Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Yes, there I always a way to defend every criminal case if your goals are realistic, given the strength of the evidence against you (about which you have told me nothing). Often, success must be measured by expectations of something less than total acquittal, if the evidence is strong and there is not a good argument available to suppress the most damning evidence against you due to some sort of official misconduct (such as a coerced confession, insufficient probable cause to detain you, or warrantless search, just to name a few). Duress or coercive circumstances which substantially forced you into a criminal situation are always a defense at sentencing and, in severe cases, may even be a defense against conviction, if your attorney is skilled enough to select a jury which is sympathetic to your cause. All you need is for one juror to have a reasonable doubt about your guilt at the conclusion of the trial in order to get a mistrial, which is usually followed by an improved plea bargaining offer from the DA. Your plea offer might improve because the prosecution is unlikely to want to expend time and energy on a second trial based upon the same evidence any more than you would, following conclusion of the first one, which can sometimes take a week or longer in a major felony case. Another option if the evidence is strong is to turn State's evidence, hoping for leniency if you can substantially assist the prosecution in conviction a party who is more culpable than you. That route is fraught with pitfalls, however, and should rarely be considered without close assistance from an experienced felony lawyer at every stage, including the presence of your attorney during your initial interview by the police. If the case is sufficiently strong without your testimony, however, this option is unlikely to even interest the authorities, since your testimony would not be needed. My answer here does not make me your lawyer, so you need to consult one of your own before acting upon this. For further discussions, you may contact my office at 333 Main St, Racine, WI 53403, 262-633-3090, during business hours, or see me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. See over 15 years of my previous answers to consumer questions at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/atty_profile/view_attorney_profile/jknixon. Attorney answers may contain advertising materials. .