Celebrity Treatment and Playing Defense
Celebrity Treatment
Lindsay Lohan was recently sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in a rehabilitation facility for violating the terms of a previous probation for a drunken driving incident. She was released from jail after only serving 13 days of her sentence and was released into a rehabilitation facility. According to TMZ.com she will be treated for bipolar disorder and amphetamines.
This is not surprising. Lohan was convicted in 2007 of driving under the influence and has previously spent time in a rehabilitation facility. She has also done some outpatient rehabilitation treatment. Somehow she still manages to get celebrity treatment when it comes to the legal system. I guess if you have a good legal defense you can get away with anything.
Playing Defense
A defense attorney is someone that represents the accused in court. By law, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If you are accused of a crime you can hire your own defense attorney or the government can provide one for you.
The job of a prosecutor is to try and prove guilt. A defense attorney’s job is to defend the accused while trying to cast doubt on the prosecutor’s case.
A good defense attorney can do several things to help you out when you are accused of a crime. They can make sure no evidence against you was obtained illegally. They can help negotiate punishment by having the charges dropped or lowered. They can also attempt to obtain expert witnesses to help strengthen your case.
A defense attorney can also help your case by seeking out character witnesses such as neighbors, co-workers, and ministers who are willing to testify on your behalf. They may also ask medical experts to testify about your mental state and effects of certain drugs on your behavior. The prosecutor will also be questioning your acquaintances and medical doctors in hope of finding witnesses who will offer an unfavorable testimony about you.
Many times the defense attorney will want to know if the accused is guilty or not in order to build the best case for the client yielding the best results.
There are limits to what a defense attorney can do to help you with your case. They can not place someone on the stand who they know is going to lie, and they can not knowingly lie themselves.
