fort sill military criminal lawyers

If there’s a chance that you could face a court martial, you want the best when it comes to your legal defense team. You’re always better off in this situation hiring an experienced private military criminal lawyer. Why should you spend the money for this? Let’s look at your options to find out.

Your Legal Defense in Court

There are three options when it comes to how you defend yourself in military court. You could represent yourself. We’ve mentioned this first because it’s almost always a poor choice that you should avoid. You’re unlikely to meet anyone with any knowledge of the legal system who recommends representing yourself in court.

That leaves you with two options – hiring a private military criminal lawyer or sticking with your court-appointed attorney.

When it comes to upfront costs, the court-appointed attorney is the much better option, because it’s free. But those aren’t the only costs you should consider.

The representation you choose will play a major role in whether you win or lose your case, and what will be the costs of losing? It could lead to missed job opportunities in the future, along with losing your current job. You may need to say goodbye to your retirement, housing and medical benefits you received through the military, and possibly your enlistment bonus. These are just a few of the potential consequences.

Taking a short-sighted view here could be something you regret for decades to come. It’s crucial that you win your case, get the charges dismissed or minimize the damage. For that, you need to hire your own lawyer.

What Makes a Private Military Criminal Lawyer the Better Option?

Now you understand why it’s so important to get the best legal representation you can, but you may be wondering what makes a private lawyer better than a court-appointed lawyer.

This is a situation where you get what you pay for. Here’s why you’re better off hiring a lawyer:

More Time to Focus on Your Case

Court-appointed lawyers typically have a heavy case load. Private lawyers handle plenty of cases themselves, but they make sure that they have enough time to dedicate towards each case. Preparing the right defense takes time, which means a private lawyer is more likely to provide the best defense because they aren’t already swamped.

You Don’t Need to Wait Until You Get Charged

With a court-appointed lawyer, you won’t get one until you’ve been charged with a crime, but a lot can happen before then. You could be brought in for questioning, and the prosecutor could be building a case against you. If you go the court-appointed lawyer route, all you can do is wait to defend yourself until the charges come.

You can hire a private lawyer at any time, and it’s a good idea to hire one the moment you need them. By hiring a lawyer early, they can tell you what to do and may even be able to help you avoid charges entirely.

More Experience

Although there are great and potentially great court-appointed lawyers, the truth is that most of them lack experience. Once they’ve gained that experience, they become private lawyers. An area where this is even more of an issue is in court, because many court-appointed military lawyers don’t have much in the way of trial experience. They may be used to settling cases.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, will likely have all kinds of experience trying cases. It’s in your best interest to have a defense attorney with years of experience and a large number of cases under their belt. They will know how to investigate what happened, they will know how to build your defense strategy and they will have the time to do both of those things.

You don’t want to take a knife to a gunfight, particularly when that gunfight is appearing before a court martial. Sticking with your court-appointed lawyer will save you some money right now. Hiring a private military criminal lawyer who helps you win your case can save your future earning potential, your military benefits and your reputation.