Vetting Attorneys For Defending Against Resisting Arrest NJ

By Laura Cooper


When you are detained by law enforcement, you may be so caught off guard that you act out of the ordinary. Instead of complying with the orders of the officer, you might inadvertently act defiantly simply because you are nervous and afraid. Despite your wishes to obey the orders being given to you, you could instead find yourself facing additional charges on top of whatever for which you have been arrested. By hiring a criminal defense lawyer to defend you for resisting arrest NJ defendant's like you might beat the charges and be exonerated entirely.

The qualifications of your potential lawyer, however, can be just as important to your defense as the reasons for why you resisted being placed in handcuffs. Beating this particular charge requires you to hire someone who is skilled in this area of law rather than an attorney who practices in another specialty like personal injury or bankruptcy law. Your counsel will need to know how the laws of your state apply to your case.

Likewise, you probably want an attorney who has handled cases similar or identical to yours in the past. You may prefer not to take your chances on a novice lawyer who is brand new to the courtroom. You similarly want to avoid hiring someone who has lost more case than he or she has won in court if you want to beat the charges against you.

After you check out the lawyer's win-loss record, you can then focus on how much your defense will cost you. When you are strapped for cash and do not have any money to retain counsel, the court legally has to provide a lawyer for you. In fact, as the officer reads you your Miranda rights, you will hear him or her say that you will have an attorney appointed for you if you cannot afford to hire one for yourself.

However, if you can afford to retain the services of one, you might wish to know how much the services will cost you upfront. Most attorneys charge a retainer fee along with hourly rates during the time they are working on your case. Some also charge for extra costs like copying documents or courier services.

Additionally, before you sign a contract putting a lawyer on retainer, you could ask to get all of these costs listed and itemized for you. You can refer to this document during your case to find out how much all of it will cost you in the end. This itemization also lets you prepare to finance your case including taking out a loan to pay your lawyer fees if necessary.

You typically can get all of this information in a free consultation prior to retaining a lawyer. Most lawyers will allow clients to consult with them at no cost for at least one hour. During that meeting, you can ask the most important questions about your case and what will be involved should you decide to put the attorney on retainer.

When you have been charged with resisting arrest, you will be given a chance to defend yourself in court. Exonerating yourself may require you to hire a criminal defense lawyer to represent you. You may hire a qualified one by knowing how to vet attorneys in your area.




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