Facing criminal prosecution is a scary, stressful situation. You may worry about how an arrest and potential conviction will affect your reputation, freedom, and future. Fortunately, you don’t have to face the criminal justice system alone. Turn to the legal team at Parker Trial Law for dedicated legal advice and advocacy to help you through a criminal prosecution.

Since 2016, our law firm has provided dedicated, zealous legal advocacy to clients facing criminal prosecution in Albany and throughout Georgia. Our criminal defense lawyers, led by nationally recognized trial attorney James W. Parkman, III, have served as lead counsel in cases in more than 20 jurisdictions. We have achieved notable court victories in some of the toughest, high-profile white-collar and homicide cases in state and federal court. We have a proven reputation for taking cases to trial to defend our clients’ innocence and rights. More than that, our attorneys also focus on treating clients like family to build deep relationships long after your case ends.

If you’re facing criminal charges in Georgia, don’t leave the outcome of your case to chance. Get help from a seasoned Albany, GA, criminal defense lawyer to protect your rights and interests. Contact Parker Trial Law for a free initial case evaluation to learn how our firm can fight to secure a favorable resolution to your case.

How a Criminal Attorney in Albany, GA, Can Help You

Police and prosecutors have significant resources to pursue convictions. A criminal attorney from Parker Trial Law can help level the playing field so you can stand up for your rights, innocence, and reputation. Let our firm assist you with pursuing a positive outcome to your criminal case by:

  • Independently investigating your charges to obtain favorable evidence that the prosecution might not find in its investigation
  • Evaluating your legal options for resolving your charges, including potential defense strategies you can pursue
  • Helping you understand your charges and preparing you for what to expect during your case
  • Vigorously challenging the prosecution’s case at every stage, including moving to exclude evidence or reduce or dismiss charges for lack of evidence
  • Presenting a compelling defense at trial to fight for an acquittal

Why You Need a Lawyer When Facing Criminal Charges

Hiring a criminal defense attorney following an arrest can offer you multiple benefits, including:

  • An in-depth understanding of your criminal charges and the potential penalties you might face following a conviction
  • Guidance through criminal court procedures
  • Protection of your civil and constitutional rights by taking action against unlawful steps by police or prosecutors
  • Keeping track of paperwork and court dates
  • Handling investigation and discovery
  • Compelling advocacy if your case goes to trial

Types of Criminal Cases We Handle

At Parker Trial Law, an Albany, GA, criminal lawyer can help you face criminal charges such as:

  • DUI/DWI – Our firm assists drivers charged with intoxicated driving. We can help you pursue defense strategies to reduce or dismiss your charges, including challenging the legality of the traffic stop or the reliability of field sobriety or chemical testing.
  • Drug Offenses – We represent clients facing drug-related offenses, such as simple possession, possession with intent to distribute, or drug trafficking or manufacturing.
  • Assault and Battery – Let our firm defend your rights and reputation against assault and battery charges. We can help you pursue defense strategies that may involve alibi or self-defense claims.
  • Theft/Robbery – Our firm advocates for clients accused of theft-related offenses, such as robbery, shoplifting, burglary, or white-collar crimes.
  • Domestic Violence – Let us help you protect your reputation and future against accusations of committing domestic violence offenses like assault, battery, stalking, or harassment.
  • Sex Crimes – We advocate for the rights of clients charged with sex offenses, such as rape, sexual battery, lewdness, child molestation, and possession or distribution of child pornography.
  • Juvenile Defense – When your child faces prosecution in the juvenile justice system, or prosecutors seek to charge them as an adult, let our firm fight for their rights and interests to help you protect their future.

What Steps You Should Take If You Have Been Arrested

Following an arrest, exercising your rights can help protect your legal interests and options and put you in a favorable position to defend yourself against criminal charges. During a traffic stop or an arrest, you have the right to remain silent, which means you do not have to answer the police’s questions. Staying silent can help you avoid making incriminating statements or giving information that can help the police with their investigation.

You also have the right to legal counsel after an arrest. Your rights include the right to speak with an attorney before the police question you and to have your attorney present if you sit for questioning. Tell the police right away that you want to speak to an attorney as soon as possible.

Penalties You Could Face for Criminal Convictions in Albany, GA

Penalties for a criminal conviction in Albany can vary depending on the offense and the defendant’s personal factors, such as their criminal record, physical and mental health, remorse and acceptance of responsibility, and rehabilitative needs.

Georgia categorizes criminal offenses as either misdemeanors or felonies. Misdemeanors include less severe crimes with penalties that may include one day to one year in jail and several hundred or thousand dollars in fines. Felonies include more severe crimes, with penalties that include a year or more in prison and substantial fines. For the most violent felonies, such as homicide, penalties may include life imprisonment or the death penalty.

In many cases, judges have the discretion to sentence a defendant to probation instead of incarceration. Probation imposes various restrictions and requirements for a defendant, such as regularly reporting to a probation officer, maintaining employment, not leaving the jurisdiction, and refraining from committing new crimes. Defendants who violate their probation may have to serve a jail or prison term.

Other penalties the courts can impose for criminal convictions include:

  • Paying some of the costs of prosecution
  • Restitution, or the obligation to reimburse victims for the financial losses they incurred due to the crime
  • Sex offender registration requirements

Potential Defenses to Charges You Are Facing

Depending on your charges, you might pursue various defense strategies to fight for a reduction, dismissal, or acquittal. Common defenses you might raise in a criminal case include:

  • Lack of Intent – You may fight criminal charges by arguing you did not have the required intent to commit the charged crime. Many criminal statutes require a defendant to have intentionally, willfully, knowingly, or recklessly committed the crime.
  • Mistake of Fact – You may try to negate the element of intent by claiming that you made a mistake of fact. For example, if you are accused of theft, you might argue that you reasonably believed you owned or could lawfully possess the item.
  • Lack of Possession – In drug and weapons cases, you may claim you did not have actual or constructive possession of the drugs or weapons. Actual possession occurs when a person has physical possession of an item, while constructive possession occurs when a person exercises custody and control over an item, even if they do not have that item in their physical possession.
  • Consent – If you face charges of sex crimes, you may argue that the alleged victim gave valid consent to the sexual encounter.
  • Self-Defense – The law allows people to use reasonable, proportional force to protect themselves, others, or their property from injury. If you’re facing assault, battery, or homicide charges, you may claim that you acted in self-defense to protect yourself from the alleged victim’s aggression.
  • Mistaken Identification – You may challenge the reliability or credibility of victims’ or eyewitnesses’ identification of you as the perpetrator by showing that victims or witnesses did not get a good look at the perpetrator or that police may have influenced the identification.
  • Alibi – An alibi defense requires you to present evidence proving that you were somewhere other than the crime scene when the alleged crime occurred, meaning that you could not have committed it.
  • Unreliable Evidence – You might challenge the reliability of forensic or scientific evidence by highlighting issues with testing methods or breaks in the chain of custody.
  • Unlawfully Obtained Evidence – You may file motions to exclude the prosecution’s evidence by arguing that police obtained evidence or your statements through an unlawful search or questioning, such as by stopping or searching you without reasonable suspicion or probable cause or questioning you without advising you of your rights.

You may also contest criminal charges by arguing that the prosecution lacks sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred or that you committed it. Your criminal defense lawyer will thoroughly investigate your case to identify viable defense strategies to employ on your behalf.