What is a Criminal Defence Lawyer?
Criminal defence lawyers are specialists in representing people for criminal law matters. They are also known as criminal lawyers.
Criminal defence lawyers deal with the issues surrounding arrest, bail, a criminal investigation, criminal charges, sentencing, appeals and other post-trial issues. The words ‘crime’ or ‘criminal’ refer to an unlawful act punishable by a government. Usually crime is an act harmful not only to a person or persons, but also to the broader community or the state. Such harmful acts are forbidden and can result in punishment being dispensed.
Criminal law is also different to civil lawsuits in that a higher burden of proof is required, such as beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than balance of probabilities. This means that the prosecution’s case must be very good in order for a conviction to be secured in a criminal court.
A criminal defence lawyer is someone who has completed an approved course of study of law, usually lasting a minimum of four years, and has then been licenced by the state in which they work to practice law. Often this licencing is carried out by a non statutory body such as a bar or law society.
Criminal defence lawyers are also known as solicitors in Commonwealth countries, and attorneys, especially in the United States. They can also be referred to as counsel.
In Commonwealth countries, barristers are lawyers who can advocate on behalf of a client in a court room. In modern times the distinction between a barrister and a solicitor is not so defined, with most jurisdictions allowing solicitors to also advocate on behalf of a client.
Nyman Gibson Miralis – Expert Criminal Defence Lawyers in Sydney
The type of work that our Sydney criminal lawyers do includes legal representation for pleas of guilty, defended hearing, bail applications, weekend bail applications, sentencing, severity appeals, conviction appeals, all grounds appeals, jury trial, public hearings, public inquiries and much more.
Our criminal lawyers provide legal representation for any kind of criminal charge including drink driving and traffic offences, drug possession and supply, assault, sexual assault, domestic violence orders and all other types of general and serious crime including murder, money laundering, bribery, cybercrime, extradition, white collar crime and transnational crime.
Nyman Gibson Miralis is one of the leading criminal defence law firms in Sydney, with offices in both Sydney and Parramatta CBDs. It does not matter where you live in NSW – our lawyers travel all over the State. View the Courts that we attend.
