Hiring a criminal lawyer in Melbourne from Papa Hughes Lawyers or other reputable firms is the only move that can be made when a person of interest is charged with a crime.
With the potential of significant legal fines, restrictions of movement or freedoms to imprisonment, the legal fraternity can hand down rulings that will be life changing.
To ensure that justice is upheld it is necessary to bring in an experienced legal mind who can negotiate with opposition counsel and influence a judge or jury to receive the best possible outcome.
However, Papa Hughes Lawyers are not miracle workers as they operate within the bounds of the law themselves.
Here we will discuss what some common restrictions are placed on these professionals, limiting their scope to a degree.
Cannot Bargain In Isolation From Client
The wishes of the client must be reflected and represented at all times through their hired criminal lawyer in Melbourne. As the professional in the room who understands the law, they are obliged to lay out all of the potential responses and motions that can be filed and advocate as strongly as possible for a strategy that will offer the best opportunity at receiving a healthy outcome. Yet they are restricted to enter into talks with opposition counsel and bargain for a position without the blessing of the client. Plea bargains are usually sought in these instances to avoid lengthy jail sentences, but if they are adamant of fighting for their innocence then those wishes have to be reflected in their conduct, irrespective of the consequences.
Cannot Operate Under Conflicts of Interest
If there is even the hint that a potential conflict of interest could arise when a criminal lawyer in Melbourne is proceeding with a case, then they are legally obliged to step down from that position. The conflict could arise through any number of avenues, from a financial conflict, a sexual relationship, a prior case or a scenario that places undue pressures on the solicitor. Any situation where the attorney feels as though they cannot operate as an independent and impartial representative is where a restriction must be placed.
Cannot Leak Sensitive Materials Prevalent To The Case
There will be forms of evidence that a criminal lawyer in Melbourne will utilise and leverage it as the basis for a sound legal argument. That can be seen through police reports, DNA testing, video and photographic evidence to witness testimony and key forms of documentation among others. If a solicitor wishes to influence the court of public opinion or gain some leverage in the courtroom ahead of time, they might feel the need to leak sensitive materials to news outlets or social media. That is grounds for disbarment and those outlets that do leak such materials are themselves placed in legal jeopardy, so the maneuver offers no tangible gains whatsoever.
Cannot Knowingly Mislead The Court
If a criminal lawyer in Melbourne is privy to a piece of evidence or their client has admitted to committing the crime in question, they are not in a position to mislead the court and probe for questions that know are false. One of the ways in which an attorney will avoid this scenario is to avoid this subject altogether during confidential consultations, protecting their own integrity and working on the basis that they are innocent. Yet a restriction will be placed on a representative if they are aware of such information but proceed as if they were not.
Cannot Engage in Criminal Acts
There is one definitive restriction that underpins all of the others that have been discussed for a criminal lawyer in Melbourne, and that is they cannot engage in a criminal act themselves. From money laundering to failing to disclose evidence, operating under a conflict of interest or accepting funds from a known criminal, this behaviour ventures beyond disbarment and enters into its own case.