The Austin criminal defense lawyers at Granger and Mueller exclusively represent defendants in Travis County criminal cases, so we can focus all our attention on providing high quality legal representation to defendants accused of crimes in our community.
If you have ever watched Tru TV or a movie or TV series about a criminal trial or an investigation into a crime, you have probably heard a police officer who had just arrested a suspect inform the arrested person that they have the right to representation by an attorney. Unlike in any other aspect of the law, every defendant in a criminal case has the right to have a professional lawyer work on their case, which is why the court will assign you a lawyer from the public defender’s office if you cannot afford to pay for a lawyer. If possible, though, it is best to choose your own criminal defense lawyer. The Austin criminal defense lawyers at Granger and Mueller are the best choice for defendants charged with crimes in Travis County.
Why Do You Need a Criminal Defense Lawyer?
Several amendments to the United States Constitution deal specifically with the rights of defendants in criminal cases, including the right not to have one’s property illegally searched or seized, the right not to be coerced into confessing to a crime, and the right to a fair trial, among others. If the state, that is, the police, the prosecution, or the court, has violated any of these rights, you cannot be convicted. Unfortunately, the state violates defendants’ rights in many cases, whether it is searching for a defendant’s vehicle without probable cause or presenting illegally obtained evidence at trial. Public defenders know defendants’ rights as well as criminal defense lawyers from private law firms do, but since public defenders are assigned so many cases, they are too overworked to spend time finding all the ways that you can fight your charges, so they often leave you feeling that pleading guilty is the only viable option.
Criminal Defense Lawyers Do More Than Just Go to Trial
Criminal trials look interesting in the movies, but they are only a small part of what criminal defense lawyers do. They are often able to get the criminal charges dropped before the defendant even has to enter a plea, because there is not enough valid evidence for the case to proceed. Most defendants who get to the stage of entering a plea choose to plead guilty; when this happens, the prosecution and the defendant’s lawyer have usually agreed that the prosecution will not seek the maximum sentence for the crime. Your criminal defense lawyer may be able to help you get a plea deal that enables you to avoid jail time altogether. For defendants who have already been convicted, criminal defense lawyers can help them appeal their conviction or sentence. All of this can require multiple court appearances, which is why you should choose Granger and Mueller right here in Travis County.
