s DNA was found during their investigation, the defense would try to have the DNA independently tested. This is like getting a second opinion, it never hurts to check the state’s evidence to make sure it is accurate and reliable.
This strategy is often used in DUI cases where the defendant’s blood and urine may be collected to test to for any traces of drugs or alcohol. In some cases, an independent lab will render a different conclusion than that of the state, making it an extremely useful piece of evidence that could be used to challenge the prosecution.
What is the Role of Lack of Intent?
The role of lack of intent states that the individuals charged should have known that the other party they were sexually involved with were under the age of consent. If the other party did not inform the accused person about their age, the accused party must have still known about the age and that argument altogether would not be admissible in court. However, anytime the victim lies, it is admissible, but a person would be strictly held liable if the person is below the age of consent.
How Could an Attorney Decrease the Potential Penalties?
To decrease the potential penalties, an attorney would use various strategies, depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case. Information about prior relationship and prior practices relating to sexual activity would be used. If this information is not available, then the lawyer would look to the character of the accuser as well as the character of the alleged attacker. They would look for bad character traits of the accuser and good character traits of the alleged attacker.
If the accuser has bad moral character, has been arrested for prior offense, or is alleged to be a prostitute, the defense could use these facts to cast doubt on the credibility of the accuser. If there is nothing negative about the accuser, then the lawyer would look for positive things about the attacker, such as their standing in the community, lack of criminal history, and evidence that shows that maybe there is a question as to whether or not this is really consensual.
The defense attorney may also ask the defendant to undergo a psychological evaluation or psychosexual evaluation to show the Prosecutor and the Court that they are not a predator.
Schedule a Consultation Today to Learn More
When arrested for a sexual offense, your immediate thought should be to get in touch with a professional attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer could sit with you to come up with potential defenses against West Palm Beach sex crime charges as well as provide you with the representation necessary for obtaining a positive resolution to your case. To learn more about what one of our professional attorneys at Leifert & Leifert could do for you, schedule a consultation.