Crimes Where Lesser Punishments May Be Possible
When you are arrested and charged with a crime, your immediate thought is probably going to be, "Am I going to jail for this?" Understandably, this is a valid fear. Jail time takes everything away from you, including your family, your job, your freedom, and anything else that is typically important to you. However, you should know that not all crimes immediately mean jail or prison. There are many crimes with much lesser punishments. Here are just a few crimes that may have lesser punishments for which your criminal defense attorney can fight for and request.
Murder (When the Charge Is Reduced to Involuntary Manslaughter)
Nobody ever wants to be committed to prison as a murderer. However, if you did not commit murder with any sort of intention or malice, or if it was entirely accidental, you may be able to get the charge reduced to involuntary manslaughter-misdemeanor, you may not have to serve any jail time or only serve a very minimal sentence. Sometimes, if you already had to sit in jail awaiting your trial, your lawyer can first argue for a much-reduced sentence and then argue that you have already served a large part of that time while awaiting your trial.
OWI/DUI (When It Is Your First or Second One, and the Circumstances Are Unusual)
In many states, OWI or DUI charges are quite serious. Some states will jail you on the first offense. However, a criminal defense lawyer can argue for no jail and/or community service if they cannot get the charges dropped entirely. When very unusual circumstances are the cause for your arrest, you may be able to argue against those charges, too. Usually, if you have no other criminal record to speak of, the lawyer can get the charges dropped or reduced significantly.
Assault (When You Were Actually Defending Yourself or Someone Else)
The police will arrest anyone that has slapped, hit, punched, or kicked someone else, even if it is in self-defense or an attempt to defend someone who could not defend themselves against an attacker. When you talk to your criminal lawyer, they can put the proper legal spin on the case so that the judge will see that you did not intend to hit or hurt someone else intentionally and that it was a defensive maneuver only. In most cases where self-defense is the reason for assault (in this case, counter-assault), the charges and any related jail time can be dropped.
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