Bucks County Carjacking Defense Strategies

The most common Bucks County carjacking defense strategies usually begin with an investigation and a defense such as simple denial. In most cases, the common carjacking crime occurs at locations such as gas stations and/or parking lots and other types of places where video monitoring or surveillance is available.

Should a person simply be charged with carjacking because of an identification and/or line up at a later time then the Bucks County carjacking attorney must challenge the identification. Another strategy is identifying the types of evidence required at a certain point of the investigation or any sort of hard physical evidence such as fingerprints, audio visual aids that can help an accused in defending against such a crime and show that in fact, it was the accused who committed the crime.

Dealing With Prosecution

Bucks County carjacking defense strategies are meant to counter the argument the prosecution presents to the court. A prosecutor, in order to make out the elements required for a carjacking conviction, must essentially prove three simple crimes. A prosecutor must first prove that the item being taken was an automobile that is theft of a motor vehicle as defined by the Pennsylvania crimes code. The prosecution must prove that an item such as a car was taken from one individual by another and the individual who took such vehicle intended to permanently deprive the other person of it. That makes up the actual theft portion of the taking of the motor vehicle. During such theft of the motor vehicle, some sort of force and/or threat of force must have occurred. When combining all of these elements, the crime of carjacking has been made out by the prosecution in Bucks County.

Fabrication as a Defense

When the defense is simply fabrication then it is important that all of the motives come out at the earliest possible times. The fabrication of the complaint could be that the person is simply trying to get the other person in serious trouble.

Under those circumstances, it is essential to understand the relationship between the accused and the complainant and be able to research it and obtain all evidence which contradicts the complainant’s original story. Under these circumstances, it is typically more common in domestic cases and/or familiar contact type of cases or individuals know each other and are using or attempting to use the court system to their advantage to hurt another individual.

Investigating Charges

A person should expect when reaching out and discussing their recent carjacking case that their attorney will ask the right questions. The reason that an individual reaches out to a lawyer in the first place is to receive consultation involving a very serious charge such as carjacking in Bucks County as well as to obtain the services of such an attorney so that anything that the individual brings forth cannot later be used against them during prosecution.

The lawyer will speak on behalf of the accused so that the accused’s own words can’t later be used against him or her. Additionally, reaching out to an attorney  will increase the chances that all physical evidence will be obtained and any other corroborating evidence will come into play at the earliest possible times. Having a lawyer with an investigator and staff, as well as a support team, behind the accused only ensures that everything is being done to protect an accused’s rights and  protect an individual from suffering what would otherwise be severe consequences from the carjacking charge in Bucks County.

Role of a Lawyer

Depending on the specific defense, an investigator may, with the assistance of an attorney, obtain video footage if available,  photographs of a particular crime scene, or line up information that may have occurred in the identification of such robbery. They may also obtain any documents from the Department of Transportation which may relate to the vehicle or person the vehicle was being taken from. This often means the carjacking lawyer will get help obtaining criminal records for the alleged accused and any other evidence which can come into play and help show that the credibility of the complainant is in question and challenge the veracity of any statement being made.

In  Bucks County, the crime of carjacking is treated in a very harsh manner  due to the nature of the crime; it is a robbery; it is a theft of motor vehicle and is a forcible act or threat of force. Therefore, prosecutors and/or courts look for very serious sentences even from the outset when dealing with carjacking type cases. With the assistance of an experienced Bucks County attorney, working from the outset to try to mitigate matters inreducing a possible carjacking, perhaps instead, a theft or simply a mistake can come into play. There’s often a middle ground in these cases that can be achieved in order to try to resolve matters in an expeditious fashion.

Contact a Lawyer

A distinguished  Bucks County carjacking lawyer will have the resources and knowledge at the local level to begin to try to mitigate matters with immediacy.  Mitigation can lead from robberies to thefts, just as mitigation to the right circumstances can cause a carjacking charge to turn into a merely a theft or a theft of a motor vehicle charge.