Investigate to Find Weaknesses and Discover Evidence

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Whether you decide to fight your case all the way to a trial, or enter into a fair and reasonable agreement with prosecutors, offense is the best defense. By dealing in strength early in your case, you maximize the chance of either beating your case at trial or getting a fair offer from prosecutors. Work and time put in on the front end finding the evidence needed to win and probing the case against you for weaknesses can uncover evidence and information that, at most, gets your case dismissed, and at least, provides you with bargaining power in negotiation with the government and evidence in case you go to trial.

For example, in one case, I represented a surgeon who parked his car outside a hospital after rushing in to attend to an emergency patient with a broken neck. After saving the patient's life, he went back to his car to find local police writing him a ticket. The surgeon verbally disputed their authority to do so at which point the two cops physically attacked, arrested, and charged him with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The two cops then wrote self-serving and dishonest arrest reports in which they painted the surgeon as the aggressor in order to cover up their illegal actions.

Luckily for the surgeon, we determined early on that a video camera had captured the whole thing on tape and immediately secured it. The video of the incident totally exposed the arresting officers' lies and the case was dismissed.

CAUTION! Video is routinely destroyed, sometimes as often as every 24 hours. If there is a favorable video out there, it is crucial to immediately issue a subpoena for it and obtain a court order directing the video's owner to preserve and produce it.

Specific Examples of Early Investigation Successes

There are hundreds of ways that aggressive early investigation can win your case; here are a selected few examples of cases I have won for my clients thanks to proper investigation:

  • A client facing domestic battery accusations from his ex-girlfriend won the case at trial by arguing self-defense. This winning defense was helped by the early investigation into the disgruntled ex-girlfriend's background revealing a history of crimes of violence helping to prove that she was the actual aggressor,

  • A client facing narcotics possession charges had his case thrown out when, after getting audio recordings from the arresting officer's police car to the police dispatcher revealed that the client, at the time that police issued him a parking ticket, was not violating any parking laws. The audio recordings therefore proved that it was unconstitutional for police to approach, question, arrest and search him for drugs because there was no probable cause to believe he was breaking any law at the time police approached him to issue a ticket, and the case was dismissed.

  • The sexual assault case against a young honor student was dismissed when eyewitness statements proving him innocent were put down on paper. These witness statements became valuable in negotiations with government prosecutors who were persuaded to voluntarily drop date rape charges.

  • For more specific examples on the power of aggressive and early investigation in the context of sexual misconduct accusations, please read my blog articles detailing cases where strong investigation early in a case caused prosecutors to voluntarily dismiss the case: The Importance of Early Investigation in Rape and Sexual Abuse Accusations in Illinois and Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Power of Rape and Sexual Abuse Accusations in Illinois.

Combine Factual Investigation with Thorough Legal Research for Best Results

Factual investigation is the brother of strong legal research. No matter what investigations uncover, the judge is the "Gatekeeper" of the evidence and he decides what comes in and what is kept out of evidence. That is why it is important to pair the facts and evidence investigation uncovers, with well-written motions providing the judge with the statutes and precedent that will allow him to feel comfortable in admitting the evidence.

For more on the importance of thorough legal research, please read my page on "The Power of Motions".

Call for a Free Confidential Consultation

While I hope this page has answered some of your questions, the only way to get precise answers tailored for the unique facts of your case is a conversation with an expert. I have helped hundreds facing felony and misdemeanor accusations either defeat the charges or at least control the damage they can cause. If there is a way to beat your case, I will find it. If there is a way to settle your case quickly while keeping your record clean, I will find it. On the way, your phone calls and email will be answered promptly and you will have direct access to me personally.

For a free confidential consultation, call me at 312.789.8050 or contact me online. A lawyer is available 24 hours a day every day of the year.