Hiring a criminal attorney to represent you requires a bit of homework. You need to find a criminal lawyer that has experience and successes in fighting charges similar to your situation. If you were for example charged with DUI there are many firms and attorneys that have experience dealing with DUI charges and all that experience could pay off for you.

There are varying degrees of crimes or infractions. Simple traffic violations will probably not require the services of a criminal attorney while more serious charges will. If you are able to pass the financial means test you can be assigned to a public defender for free or for small payments. If not, you can usually find a criminal attorney willing to set up some kind of payment plan. Even though you are entitled by law to have an attorney, you now will be charged a small amount even for the services of a public defender if the court deems you are financially able to pay. At the beginning of your case the arresting officer will decide what you should be charged with. These are not binding. The prosecutor’s office in your New Hampshire city will decide if the charges can be proven. If it is decided that you should be charged with a felony the prosecutor will present the case to a grand jury. The level of proof before a grand jury must only show that there is a chance you committed the crime in order for you to be charged with the felony. The grand jury is made up of American citizens who review many felony cases. Once the prosecutor has officially charged you within 72 hours after your arrest these charges can still be changed. An experience criminal attorney will walk you through the likely scenarios and let you know if there is a plea deal possible in your case. Depending on the hot issues of the day and if the prosecutors are busy with bigger cases you could get offered a deal. Sometimes these deals will let you plead to smaller charges in exchange for a guilty plea. Often the sentence will be reduced and you will have to have a long probation period. You may need to undergo treatment for drug/alcohol abuse or attend anger management classes. With 1 st time crimes you may get the chance to reduce your felony to a misdemeanor with the successful completion of a treatment program as long as you stay out of trouble.

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