If you are arrested and charged with a crime in Fort Lauderdale, you may need to hire a defense attorney to help you defend your case. The attorneys can provide the best possible legal assistance to you if you are able to provide them with certain basic information related to your alleged crime. The attorney that you hire will obtain all relevant documents in order to prepare your defense. An experienced criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale may offer legal advice based on the information and documents that you provide as well.
Arrest Record and Police FileIn the event of your arrest, the law enforcement officer who affected the arrest will file a written report of the arrest. It will include a brief mention of the circumstances that caused the arrest to take place. Information about the alleged crime will also be included in the arrest record. Your attorney will require a copy of this record to understand the version of the police officer who made the arrest. This record may be useful at a later date when the police officer testifies before a court. The attorney will like to match the initial record with the later statements of the police officer concerning the circumstances that led to the arrest.
After the arrest, the police are likely to conduct an investigation to determine whether you have actually committed the suspected crime. The details of this investigation will be a part of a police file that the police are likely to create in such a case. This file may include crucial information and documentary records such as maps, photographs, evidence logs, notes from interviews, and other data and information that comes up during the course of the investigation. Your criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale is likely to obtain access to the police file records in order to defend your case properly.
Criminal and Driving RecordsIf you have a prior history of getting arrested in the state or elsewhere, you must provide the details of your past criminal record to your attorney. The attorney may ask for this information from you personally, and also request for a written copy of such record from the relevant jurisdiction where the previous crime was committed. The records will include details of the crime that led to the past arrest, and whether you served prison time for that crime.
In case you have been arrested for a driving related offense, your attorney may ask for the driving and motor vehicle records from the appropriate government agency. The records may reveal whether any similar driving behavior was done in the past, or whether it is a first time offense. Sometimes the records may not deal with driving, but with the details of the motor vehicle that may have been suspected to be involved in a crime. A criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale may be able to defend you better with the help of these records.
Medical and Mental Health RecordsDepending upon the nature of the case, your defense attorney may need to obtain relevant medical records. Your medical history may constitute crucial evidence to defend you against a particular claim made by the police or another person. For instance, if the police officers who affected the arrest have stated in the arrest records that they had to chase you for one and a half miles before they could capture you – perhaps this can be the bone of contention and a fact that is blatantly false. If this is contrary to the real circumstances of the case, your attorney may try to obtain medical evidence to show that you are incapable of running so hard to give such a long chase to physically fit police officers.
If your medical records reveal that you are an asthmatic or taking prescription drugs that make you incapable of running such lengths at a stretch, it may show that the police version is untruthful. Your mental health records may be crucial in certain cases. If you have a history of mental health problems, your attorney may consider the insanity plea as a defense in your case. You may need the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale to protect your rights in such cases.
Article by Benjamin Roussey