Getting Charges Dropped in Waldorf, MD Criminal Cases

If you have been arrested in Waldorf, MD, or any other part of Southern Maryland, call the proven criminal defense attorneys here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. One of our main goals in representing the criminally accused is to get charges dropped — as many as we can. Every criminal charge dropped is one less charge that can lead to a conviction and potential jail time. Call us at (301) 705-5253. We are available around the clock, 24/7.

Understand that charges being “dropped” is something that the government’s prosecuting attorneys can do. That is, dropping charges does not require the involvement of the judge, although after-the-fact permission from a criminal court judge may be needed. But judges tend to give prosecutors wide discretion in such matters since there can be many reasons that charges are dropped. Given that there are many reasons why charges can be dropped, there are several strategies that we can employ in trying to get charges dropped. These include:

• Convincing the prosecutors that there is insufficient evidence — a high level of proof is needed in criminal cases; prosecutors must prove criminal charges “beyond a reasonable doubt”; without enough evidence, prosecutors cannot win a conviction; in such circumstances, the charges should be dropped
• Demonstrating that the prosecutors lack witnesses or lack cooperation from key witnesses – along the same lines, if key witnesses are refusing to testify or are uncooperative, prosecutors will be unable to prove their case; again, in such circumstances, charges should be dropped
• Providing evidence of innocence — another strategy is to provide the prosecutors with evidence of innocence; this can lead to charges being dropped
• Showing that evidence will be excluded from trial on legal grounds because of constitutional violations – if law enforcement has violated the Constitutional protections of the accused, evidence collected can be excluded from use at trial; this can make it impossible for the prosecutors to win; in such circumstances, charges should be dropped
• Showing the evidence will be excluded because of a violation of police procedures and the rules of evidence — this is similar to the above but applies to police procedures such as the proper handling of evidence

The above strategies all involve attacking the prosecutor’s evidence and convincing the prosecutor that their case is weak. Most prosecutors will not go to trial if they do not believe they can obtain a conviction. Their job performance ratings depend on their conviction rates. Note that these same arguments can be made in pleadings filed with the judge asking the court to dismiss charges. Note further that some of these strategies only succeed after the court has made rulings. This is the case with efforts to have evidence excluded from use at trial for various reasons.

But, there are other strategies for getting charges dropped. These involve plea bargain negotiations. If, for example, the case involves a first-time offender and the charges are misdemeanor charges, prosecutors can be convinced to agree to drop charges in exchange for diversionary sentencing (like community service). Charges could also be dropped in exchange for cooperation from the person arrested in a different criminal case against another person.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 705-5137. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.