Sarasota Attorney: Defense against a Charge of Burglary

You have been arrested and are told that you are going to be charged with burglary. There are a hundred questions racing through your head, not the least of which is ‘what happens next?’ Before you start asking or answering questions or even discussing anything with the officials you must exercise your right to remain silent as well as the right to have an attorney. Make sure that a Sarasota attorney is brought in to represent you during any and all questioning.

The first thing your Florida defense attorney will want to discuss is the specific charge being brought against you, what evidence (if any) has been found to connect you to the case and, of course, what has happened in the time since you were brought in. The criminal defense attorney will want to know several things:

• Were you arrested and held for longer than is allowed by the law?
• Were you advised of your rights at the time of the arrest?
• Did you mistakenly volunteer information that could be used against you at trial?
• Were promises made to get you to make statements of any kind?

The Sarasota attorney handling your case will then work toward bail and will advise you of what questions you should and should not answer. There will be a meeting between both legal teams to discuss what evidence there is and copies of everything will be exchanged in a procedure called discovery. The prosecution must reveal all information, evidence and the list of witnesses it intends to use against you. Your own Florida criminal lawyer must share the same information with the prosecution.

Next, the attorney will want your version of the full story. Make sure that you do not omit any detail, no matter how small. Regardless of your guilt or innocence, your attorney has been hired to represent you to make sure that all details of the case and the proceedings are handled fairly.

Your Sarasota attorney may suggest a plea agreement based on the strength of the prosecution’s case against you. The stronger the case, however, the less likely he will be to get a deal that is beneficial to you. At this point, your attorney will help you decide whether you want to change your plea or take your chances with a court trial.