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Home » Criminal Courts » Community Resources » Understanding the Court System

Understanding the Court System

When an individual is charged with a crime, the tremendous power of the state goes into motion against that person.  The prosecution team has several resources at their disposal, including police, investigators, prosecutors, and the ability to gather evidence.

The accused has only one line of defense:  his or her attorney.  You should rest assured that our attorneys undergo a rigorous training process overseen by our Deputy for training and Continuing Legal Education prior to their qualification to serve on our panel and are continuously evaluated during the panel review process, overseen by our Deputy for Quality Assurance.  Newer attorneys or those looking to handle more serious cases are trained and assigned experienced mentors.

Your attorney has several services at his or her disposal.  We offer on-staff social workers for clients who struggle with substance abuse, mental health, or other issues.  Often, solving those underlying issues will help your attorney reach a more favorable result.

Often, a case cannot be resolved and either pretrial litigation and/or a trial is necessary.  When that happens, your attorney will have access to a wide range of support services, including litigation support and legal research and writing by on-staff experts when complex legal issues arise.  Moreover, access to experts and assistance in dealing with scientific issues is facilitated by our forensic unit.

When facts are in dispute, we have a team of experienced criminal investigators who are available to interview witnesses, examine evidence or crime scenes, and report information to the attorneys.

We seek not only to level the playing field, but to tip it in the accused’s favor, as the Constitution was intended to do.  Moreover, our services ensure that all people have the quality of representation that was once only enjoyed by the wealthy.  Our goal is that all of our panel attorneys provide top-notch legal representation to those who are unable to afford to mount a defense.

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