Preparation for Court

There a number of ways to effectively prepare yourself for Court. Effectively preparing yourself may be the difference between you going to jail or staying out. Ultimately, your preparation will depend on the offence that you have committed. However, as a rule of thumb you must ask yourself; what can I do to achieve the best outcome and potentially save myself from the disastrous effects of a criminal conviction? The best way is to follow these three steps:

Step 1 – Get Legal Representation

As a starting point, no matter what offence you have committed, it is imperative that you seek legal representation.

Step 2 – Prepare Character References

A character reference is a letter written by someone close in your life that describes you as a person and your character traits. These references show the Court the type of person you are. The better the character reference illustrates the person’s unique character through emotive language, the more helpful the character reference will be. This may help your case a lot as the Court may be more compassionate towards your situation. Good examples of who may write a character reference include close friends, colleagues, an employer, a priest or a family member.

Step 3 – DIY: DO-IT-YOURSELF – Do things in your life to make your case

You may do things before Court that will make your case look better. For example, if you have been charged with drug related offences, you may show that you have sought drug counselling to deal with your addiction and rehabilitate yourself. This will show that you are motivated to overcome your drug problems. Or if you have been charged with assault related charges, you may seek anger management or psychotherapy treatment to show that you are dealing with your problems. Nevertheless, an experienced lawyer will be able to take you down the right path and implement strategies tailor made to your case.

Given our experience within criminal law and our expertise in defending clients who have been charged with various offences, we can guide you through these steps the same way we have done for many of our previous clients.