Misdemeanor Charges

Misdemeanor charges not only appear on a person’s criminal records but are also treated with strict action. Punishment involves jail time, fines, and social service on probation. Handling a misdemeanor charge if found guilty needs to be dealt with with an experienced Attorney’s help. However, the consequence of a misdemeanor charge can be taken to trial, and costs can be negotiated before understanding the result. We will understand the different types of misdemeanor charges.

Below are the types of misdemeanor charges.

1. Class A- The charge can get an accused up to a year in prison and/or $10,000 as a fine
2. Class B- The Charge can get an accused up to 90 days in prison and/or $1000 as a fine
3. Class C- The Charge can get an accused up to 30 days in prison and / or $500 as a fine

The terms of imprisonment and fine can depend on the judge as per the exigency in the case.

The Consequences of Misdemeanor charges:

Criminal Consequences

In any case of misdemeanor there the offense is directly placed in criminal records. This record follows the accused everywhere they go. This implies that whenever there is a background check for employment, renting, moving between states or countries, applying for a visa just gets more complicated.

A criminal record also hinders the process of securing admission to universities and schools for the accused or their family.

Immigration

If a person is not yet a US citizen and plans to apply for citizenship, they may find themselves in a whirlwind of background checks. The misdemeanor charges reduce the possibility of an applicant’s chance of getting citizenship.

On the other hand, if a person has a misdemeanor offense against him or her, their visa application to other countries also gets affected due to the criminal charges. Sometimes the visa might outright get rejected.

Drivers License

Misdemeanor criminal charges lead to driving points or infractions if there is a traffic offense. In some cases, the driver’s license is revoked, and the person is no longer allowed to drive by themselves. 

Defenses to misdemeanors

A person can plead innocence when accused of misdemeanor charges. Even though the trial has to be represented by an experienced attorney, there are specific scenarios where the accused can plead not guilty.

Lack of Evidence

Filing of information is all a prosecutor needs to add misdemeanor charges against a person. A skillful and experienced attorney can dismiss this motion by reverting a pretrial dismissal through lack of evidence. The prosecutor filing of information with probable cause can sustain criminal charges on the accused person. Hence it is essential to book a Misdemeanor specialist Lawyer for such cases.

Intoxication

Every criminal charge must display an intent to commit the crime. However, through the intoxication clause, a specialized misdemeanor attorney can put forth evidence that the accused was intoxicated, and hence there is no requisite intent performed. There are two types of criminal intoxication defense. One is voluntary, and the other is involuntary. Voluntary intoxication occurs when the person is willingly intoxicated with alcohol or drugs; Involuntary intoxication occurs when a person is wrongfully intoxicated without consent or knowledge. This can be in the case of medicinal drugs.

Duress

A small sacrifice is far more rewarding than having adverse consequences. People engage in unlawful acts to save the cause of bigged damage in the future. For Example, they were Maltreating someone causing injury to commit a daylight robbery. Here mistreating may cause harm, and the accused can be charged with a felony. But they can prove otherwise the intent behind the action.

Self Defense

Misdemeanor charges could be challenged during a trial if the actions causing the misdemeanor was in self-defense. A person may inflict damages or injury to another person when it comes to protecting themselves. If running away from the crime scene is not an option, a person may resort to self-defense as a last resort. 

Summary

A Criminal Defense Attorney can help an accused fight the misdemeanor charges. The situation can be against the accused, and hence only an experienced lawyer can gather enough evidence to prove that the action has a valid reason.