If you have ever been charged with any criminal case, you might undergo the trial process. A criminal case can always cost you lengthy imprisonment, fines, or criminal records. Sometimes, while dealing with your case, all those strategies may seem difficult to you.
However, knowing how to get a criminal case dismissed can save you from these extra hassles.
In this article, you’ll know how to dismiss a case and how a criminal defense lawyer can help you in this regard.
First, let’s know about different types of case dismissals.
Contents
Forms of Criminal Case Dismissals:
Generally, there are certain facts about the criminal case dismissals. When you deal with a criminal case, you need to know all those factors. It would be very helpful for you while dealing with the court process.
Usually, there are three forms of criminal case dismissals as follows:
1. Permanently dismissal:
This form of dismissal is also known as a dismissal with prejudice. In simple words, when your case is dismissed permanently by the court. In such a situation, the prosecutor cannot refile the criminal case against you again.
Usually, those cases are passed down by the court since it is true that the prosecutor cannot refile the case again for the same reason, but they can file another claim with different charges.
2. Temporarily dismissal:
Usually, this form of dismissal is very temporary by nature. It is also called dismissal without prejudice. When your case dismisses temporarily, it will allow the prosecutor to refile the case again in the future.
But in that case, the prosecutor may need to show the reason for refiling the case to the court. As a result, the refiling process requires some more time to investigate the case again.
3. Voluntarily dismissal:
This is one of the common forms of criminal case dismissal. It happens when the prosecutor does not want to continue the case. After that, the prosecutor does not bring the case to court again. And this phenomenon is known as voluntary dismissal by the prosecutor.
Most often, there are strategic reasons behind voluntary dismissal. But when the premise of the case is very weak, the prosecutor does not want to continue with the court process. And sometimes, they do not attempt to re-prosecute the case. As a result, the criminal case gets dismissed voluntarily.
When and Why Does the Prosecutor Go for Voluntary Dismissal?
To understand voluntary dismissal, you need to know why sometimes the prosecutor goes for it. There are several reasons behind dismissing the criminal case.
Some of them are explained in the following description:
1. Some cases get dismissed for proper interrogation and witness:
Each criminal case requires some specific procedure. That procedure contains interrogation, questioning, evidence, witnesses, and some other rules. When the prosecutor does not properly follow all those factors, the case may get dismissed. These signs show a criminal case is weak.
Sometimes, a criminal case can also violate the rights of an individual. As a result, when that accused individual reports against that case, the case gets dismissed by the prosecutor. There are also cases where the prosecutor has insufficient evidence to back up the criminal charges.
In that case, they have no ground to present the criminal charges in court. As a result, they have to discontinue the case. So, maintaining the proper and reliable evidence is also a crucial reason for voluntary dismissal for a criminal case.
2. Some cases get dismissed for the defendant’s character:
When the court reviews the criminal case, the defendant’s character plays a very important role. Sometimes, there is no strong reason to dismiss the criminal case. In that situation, if the defendant has no previous criminal records or any other accusation, the court will take this case into account.
The court will look for the professional reputation of the accused individuals. If the court understands that the defendant has a good character and reputation, then the criminal charges can be dismissed voluntarily.
3. When the case has weak evidence, it more likely gets dismissed:
This is another reason why the criminal charges get dismissed. When the prosecutor raises the accusation against the defendant, they need to provide proper evidence to the court. Sometimes, they do not have strong evidence to back up their charges.
On the other hand, there are so many reasonable doubts in the accusation. As a result, the court will ask for more evidence and witness. When the prosecutor fails to provide reliable and adequate evidence, the criminal case will get dismissed.
How Can a Criminal Defense Lawyer Help You?
No matter whether you are the prosecutor or the defendant, you may need a criminal defense lawyer. A professional defense lawyer can help you with so many things. Providing reliable and proper evidence to the court is the most crucial part of a case.
When you try to deal with such a situation, you may get stuck in your way. That is why assistance from a lawyer is very important. A lawyer can guide you throughout the whole court process, from gathering evidence to the outcome of the court.
Apart from those, you may also need to deal with the police reports, statements from the witness, etc. A criminal defense lawyer can help you to get the police report faster. Further, they can guide you to get proper witness statements and the report from the lab.
Bottom Line:
Dealing with criminal charges can be very troublesome and stressful. When the criminal charges are very strong, it is way much harder to defend them. That is why contacting a defense lawyer can make your task easier and less stressful.
A criminal defense lawyer can guide you when the police and the prosecutor work against you. Sometimes, you can also reduce the fines and penalties with the help of a defense lawyer. Hopefully, this writing helped you to understand how does a criminal case gets dismissed.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do you get charges dropped?
A criminal mischief charge can be dropped for several reasons. Such as; when there is a lack of proper evidence, the criminal charges will be dropped. Other than that, when the case violates any of your constitutional rights, the criminal charge will drop.
How do you convince a prosecutor to drop charges?
You can also try to convince the prosecutor to drop the criminal charges. The easy way to convince the prosecutor is through the criminal defense lawyer’s assistance.
When you have assistance from the defense lawyer, they will assist you in taking the necessary steps to convince the prosecutor.
How do I get out of a criminal case?
Getting out of a criminal case requires a legal process. You need to go through that legal process to get out of a criminal accusation. There are a few categories to dismiss the criminal charges. You need to find an appropriate ground to dismiss the criminal case.
Can a public defender get a case dismissed?
Yes, a public defender can get a case dismissed. There are so many instances where the case gets resolved by plea deals. The case does not even need to go to court. All those things require good persuasion with the prosecutor.
