What You Should Know If You’re a Witness in a Criminal Investigation
What You Should Know If You’re a Witness in a Criminal Investigation As a witness in a criminal case, you want to make sure you provide investigators with the truth of what you saw or heard. You certainly don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you end up incriminating yourself. To ensure that […]
Negotiating Bail for White Collar Offenses
Courts treat fraud offenses and various white collar crimes differently than violent crimes, especially when considering bail. When addressing the bail conditions for a defendant charged with fraud, a Grand Rapids criminal defense attorney may find it best to take whatever actions allow the defendant to continue his or her life as normally as possible. Bail […]
Should you choose a jury trial or a bench trial?
If you are facing criminal charges, at some point in the process, you will need to decide whether you want to have a bench trial (where the judge decides) or a jury trial (where either 6 or 12 jurors decide). So, how do you make that decision? From my perspective, as a top Michigan criminal […]
Nine Things You Can Do to Improve Your Loved One’s Stay in Prison
Sitting in jail, awaiting trial or the resolution of a case can be one of the most difficult things a defendant in a criminal case can go through. It can really wear at a person’s resolve, even if they feel they are innocent. In cases where a plea agreement has been reached, the worry about sentencing can […]
9 Things Every Defendant Should Know About Plea Bargains
Many criminal defendants are intimidated by the plea bargaining process because they don’t understand it or they assume they won’t need it because they will be acquitted at trial. In fact, it is important to understand plea bargaining so that you ur options are and can discuss them with your Grand Rapids criminal defense lawyer. […]
Get a Real Criminal Defense Lawyer on Your Team
I am a criminal defense attorney. That’s what I do. So I realize that it is somewhat self-serving to talk about why you need a criminal defense attorney to represent you when you are charged with a crime. I’m going to talk about it anyway, though, because I have heard from so many people who […]
Common Questions About Bail Answered
After you are arrested, you and your Grand Rapids criminal defense law firmwill probably begin thinking about your bail options immediately. The type of bail available to you will depend on several factors such as the jurisdiction in which you were arrested and the crime you have been charged with. Unsecured Bonds If conditions are […]
The Impact of a Criminal Conviction on a Medical Professional
The Impact of A Criminal Conviction on a Medical Professional For anyone, a criminal conviction is an awful experience. A person could be incarcerated, placed on probation, be required to pay fines and costs, and they will have to live with the difficulties that come from of having a criminal record. For someone in the […]
Shaken Baby Syndrome: How Innocent Families are Torn Apart by False Allegations of Child Abuse
In Michigan, medical professionals are what is called “mandatory reporters.” When they have a reasonable suspicion that child abuse may have occurred, they are required by law to report this to Child Protective Services. In cases where a child is taken to the emergency room due to a head injury, and a subdural hematoma or […]
Why does the Kent County Children’s Assessment Center refuse to record their child forensic interviews?
The Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect and the Michigan Department of Human Services have spent nearly 18 years developing a forensic interviewing protocol for children. The forensic interview protocol provides that “The goal of a forensic interview is to obtain a statement from a child, in a developmentally-sensitive, unbiased, and truth seeking […]
