fundamental role

What does a criminal lawyer do

The criminal lawyer is the professional who deals with actions or facts recognized by the law as crimes. The defence lawyer in winnipeg  can assume the defence:

  • of the civil party: person injured by the crime;
  • of the accused: a person accused of violating criminal law.

When involved in criminal proceedings it is therefore essential to rely on a lawyer specialized in criminal law who knows how to make the best use of the procedural tools made available by the law.

Criminal law is a set of rules that provides for the imposition of afflictive penalties for those who are engaged in certain types of offences. The term crime refers to human conduct – that is, an action or an omission – prohibited by criminal law through the threat of a custodial or monetary penalty.

It should also be noted that the crimes are divided into two broad categories :

  • crimes: punished with imprisonment, life imprisonment or fine;
  • offences: punished with arrest and a fine.

defence lawyer in winnipeg

The criminal lawyer plays the role of :

  • assistance: that is, it provides a collaboration of a technical nature;
  • representation in place of the interested party in the exercise of rights and faculties.

Once appointed, therefore, the lawyer assumes the task of representing and assisting the interested party in the protection of their rights and interests. In criminal proceedings, the appointment is a substantially free form: it can be written but also oral.

Furthermore, it is possible to distinguish two types of defenders:

  • the trusted defender: personally chosen by the interested party;
  • the official defender: designated by the Judicial Police or by the Public Prosecutor through an automated rotating designation mechanism.

In the criminal trial, the fundamental role of the criminal lawyer – whether it is a suspect / accused person held responsible for the crime or the person offended by the crime – is to ensure the best protection of the interests of the assisted party in a manner that the decision of the magistrate is by justice.

 Therefore, from the beginning of the criminal proceedings, the criminal lawyer has the task of:

  • carry out defensive investigative investigations to seek evidence in favour of the suspect: for example, he may have interviews with people informed about the facts, acquire statements, obtain information, access private places, participate in technical investigations, acquire documentation, etc.
  • defend the assisted party in court;
  • exercise a penetrating control of the legality of the acts performed.