Tampa Homicide Lawyer
Whether you are successful in the defense of your murder charge depends on how fast you act from the very beginning. Although a homicide charge is one of the most difficult to defend, there are many situations that justify and excuse the killing. To make sure that such a defense is available to you, you must set the stage early. Our homicide defense attorneys at Escobar, Michaels & Associates focus on the defense of murder cases. They either present cases to juries or come to other resolutions without going to trial.
The terms “murder” and “homicide” refer to the act of killing another human being, often in the heat of passion. There are several degrees of homicide, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, felony murder and manslaughter. Like with any other crime, those accused of homicide have the right to a lawyer, the right to a jury trial, the right to remain silent, the right to confront their accusers and the right to produce evidence.
Noncriminal Homicides
Sometimes, although someone is killed, no crime has been committed because the killing is justified or excused. Self-defense is easily one of the most recognized defenses that make a homicide noncriminal. If a person believes that their own life is in danger, self-defense can be used to defeat a murder charge successfully. Other defense theories can include insanity, which involves a person being excused from criminal liability for breaking the law because they were mentally ill at the time of the bodily harm to the extent that they did not appreciate the nature of the act, its consequences and the fact that it was wrong.
Our homicide defense attorneys can help you defend against homicide charges such as:
- Justifiable homicide
- Excusable homicide
- Felony murder
- Involuntary manslaughter
- Murder
- Vehicular homicide
Sometimes, an incident is nothing more than an accident and is not criminal in nature. Often, the person accused is misidentified as the perpetrator or has an alibi that proves that they were at some other place when the murder took place. Very common in homicide cases is false identification and false testimony against the accused by an alleged victim or witness. Early intervention and investigation by a legal defense team is the key to a good outcome in a murder case. At Escobar, Michaels & Associates, our team has also developed theories to defeat the prosecution’s DNA and fingerprint evidence.
How Our Lawyers Defend Our Clients
As soon as you become a client of Escobar, Michaels & Associates, our attorneys set out on their own investigation to learn the specifics of your case. Law enforcement does not investigate the facts and witnesses that prove that you are innocent. On the contrary, police seek out sufficient evidence that indicates that the accused is, in fact, guilty. To counter this, our lawyers have their own forensics experts and investigators who help them defend your case. These experts include former medical examiners, DNA experts, ballistic experts, pharmacologists, jury consultants, psychologists and psychiatrists.
While our attorneys are bolstering your defense, they are also attacking the prosecution in your case. They review the details of your case to determine if the police made any errors in your arrest that could dismiss your case, and they scrutinize any witness testimony to confirm the validity of what they really saw and challenge the integrity of the evidence that the prosecution has.
Our homicide defense lawyers’ defense methods have successfully helped clients overcome their murder convictions in these cases. One recent case of note that they won was the defense case of SWAT commander Curtis Reeves, who was acquitted for the shooting of Chad Oulson.
Build A Defense Based On Your Needs
Regardless of your defense, our team will work with you to develop the most effective case strategy. An experienced lawyer who has a long and successful history of dealing with homicide cases is your best defense when you are faced with a murder charge. Call us today at 813-513-0274 or contact us online.
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