3 Reasons to Hire a Lawyer for Your Arraignment
Do I need a criminal defense attorney at my arraignment? If you’ve been charged with a crime, you might wonder if you should have a Traverse City criminal defense attorney at your arraignment. The answer is that it’s best to retain an attorney as quickly as possible when you’re charged with a crime. Here are three reasons why you should hire a Traverse City criminal lawyer for your arraignment:
1. They can help you lower bond
At your arraignment, the court will set bond. That’s the amount of money that you have to post in order to get out of jail while you wait for further court proceedings. If you can’t come up with the amount, you have to wait in jail until you have future court hearings. This could take weeks or even months. Working with a Traverse City criminal defense lawyer can help you ask the judge for a reasonable amount of bond. This can allow you to get out of jail in order to continue to work and put your affairs in order while you wait for further proceedings.
2. They can arrange for favorable bond conditions
In most cases, getting out on bond comes with conditions. You may have to take tests to show that you’re not using alcohol or drugs. You’ll be told not to violate any law of any unit of government.
In some cases, you may need to ask the court for a special condition or exceptions. You may need the court to allow you to possess alcohol in order to work. You may need an exception to travel out of state for a work or family matter.
Your Traverse City criminal attorney can help you ask the court for favorable bond conditions. They can help you approach the judge with special requests for employment or family reasons. This can make it easier for you to comply with your bond conditions and continue your life while you wait for the charges to work through the court.
3. You can make a good first impression
Your arraignment is the first interaction that you have with the judge. If you’re convicted, this could be the judge that ends up sentencing you. This might be the judge that decides any pre-trial motions that you file. Your Traverse City criminal lawyer can help you make a good first impression. You don’t want the judge to remember you for talking out of turn or acting inappropriately. Your attorney can speak for you so that your first appearance in front of the judge is routine.
4. They can help you exercise your right to remain silent
You know the whole – Anything you say can and will be used against you — thing? That’s true at the arraignment as well as at any stage of the proceedings. If you answer the judge’s question with too much information and the state decides that what you say is helpful to your case, they can use your statements at trial. When you work with an attorney, they can help you know when to speak and when to be silent. Your criminal lawyer Traverse City can help you making sure you don’t make mistakes at your arraignment that are going to come back to bite you later.
5. They begin your defense
When you’re charged with a crime, you defense begins right away. At your arraignment, your criminal attorney Traverse City can make sure that there aren’t mistakes in the complaint or information that renders the charges against you invalid. If there are, the charges might be dropped until the prosecutor can refile them and correct the error.
If you’ve been charged with a crime, please contact us. Our team of Traverse City criminal defense attorneys is ready to help you present your best defense. Whether you’re facing a misdemeanor, felony or other proceeding, we can help you aggressively defend yourself from the charges against you.
Please contact us at (231) 486-6366 to talk about the case.