The best criminal defense lawyer is the one who wins your case.  A "win" of course is defined in many ways.  A win can mean a plea to a lesser charge, a probationary sentence when there is a strong possibility of jail, the rare suppression of evidence leading to a dismissal, and even rarer, the outright acquittal at trial.  Bottom line is:  the determination of a good criminal defense lawyer is, in most circumstances, based on the end result.

Criminal Defense Lawyers are compared to many other types of professionals, but are best compared to stockbrokers.  Hand over some money, and based on many "market" factors, you either make or lose money.  If you make money, your broker is "great;" if you don't, well, your broker stinks.

We criminal defense lawyers know all of this.  We know that no matter how much you tell us in the beginning that you "fee comfortable" with us, or that you'll do "whatever" we advise, in the end, how your case resolves, whether you are guilty or innocent, is how we are perceived.  There are a few clients who merely appreciate the "fight," even when the results are terrible, but those are usually the pubic defender clients, who sometimes show much more appreciation for their "free" lawyer, than the "paying client" who believes that "for all that money," they should receive a specific result.

Most people hire the wrong criminal defense lawyer for the wrong reason.  There are several popular reasons, and I will focus on them here:  Money, Advertising, Prior Results, Perceived Expertise, "Former Prosecutor," and Connections.

Because we as a society believe that money equals end results, whether you hired the "right" criminal defense lawyer is usually determined at the end of the case.  The advice here will only help you in your initial selection.

In  my next blog, I'll discuss the money reason behind hiring a criminal defense lawyer.