One of the ways to fight your criminal charges successfully is to show that the prosecution is falsely accusing you. If you just say, “I didn’t do it,” and “I was framed,” without going into detail, you are unlikely to make the jury doubt your guilt enough to acquit. Instead, you must be specific about which aspects of the prosecution’s case against you do not stand up to scrutiny.
You can establish reasonable doubt about whether you did it without proving definitively who did it instead, but casting doubt on the testimony presented by prosecution witnesses requires strategy and meticulousness. Part of your defense strategy can be to demonstrate why prosecution witnesses have an incentive to lie. The good news is that during the pretrial phase, you and your criminal defense lawyer have the chance to review the prosecution’s case against you in detail and come up with persuasive defenses.
A Texas criminal defense lawyer can help you prove to a jury that a prosecution witness has an incentive to lie about your case.
When Co-Defendants Become Prosecution Witnesses, Do Not Expect Them to Be Unbiased
One of the most compelling reasons to stay on the right side of the law is that you can never be sure that the principles of “honor among thieves” or “what happens on the streets stays on the streets” will hold up once the police show their badges. Snitches are a prosecutor’s dream, and police continue to cultivate them by offering plea deals, or even complete immunity from prosecution, in exchange for their testimony against you. Sometimes, the police do not even care whether the snitch testimony is true; they just want to make the jury convict you or intimidate you into pleading guilty so that they can make themselves look tough on crime.
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the rights of defendants to find out during pretrial discovery what prosecution witnesses have said to prosecutors and what prosecutors have done to induce them to say it. Pursuant to cases like Jencks v. United States and Giglio v. United States, you have the right to review a written transcript of the grand jury testimony of prosecution witnesses and to find out whether prosecutors have offered to reduce or dismiss charges against witnesses in exchange for their testimony.
Prosecutors, Exes, and More May Be Trying to Conceal Their Own Shortcomings
Pursuant to the Brady case, you also have the right to know whether police officers involved with your case have a history of misconduct. Co-defendants are not the only people in this world who are motivated by self-interest; police may be trying to conceal their mistakes, anything from mishandling evidence to arresting you without a warrant or without probable cause. Likewise, your ex might be falsely accusing you of a crime to conceal your ex’s own crimes, substance abuse problems, or irresponsible parenting.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you review and refute the testimony of prosecution witnesses. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.