How much does a criminal defense lawyer cost?

Criminal law in Minnesota is different from other areas of law, and that is important when considering who to hire as your criminal defense lawyer. When you seek a lawyer for personal injury, or wrongful termination, employment issues, or other lawsuits, the question is most often “do I have a case?” Your consultation involves a fact exploration to decide if you have a good case to begin litigation. Attorneys often are paid out of settlement or damage, so their fee is dependent on the outcome When you are charged with a criminal offense, and consult with a criminal defense lawyer, circumstances are very different. It means there is already a case, and it has a court file number, and the State has a lawyer, and that means you need one too. You are facing the most serious consequences a government can impose. Jail. Prison. The collateral consequences of employment, licenses, etc. are also on the line. A good criminal defense lawyer charges flat fees. That means, you pay them immediately, and they handle the case from the beginning to end, so you are paying in advance for future work. That doesn’t mean the fee isn’t refundable. It simply means that you are giving you criminal defense lawyer security to handle the entire case because they have to stick to it. While this seems perhaps strange or risky, there is a reason behind it. A criminal defense attorney does not need to determine whether litigation can be started. It already has, and there is a lot of work to do quickly. And if you are facing a criminal charge, the outcome is either (1) Conviction, (2) acquittal, (3) dismissal (4) plea to lesser charge. Negotiating these outcomes, or trying a case to a jury, is time consuming, and requires a criminal defense lawyer with a reputation for jury trials. The trouble of a jury trial, and the chances of the State to win or lose, really drive the result of a case. Even if a trial doesn’t happen, aggressive representation, negotiation, and motion practice, and the clear threat of trial, are all necessary for a criminal defense lawyer to achieve the optimal result. A common mantra at The Law Office of Alex DeMarco is “a good lawyer prepares to beat a case, prepares for trial, but also prepares to lose.” A savvy defense lawyer must always be prepared for trial, but must also be prepared for sentencing if they lose. If a case cannot be won, sentencing itself is also an important phase that can make the difference between sitting in a cage, and staying free. The other reason for flat fees is that a criminal defense attorney cannot charge a fee for a specific outcome, and cannot withdraw from the case without a motion hearing before the court. This is because criminal law involves constitutional rights, and the very freedom of a person. So a criminal defense lawyer is very much bound to you until the very end of the… Read more {+}

Bernard v. State of Minnesota, killing the DWI mill and restoring basic rights

We recently discussed a victory some weeks ago in which a person was able to avoid Minnesota DWI charges by following Alex DeMarco’s instructions to the letter at the police station. The basic key: Never submit, never refuse, ask for a warrant, every time. That approach is based on recent rulings in Minnesota DWI law throwing out convictions for defendants whose fourth amendment rights were violated. Had it been any other case, murder, burglary, drugs…the law would be clear. It’s really simple. Warrantless searches are unreasonable. Only very precise exceptions can justify a search without a warrant, exceptions which are basically not even remotely applicable in a DWI case, despite decades of presumption to the contrary. Today the very heart of DWI law in Minnesota, the criminal charge of DWI test refusal, THE ONLY mechanism by which test are obtained in Minnesota, was heard before the Supreme Court of the United States. We wanted to update you so you can read the entire Transcript from Bernard‘s oral argument. If you or anyone you know is facing a DWI, whether it’s in Faribault, or St. Paul, or Woodbury, or Minneapolis, All of Dakota County including Lakeville, Burnsville, Hastings, Apple Valley, or anywhere in Minnesota, contact us today to set up a free consultation. Bernard v. State of Minnesota, killing the DWI mill and restoring basic rights was last modified: July 13th, 2016 by Alex DeMarco

Domestic Assault: Why Victims Don’t Control Charges

The Victim Has No Control Alex De Marco, Domestic Assault Defense Attorney Domestic assault is probably the second most common crime in Minnesota that carries with it actual consequences, next to DWI. That is because, just like DWI, a person can be arrested for DWI at the scene on virtually no real evidence whatsoever. It is not an exaggeration to say if your significant other or family member says you struck them, or even placed them in fear of being injured, that is absolutely all it takes to be arrested. There are numerous organizations and “battered women shelters” which receive a combination of public and private money, and they have combined with various activist organizations to “crack down” on domestic assault. This has resulted in unintended consequences. One of those consequences is that, even if the alleged victim does not want to “press charges”, even if she changes her story or admits she lied, the charges do not get dismissed on that statement. Too often our law firm is told “she doesn’t want to press charges so this is an easy win.” Not as easy as you think. The phrase “press charges” is largely the result of television shows, and a different time in law when people actually had some control over what their police force did in their name. It is very true that some victims of domestic abuse do not not report every incident of assault, and face a great deal of psychological pain and distortion if they are in such a relationship. It is fashionable to talk about this as “battered women syndrome” or some similar description. The politics of domestic assault have brought this disorder to light with the best of intentions. For centuries women lived in shadows of submission and abuse with no redress for their pain, and no just punishment for their abuser. Contrary to what is often reported, however, such a “syndrome” is an abrogation from the norm, and is not widespread or common to every or even most victims of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse often causes divorces or separation in a short period of time, and after all it is the natural instinct of any person assaulted to fight back and/or contact authorities after the event. However, the focus on this unique phenomenon, syndromes and disorders that cause victims to languish in silence for years and years, has led to a an erroneous assumption that every person who calls the police and tells one story, and then changes it, is lying because they are terrified of their abuser, or suffer from some “syndrome.” This presumption has resulted in a process that prevents the central function of investigation and prosecution: to seek the truth. We like to think that once an accusation has been made, someone who has lied or misunderstood a perceived incident can come forth and tell THE TRUTH, and spare the accused the very real consequences of criminal prosecution. Unfortunately, the tactics of many prosecuting authorities, officers, and even… Read more {+}

Posts Tagged Minneapolis Criminal Defense Lawyer

How much does a criminal defense lawyer cost?

Bernard v. State of Minnesota, killing the DWI mill and restoring basic rights

Domestic Assault: Why Victims Don’t Control Charges

Practice Areas

Criminal Defense