The criminal law is a set of regulations and parameters through which the crime and its elements are defined. The crime may cause offences to either a person or the state. Crimes like incitement to rebellion, agitation, espionage, treachery are committed against the state. Likewise, burglary, murder, domestic violence, kidnapping, rape, hit and run etc., are the crimes that are caused against an individual. When the state government is offended, the government files the case, where as in the case of civil law or the crime executed on a person, a private party files. The criminal lawyer is the entity who handles the case and helps the jury to draw a verdict based upon the different elements of the crime. Role of criminal lawyers is classified into two from the perspective of representing the party – the accused and the victim.

How Does Criminal Law Define Role Of Criminal Lawyers

The criminal law is divided into various sections and so is the job of criminal lawyers. When the victim or the offended party involved in the criminal cases files the suit against the accused or suspects, there is one group of lawyers who prosecutes the case by representing the offended. This section of lawyers is known as prosecutors. As per US criminal law, until the suspect is proved guilty, he is considered as innocent and holds the right to appoint a lawyer to represent his side.

The lawyer who defends the accused and works out legal procedures surrounding the representation of the suspect and maintains the arguments during the trial proceedings in the courtroom from the suspect’s side is a defense criminal lawyer. On the other hand, as per criminal law and constitution, a criminal justice lawyer is he/she who prepares the entire procedures of criminal justice process including investigation, search warrant, questioning the suspects and witnesses, arrest, accusation, plea negotiation, trial proceedings, verdict and many others.

Basic Concept Of The Criminal Process

Whether the lawyer is handling the criminal case as a prosecutor or a defense criminal lawyer, the best criminal lawyer should be well versed in the basic concept of the criminal procedure. The first is ‘stop’. In criminal investigations, criminal authorities ‘stop’ the suspects and witnesses for questioning. As the person on whom this process is executed is allowed movement from location to location, so this procedure is not similar to arrest. Next is the search, which is handled by a warrant or a document that enables authorities to invade the suspects’ privacy. The last is ‘arrest’ that results in detainment of a person after he is accused of a crime. Two rights are provided to the accused when he is arrested – the right to maintain silent and the right to be represented by a defense attorney.