Rock Hill has several alternative punishment programs available. That is part of the reason people should work with a Rock Hill criminal defense attorney, because there are many alternative programs, and each area and each charge is different. Some things you may qualify for, others you may not. Nevertheless, in many places, you might get pre-trial interventions, which will put you into a probation like situation, you will be monitored, file reports, attend classes, make appearances, and pay fines. In exchange for that, at the end of it, your charges would be dismissed. Your record might be dismissed.
There is probation available to many people, which, again, is an alternative to spending your time in a jail cell. You are allowed to spend time in the world with restrictions because you still are under arrest. A person who is convicted of a crime, and under the authority of the state, must obey those restrictions. They have the right to make sure that you are not putting yourself in a dangerous situation, to cause more harm to others, or yourself. There are many of those options available.
A good attorney will help you not only figure out which ones to apply to you, but whether or not that is a good choice for you, given the situation. They are, again, as we have discussed, based on things like your moral character, do you have a criminal record, how long is it, what are the facts of your case, how easy is it going to be for the prosecution to take the case to trial, etc. Taking a case to trial against a non-trained citizen is much easier to do in most instances than taking the case to trial against an attorney who knows the system. These factors weigh into how and when they are going to offer, if they are going to offer, any of these alternatives to you.
Call an Attorney to Discuss any Available Alternative Punishments In Rock Hill
When you look to retain an attorney, the important part in my opinion is how well you interact with that attorney, because the law is the law. Many of the statutes are written down, the case law shows how the courts are supposed to look at and deal with these issues. Any attorney, who knows this will get you the same result; they may or may not be able to do it, but they have knowledge to do so. Whether or not you are happy with the results, the determinant is the process, and that really is dependent on your attorney.
If you have an attorney that gets you a not guilty verdict at the end of the day, you will be happy, but if they never talk to you the whole time, and they charge you a lot of money, or they do not explain too much, you are still not going to be very happy with the process. However, on the other hand, if you have an attorney you get along with, and explains everything to you, offers advice, but makes sure that you know you are in control, and things are not being forced on you, then you will be happier with this outcome.
Even if you plead guilty or found guilty after a trial, clients tend to feel better about that process, and are satisfied with the results. It is a valuable process, because the attorney you work with made you feel like you were part of it, you owned up to everything that was going on, and that in my opinion is the most valuable thing you could do when selecting an attorney. You do not want to hire an attorney who has never litigated criminal cases.
Red flags would be if they do not look you in the eye, if they rush you out of the office, they try to coerce you to sign up quickly, they never return phone calls, and always have an excuse for something, that is probably not an attorney you will be happy with.