Choosing a competent and aggressive criminal defense attorney is the most important step in preserving your constitutional rights and individual liberty throughout an encounter with the criminal justice system. As a former prosecutor, Brandon Crawford has the knowledge and experience necessary to build an effective defense in your case and the resolve necessary to make the best possible outcome for your case a reality. Brandon will take the time and energy to meet with you face-to-face to hear about your case and then present a realistic and complete picture of potential defenses and possible outcomes to help you evaluate your options.
Make no mistake about it, the odds are stacked against a person suspected of committing a crime from the moment the person becomes a suspect. Police officers and prosecutors enjoy enormous power over the lives and liberty of the citizenry. Police officers have the authority to engage in searches and seizures of property, to detain, to arrest, and even to kill. Prosecutors have unbridled discretion in deciding whether to pursue criminal charges, whom to charge, and what charges should be filed.
Because this power is granted in the name of community caretaking and the preservation of order, laws aimed at regulating the exercise of this power leave officials with a comfortable margin for error. Consider this excerpt from Connick v. Thompson, a 2011 United States Supreme Court case:
In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963), this Court held that due process requires the prosecution to turn over evidence favorable to the accused and material to his guilt or punishment. That obligation, the parties have stipulated, was dishonored in this case; consequently, John Thompson spent 18 years in prison, 14 of them isolated on death row, before the truth came to light: He was innocent of the charge of attempted armed robbery, and his subsequent trial on a murder charge, by prosecutorial design, was fundamentally unfair.
Especially alarming about this passage is the fact that it is the first line of Justice Ginsburg's dissent from the majority opinion, which concluded that Thompson had no legal recourse against the district attorney or the district attorney's office for concealing evidence. Institutional acceptance of missteps and even blatant abuses of power by law enforcement is the very reason any person accused of committing a crime needs a skilled criminal defense lawyer.
Brandon is dedicated to providing exceptional legal advice and representation in all criminal matters. If you have been accused of or arrested for a crime anywhere in Arkansas, call Brandon today.
