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Are You Facing a Criminal Case?
Going through any legal turmoil can be terrible, especially when you don’t really agree with why you are being charged in the first place.
The legal system is a complex beast with many facets that can feel almost impossible to understand, especially when facing criminal charges that can affect you for the rest of your life. You have likely already been searching for answers regarding your case and how certain things will influence the verdict handed to you.
Of all the things you have been researching, the one you should pay the most attention to is “precedents. ” Precedents are the entire foundation of our legal system and play an important role when dealing with individual criminal charges.
What are Precedents?
If you look up legal precedents, you get a fairly short, concise answer.
Precedents, noun- A legal decision made by a court of authority, which serves as an authoritative rule in future, similar cases,
And,
A rule of law established by a higher court that is subsequently referred to in deciding similar cases.
When a prosecutor, defense attorney, or judge considers a legal case, they will refer to the legal precedent that was reached before the case, usually in another similar case. Legal precedent means that a decision regarding a certain question of law has already been made by a court of higher authority.
Lower courts defer to these decisions when working on a similar case. Most courts adhere to precedents in an effort not to “rock the boat” regarding a matter that has already been settled a certain way in the past.
The higher courts that have made these rulings in the past tend to be either the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, neither of which are duty-bound to follow precedents when making a ruling.
How Can Legal Precedents Affect Your Criminal Case?
Precedents affect pretty much every aspect of the U.S. legal system. This living doctrine is what most legal figures will study when trying to examine the parameters of each case they deal with. They want to find out the proceedings a former trial used when dealing with a current trial that resembles it. Using this information, prosecutors can determine the best way to charge a criminal and how to make those charges stick. Judges can use past trials while overseeing the proceeding of a trial and use precedents when coming to a verdict. Defense attorneys will study that same precedent to try and work out how the client’s case is different from the precedent set before it and will use the information available to them to try and get their client a favorable outcome.
As you can see, legal precedents can have a huge impact on how your case is handled. But that is the great, overarching legal precedent on which we built our legal system on. How does your own legal precedent affect a criminal case?
How Can Your Legal Precedents Affect Your Criminal Case?
The grand scope of legal precedents can be daunting. However, taking your own legal precedents into consideration is a much easier task to manage.
When a criminal court is working with an individual charged with a crime, they will refer to legal precedents that are similar to your case, but they will also consider your own legal history.
Habitual offenders are not looked upon too highly in the state of North Carolina. When a criminal case goes to trial, prosecutors will use your criminal history to both try and prove your guilt as well as to argue that a more severe punishment may be necessary if this is a repeat offense.
When you first commit a crime in North Carolina, you are tried and sentenced the same as any other first-time offender– using legal precedents set by trials similar to yours. However, should you find yourself in trouble again, facing another criminal trial, you may be surprised to find out North Carolina has its own version of the “three-strikes law,” found in other states.
What is North Carolina’s Three Strike Law?
The first thing to understand is that it is not really called the three-strike law in North Carolina. Instead, it is referred to as “habitual offender” laws, either habitual felon or habitual misdemeanor offender.
In NC, you are considered a habitual felon if you have pleaded guilty to or have been convicted of three felony crimes. The penalties become more severe with each felony conviction and depend on the specific crime you are facing.
Even if you are charged with a misdemeanor, if you have been convicted of multiple misdemeanors, you may find yourself facing a felony charge. The punishment can increase in severity with each repeat offense, resulting in hefty fines, jail times, and even life in prison!
Why Is a Criminal Defense Attorney so Important?
Now that you have a slightly better understanding of not only legal precedents but also of North Carolina’s habitual offender laws, it is easy to see why hiring an experienced criminal attorney can drastically change the outcome of your criminal case.
When you work with a criminal defense attorney who understands the legal precedents surrounding your case, researches the outcomes of prior cases, and considers your own legal history, you have better odds of a more favorable outcome.
The legal team of Rowland & Yauger Attorneys & Counselors at Law understands case laws that can sway the outcome of your trial or even prevent it altogether!
Call 336-537-5547 to schedule your case evaluation and get the ball rolling on learning how you can use the history of law to ensure a greater outcome for you so you can get your life back on track!
