More than 90 percent of defendants in criminal cases plead guilty, but not because there is no room for reasonable doubt about their guilt; usually, it is because prosecutors and police manipulate them into thinking that they have no other choice. The state shows them a mountain of evidence that supposedly incriminates them beyond a reasonable doubt and tells them they can get a prison sentence now if they plead guilty or a longer prison sentence after the jury sees the evidence. This is only part of the story, though.
Even the most confident prosecutor cannot be sure that a judge will allow all of that evidence at trial or that all 12 jurors will believe that it clearly indicates the defendant’s guilt. Guilty pleas are so prevalent because they are fast and cheap, especially for the state, but neither the prosecutors nor the public defenders are the ones who must serve the sentence and then live with the conviction record. For defendants, the time spent preparing for trial is a worthwhile investment, and in financial crime cases, meticulousness is the key to a strong defense.
To find out more about the process of preparing defenses in a financial crime case, contact a Texas white-collar crime lawyer.
Slow but Steady Wins the Case
Prosecutors want you to plead guilty because it costs them time and money to pour over the hundreds if not thousands, of pages of bank records they might use as evidence in your case. Given the nature of pretrial discovery, you get to see the same evidence that prosecutors get to see, and you should take this right seriously and examine it carefully.
Consider that the spiel a police officer gave you when you were first arrested was like a 90-second TikTok video designed to make you click “guilty” without thinking carefully. As everyone who has graduated from law school knows, the endeavor of poring over every word of thousands of pages of documents is becoming a lost art, and it is vastly underrated. You and your lawyer should read every line of every bank statement. Which of the transactions do you remember making? Are there any explanations for them other than what the prosecutors will likely say to the jury?
Affirmative Defenses Can Establish Reasonable Doubt, Too
Saying, “I didn’t do it,” doesn’t work when your bank statements show that you did. It may be better to make affirmative defenses, where you admit to making the allegedly illegal transactions but without criminal intent. For example, you might argue that the person who is now accusing you of fraud authorized you to make the transactions. You might also argue that you knew the transactions were illegal, but someone else bullied you into not reporting them by threatening you with violence or criminal prosecution.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are being accused of a financial crime such as bank fraud. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.